UFT fluid bed granulationSuperior technology

Uhde Fertilizer Technology

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Company profile................................................. 3

UFT fluid bed granulation Plants throughout the world ................................. 4

Process description Features of the granulation process ...................... 6

EmissionAttractive options for emission reductions ............. 8

UFT activitiesStandard, Mega and Jumbo plants .................... 10

UFT activitiesTailored revamps and further UFT activities ......... 11

UFT activitiesGranulator design by UFT .................................. 12

Facts and figures ............................................. 13

Advantages of UFTs Fluid Bed Granulation Process ........................... 14

Content

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Uhde Fertilizer Technology (UFT) was established in 2005 as a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Nederland B.V. and is domiciled in Roermond in the Netherlands. UFT holds the exclusive license rights for the fluid bed urea granulation technology, acquired from Yara Fertilizer Technology (YFT) in the Netherlands, and now exclusively licenses the renowned fluid bed urea granulation technology worldwide.

UFT delivers the license, the process design included in the Process Design Package, and the Granulator Lower Casing as proprietary equipment and the Granulator Upper Casing as optional supply for new granulation plants and provides additional services, such as operator training. UFT also provides after-sales service, including operational support, trou-bleshooting, spare part deliveries and revamps for existing granulation plants built under license from YFT or UFT.

Uhde Fertilizer

Technologys team

Company profile

Uhde Fertilizer Technologys

office building in Roermond

in the Netherlands

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UFT fluid bed granulation Plants throughout the world

Fluid bed granulation technology was de-veloped in the mid-1970s by NSM Sluiskil (then Hydro Agri, later Yara), a large Nitrogen fertilizer company which had been produc-ing urea in Sluiskil in the Netherlands since the 1950s.

At the time, there was a market demand for granulated urea to overcome the various short-comings of prilled urea (particle size limitations, poor hardness, product caking, environmental constraints).

The process was developed with the follow-ing requirements in mind:

the production of urea granules of the highest possible quality and sizes required by the market

environment-friendly operation at competitive costs

maximum straightforward operational flexibility

a single-train design to match ever-increasing urea synthesis capacities

competitive investment costs

After extensive laboratory research and pilot plant tests, the process was success-fully implemented on an industrial scale in Sluiskil in 1979. HFT/YFT, a dedicated

licensing company registered in Sluiskil, then began licensing the technology to fertilizer producers worldwide in 1980. Fluid bed granulation became the leading tech-nology, boasting more than 60 reference plants with single-stream capacities ranging from 500 mt/d to 3,850 mt/d.

In 2004, after the integration of Norsk Hydros fertilizers activities into Yara Inter-national, an independent company, Yaras decision to focus strictly on its core busi-ness (production and marketing of fertiliz-ers) led to the divestment of its urea fluid bed granulation licensing business. In 2005 Uhde Fertilizer Technology acquired the ex-clusive worldwide rights to further license the technology without any restrictions. Thus UFT has taken over the heritage of the com- pany who developed the urea fluid bed granulation technology.

Based on intensive research and develop-ment and based on the experience from more than 60 plants in operation this su- perior technology has been further improved and optimized by UFT.

There are now fluid bed granulation plants based on UFTs technology on all five con-tinents, and new capacities are constantly being added.

UFT urea fluid bed granulation capacity (1975 2013)

Contract year

mt/

d

1975

150,000

120,000

90,000

60,000

30,000

0150 3,500

6,000

15,00025,100

68,800

99,700

137,800

165,000

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2013

5

Others

>80%

UFT fluid bed granulation plants operate under a

wide variety of different climatic conditions all over

the world. UFTs share of the market for fluid bed

granulation technologies is more than 80% with

respect to overall production capacity in operation.

