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Established urea plants often face several operational pressures at the same time. Energy costs increase, emission requirements become more stringent and market demand creates pressure for additional production.
Addressing these issues separately can result in disconnected plant modifications or missed opportunities for process integration.
A successful revamp must consider how changes in the synthesis, recovery, evaporation and wastewater sections affect the overall energy and material balance of the plant.
Because every plant has its own process configuration and operating history, the potential for energy reduction must be evaluated against its specific technical conditions and production objectives.
NEXTCHEM, through its subsidiary, Stamicarbon, offers Evolve Energy™, a tailored revamp solution that uses advanced heat integration to improve the performance of existing urea plants.
The concept combines adiabatic flash technology with process-to-process heat exchange to reduce steam consumption while supporting higher production efficiency.
Evolve Energy™ reduces the high-pressure steam consumption of a traditional CO₂ stripping plant by applying adiabatic flash technology and improving the use of process heat.
Energy Consumption Decrease
An adiabatic flash section is introduced to produce carbamate vapors that can be used for process-to-process heat exchange.
In the heat exchanger, the heat released by the condensation of these carbamate vapors is used to concentrate the urea solution. Using process heat for urea-solution concentration reduces the amount of external steam required in the evaporation section and minimizes excess low-pressure steam.
Additional savings can be achieved by increasing the efficiency of the high-pressure stripper.
A more efficient stripper requires less steam and enables more carbamate vapor to be produced in the adiabatic flash section. This increases the amount of heat available for process-to-process exchange and further reduces steam consumption.
Capacity Increase
The revamp can also support an increase in plant capacity by introducing a bypass line from the reactor in the synthesis section directly to the newly installed adiabatic flash section. Part of the reactor liquid bypasses the high-pressure stripper and enters the adiabatic flash section directly.
This arrangement produces additional carbamate vapors in the flash section, increasing the amount of heat available for process-to-process exchange.
The bypass therefore supports higher plant throughput while contributing to a further reduction in energy consumption.
Emission Reduction
Plant emissions can be reduced further by introducing an atmospheric flash section into the existing process line. The atmospheric flash section allows more unconverted reactants to be recovered and recycled to the synthesis section before they reach the evaporation section.
This prevents excess loading of the wastewater section and contributes to lower overall plant emissions.
Every urea plant has a different operational profile and its own potential for improvement. Evolve Energy™ therefore starts with a plant assessment and study rather than a standard revamp package.
The study establishes the current condition of the plant and identifies opportunities to reduce energy consumption, increase capacity and improve environmental performance.
The findings are reviewed with the plant owner before the final revamp concept is defined. Based on this assessment, NEXTCHEM develops a solution aligned with the existing process configuration, operating conditions and specific objectives of the plant.
Talk to our experts to assess your plant and identify the most effective route to lower steam consumption and improved production performance.
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