Customer Location Capacity Special Features

CFI USA 2 x 3,500 mt/d Repeated Orders after 1996, capacity 2,000 mtpd

Qafco (5 & 6) Qatar 2 x 3,850 mt/d Qafco 3 & 4: UFT granulation plants as well

AOFP Algeria 2 x 3,850 mt/d Design capacity: 2 x 4,200 mt/d with acidic scrubbing

Petrobras Brazil 3,600 mt/d Ammonia Convert Technology

Safco 5 Saudi Arabia 3,600 mt/d Safco 1,2,3 & 4: UFT granulation plants as well

CNOOC P.R. China 2,700 mt/d Biggest plant in P.R. China

AFC, EFC & MOPCO Egypt 3 x 2,000 mt/d

Remarkable reference plants:

For more details see separate list of reference plants which can be downloaded from the UFT homepage under http://www.uhde-fertilizer-technology.com/publications.html

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Process description Features of the granulation process

process condensate

acid

recycle to

formaldehyde

urea solution

atomization air

to atmosphere

to storage

air

air

fluidization air

ammoniumsalt solution

process condensate

process condensate

GranulatorDust Scrubber

GranulatorAmmoniaScrubber

Tank

Cooler Scrubber

Feed solution, which is typically a 97% urea solution, is dispensed to the injection heads where it is finely atomized up into the bed ofmoving particles, assisted by air.

Fluidization air, delivered by a fan under the perforated plate, flows through the product layer to create a fluid bed and is discharged at the granulator top.

Granular urea flows at a controlled rate fromthe granulator to a fluid bed cooler. After cooling, the granules are lifted to the screen- ing section using a bucket elevator.

The fines fraction is recycled directly to the granulator, while the coarse material is crushed before being sent to the granulator as seeding particles.

The on-size product is sent to the ware-house after final cooling. Cooling the urea to a constant and sufficiently low storage temperature is a key parameter in avoiding caking.

Features of the granulation processIn UFTs process, the granulation mode is accretion. This means that particles grow through the solidification of tiny droplets on the seed material. The result is a very hard granule, far superior in quality than granules produced through layering or agglomeration-based processes.

This slow accretion process is unique in permitting the water present in the urea solution to be thoroughly stripped on a con-tinuous basis, resulting in the end product having a remarkably low moisture content.

The solids recycle ratio, which at 0.5:1 is very low and stable, is another significant feature as it eliminates the need to over-design the solids recycle loop equipment. The low recycle ratio is acceptable as it only plays a minor role in the granulator heat balance.

The bulk of the crystallization heat released as the urea solidifies is removed by evapo-rating the water in the urea solution. This method of heat release limits the amount of fluidized air and the evaporation is highly efficient because it takes place directly on the granule surface.

Operation of the fluid bed granulation plant is simple and very reliable, guaranteeing a high on-stream factor. The granulator itself contains no moving parts, and its design is optimized to limit downtimes for cleaning to a strict minimum.

The use of solids handling equipment is minimized to increase the reliability and availability of the fluid bed granulation plant and to reduce maintenance costs.

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process condensate

acid

recycle to

formaldehyde

urea solution

atomization air

to atmosphere

to storage

air

air

fluidization air

ammoniumsalt solution

process condensate

process condensate

GranulatorDust Scrubber

GranulatorAmmoniaScrubber

Tank

Cooler Scrubber

1)

1) Depending on site conditions, Bulk Flow Cooler can be applied as alternative.

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EmissionsAttractive options for reducing emissions

Urea dustThe air from the granulator and the fluid bed coolerscontains some urea dust which is easy to catch in standard scrubbing equipment. Efficiencies of more than 99.8% are easily obtained using industrially prov-en scrubbers, with dust outlet concentrations of less than 0.1 kg per ton of urea produced being achieved.

Typically the urea dust is recovered as a 45% solution and recycled to the evaporation unit in the urea syn-thesis plant.

Horizontal Cross Flow Scrubbing System The preferred scrubbing system of horizontal cross flow scrubbers with specially designed scrubbing pads of the company Kimre, an expert in manufacturing of highly efficient phase separation technology, reduces the pressure drop to much lower values compared to other scrubbing technologies, while further improving

the emission figures. This scrubber technology is ex-clusively available in combination with UFT fluid bed technology. An extra feature of the horizontal design is the clear separation between the dust removal section and acid handling in order to avoid back-mixing and cross-contamination of the two streams.

Beside these advantages further important aspects of the horizontal design are to the benefit of the customer. Based on the design the overall power consumption is essentially lower compared to a standard scrubber design and in case a further reduction of urea fine dust particles is required the horizontal scrubber can be ex-tended by the AEROSEP stage with a very limited ad-ditional pressure drop. This allows UFT to provide a tailor made scrubbing design exactly to needs of the clients.

AmmoniaThe majority of the ammonia is carried with the urea solution from the urea synthesis plant. As the amount is dictated by the equilibrium achieved during the evapo-ration process in the urea synthesis plant, it cannot be influenced. A small part is generated by the biuret for-mation occurring in the transfer line between the urea synthesis plant and the granulator in the urea granula-tion plant.

The ammonia is released into the exhaust air leaving the granulator when the urea solution is sprayed into the fluidized bed. The standard wet scrubbing system is able to catch nearly all the urea dust. However, it isunable to catch the ammonia as the solubility of am-monia in an aqueous urea solution under the prevailing operating conditions is limited.

The following options are available for reducing ammonia emissions:

a) UFTs proprietary Ammonia Abatement SystemThe ammonia abatement system is based on the re-versible gas phase reaction between ammonia and for-maldehyde. The free ammonia is captured from the exhaust air leaving the granulator and is recovered in the urea synthesis. As a result, ammonia emissions arereduced by up to 40 %. No additional scrubbing agent is required and the additional investment and operating costs are negligible.

Emission Achievable urea dust emission < 20 mg/Nm air

(with horizontal cross flow scrubbing system)

Traces(with AEROSEP stage)

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urea solution

urea solution

exhaust air with urea dust & ammonia

ammonia < 15 mg / Nm to atmosphere

urea granulesN > 46 %wt.S < 0.1 %wt.

recycleprocess

condensate

make up

acid

Battery Limits

Granulation

Combined Dust and

Acidic Scrubbing System

Recycle Evaporation

Urea Synthesis Plantincl. Evaporation

Process diagram of Ammonia Convert Technology (ACT)

b) Acidic Scrubbing, e. g. with sulfuric acid as scrubbing agent

Dilute sulfuric acid is used as the scrubbing agent in anacid scrubbing stage installed downstream of the dust scrubbing section. The gaseous ammonia is absorbed in the diluted acid, and an ammonium sulfate (AS) so-lution is obtained as an additional side stream. This sidestream has to be subjected to further treatment or dis-posed of both options taking place outside the battery limits of the urea granulation plant. As a result, ammo-nia emissions are reduced by approx. 90% and more.

c) UFTs proprietary Ammonia Convert TechnologyThe Ammonia Convert Technology is based on an acid scrubbing stage and recycling of the ammonium salt ob-tained back into the final product.

A special arrangement in the scrubbing system allows the ammonium salt and the washed out dust to be re-cycled to a separate small recycle vacuum evaporation section within the urea granulation plant. The concen-trated mixture of urea and ammonium sulphate will be mixed with the urea solution coming from the vacuum evaporation in the urea synthesis plant.

As no recycle flow to the urea synthesis plant is required,investment and operating costs within the urea synthe-sis plant are reduced. The process condensate from

the recycle vacuum evaporation section is fed directly into the combined acidic and dust scrubbing system as make-up water.

The urea granules contain traces of ammonium sulfate, the presence of the micronutrient is resulting in an up-grading of the fertilizer. Ammonia emissions are reduced by approx. 90% and more.

The advantages of the Ammonia Convert Technology are:

Drastically reduced ammonia emissions

No side stream of acidic scrubbing solution to be disposed of

Nitrogen content in the urea fertilizer above 46%

Upgraded product quality due to an additional nutrient in the product

Significant savings in production costs per ton and per annum

The most stringent environmental regulations can easily be met, additional production is achieved, and the companys image in the community is improved.

Emission Achievable ammonia emission 15 mg/Nm air

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UFT activitiesStandard, Mega and Jumbo plants

production achieved so far in a UFT fluid bed granula-tion plant is more than 4,200 mt/d.

UFT is the only licensor who can offer proven tech- nology for mega plants.

Market demands for further reductions in investment costs per ton of production have resulted in continuous increases to individual plant sizes.

Based on its experience in the design and commission-ing of world-scale plants, with capacities of 3,500 to 4,000 mt/d, UFT has developed a process schematic for single-line urea granulation plants with capacities of 4,200 to 6,000 mt/d, the so-called jumbo plants.

As equipment sizes increase dramatically in such en-ormous plants, UFT has created tools used especially for designing the granulator. These tools allow the design to be optimized with regard to process and mechanical parameters (please refer to page 12). One of these tools, a model based on the Finite Element Method (FEM), is used to perform and optimize the mechanical design of the granulator lower and upper casing.

The layout is based on a product flow-oriented design in which the product is only moved by gravity flow once it has been lifted to the screening level. The ad-vantages are short paths for the product and the air flow and therefore minimized investment cost. A typical layout for a 5,000 mt/d fluid bed urea granulation plant has been drawn up based on the equipment design and resulting equipment sizes (refer to the figure above).

Licensing and process designWith more than 60 plants in operation and a market share of more than 80% of the plant capacity in opera-tion, the fluid bed urea granulation technology licensed by Uhde Fertilizer Technology has been setting the world market standard for granular urea for more than three decades.

UFT provides the license, the process design included in the Process Design Package, and the Granulator Lower Casing as proprietary equipment, and offers ad-ditional services, e.g. operator training and operational support.

As a general rule, urea granulation plants can be split into three classes based on annual production capacity:

Standard plants Mega plants Jumbo plants

Plants producing less than 1 million metric tons per year are classed as standard plants.

Plants producing between 1 and 1.3 million metric tons per year (approx 3,000 to 3,850 mt/d) in a single line are classed as mega plants. In total, UFT has already designed 21 plants with a capacity of more than 3,000 mt/d - eight of them are in operation, four are under construction, and nine are in the engineering phase.

The biggest single line plant in operation to date has a name plate capacity of 3,850 mt/d. The highest daily

3D plant model of a Jumbo plant

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UFT activitiesTailored revamps and further UFT activities

Small revamps (10 to 15%) in UFTs fluid bed granu-lation plants are easy to implement if spare fluidization air is available. In this case the urea spray system can cope with the extra capacity without needing to be modified.

However, larger revamps are also easy to implement. The main item, the granulator, can be upgraded by increasing the number of urea sprayers installed in the granulator using part of the granulators existing cooling section. The residual cooling section in the granulator can be enlarged by adding an additional cooling section which must have additional fluidization air. All other equipment has to be adapted to the new capacity required on a case by case basis. This may involve increasing the cooling capacity of the fluid bed coolers, expanding the screening surface, or boosting the scrubber capacity. Several UFT granulation plants have been revamped in the past, ranging from revamps for minor capacity increases of 10% at PCS Trinidad, to major capacity increases of more than 40%, such as the one for Yara Belle Plaine, Canada, formerly Saskferco, or for ABF, Malaysia. The latter example has already undergone two revamps, increasing the capacity by more than 60%.

The Yara Belle Plaine plant in Canada is operating at more than 3,000 mt/d and a total annually production capacity of 1 million tons.

Further activitiesR & D is one of UFTs major activities. Its main objec-tives are to improve and optimize the renowned fluid bed granulation technology and to keep it in line with market requirements.

In this context UFT cooperates with universities and research institutes worldwide.

The ability to carry out tests in pilot plant scale facili-ties, coupled with the experience gained from operating plants for selected customers, allows R & D results to be implemented in industrial scale plants.

UFT also provides after-sales service, including opera-tional support, troubleshooting and spare part delivery. UFT is at the customers disposal at all times to suit the customers requirements.

Remarkable reference plants for revamps:

Customer Location increase from

KAFCO Bangladesh 1,725 to 2,100 mt/d

EFC Egypt 2,000 to 2,250 mt/d

ABF Malaysia 1,500 to 2,450 mt/d

Yara Belle Plaine Canada 2,000 to 2,850 mt/d

PCS Nitrogen Trinidad 1,620 to 1,800 mt/d

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The granulator is the key component in every granulation plant. The granulator is comprised of the Granulator Upper Casing and the Granulator Lower Casing including the urea injection system.

UFT delivers the Granulator Lower Casing as a com-plete factory-pre-assembled package unit, and is con-sequently involved in every phase from engineering, to expediting and inspection, to delivery of the Granulator Lower Casing, as well as cooperating with selected manufacturers.

The delivery of the Granulator Lower Casing as pro-prietary equipment, UFTs outstanding experience in granulator design spanning over thirty years, and the feedback from the 60+ granulators designed ensure the highest possible quality standards.

UFT has gone to enormous lengths to optimize the design of the granulator. For example, fluid dynamic calculations were performed to optimize the fluidiza-tion air flow supply to the granulator lower casing, and the exhaust air flow to the downstream scrubbing system. As a result, UFT offers a granulator design

which provides excellent product quality while boasting low investment costs and low operating costs per ton of urea.

FEM (Finite Element Method) models have been devel- oped to optimize the mechanical design of the Granu-lator Upper and Lower Casing under prevailing design conditions, such as design pressure and earthquake factors, and to minimize the weight of the granulator upper and lower casing while maintaining higher me-chanical stability.

Based on UFTs proprietary design tools, UFT offers as optional supply the detail engineering and the delivery of the Granulator Upper Casing. The design and the delivery of the complete Granulator from one source results in the optimum fit and the highest mechanical stability. At the same time weight and therefore invest-ment cost for the equipment and the necessary foun-dation can be reduced.

This means that UFT is able to make customized de-signs for all plant sizes, especially for mega and jumbo plant size granulators.

UFT activitiesGranulator design by UFT

CFD Simulation of Air

Flows through Granulator FEM lifting study of Granulator Lower Casing

FEM Model of Granulator Upper Casing

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ProductsThe UFT fluid bed granulation process can produce all required product sizes within an average diameter range of 2 to 8 mm, e.g. 2 to 4 mm (standard granule) or 4 to 8 mm (large granule), in the same plant with only minimum adjustments.

Product characteristics Urea granules produced in the fluid bed have a well rounded shape and are very hard. They are particularly resistant to crushing and abrasion, and are conse-quently dust-free, non-caking and completely free flowing, even after long storage times and frequent handling and shipping.

Specification (Typical)

Consumption figures The consumption figures largely depend on the climatic conditions on site, local environmental regulations, the end-product storage temperature, and the overall plant energy management system.

Application Granular urea can be substituted for prilled urea in all applications. Urea granules have a number of superior features as a result of their excellent physical charac-teristics: Granules can be stored in bulk and transported in

large volumes without loss or quality degradation Granular urea is particularly suitable for bulk

blending operations; segregation or mechanical damage during mixing and transport is virtually nil

The larger granules have improved agronomical efficiency, particularly when used in paddy rice fer-tilization, and are also suitable for aerial spreading

Standard size Large size

Total nitrogen 46.3 wt % 46.3 wt %

Biuret 0.7-0.8 wt % 0.7-0.8 wt %

Moisture 0.2 wt % 0.3 wt %

Crushing strength 4.1 kg (:3 mm) 10.0 kg (:7 mm)

Average diameter 3.2 mm 6.3 mm

Size distribution 95 wt % (2-4 mm) 95 wt % (4-8 mm)

Formaldehyde 0.4 wt % 0.4 wt %

Electric power 25 kWh/mt 1)

LP stream 35 kg/mt

Process water 0.2 m/mt

Cooling water none

1) depending on climatic conditions

Facts and figures

Mega plant

Typical Specific Consumption

Left photo: Urea product

Right photo: Mega plant

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Outstanding Experience

Excellent product quality, setting world market standard for granular urea

Proven technology for more than 30 years

With more than 60 UFT granulation plants worldwide operating under all climatic conditions, and a world-wide market share with respect to operating capacity of more than 80%

UFT is the only licensor of urea granulation tech- nology to have licensed 21 urea granulation plants with equal or higher capacities than 3,000 mt/d, eight of them are in operation, four are under con-struction and nine are in the engineering phase (first commissioning in 2004 / max. achieved capacity of 4200 mt/d in a single line).

Excellent Design Features

Single-stream capacities which are always large enough to handle the largest urea synthesis units developed to date.

High operating flexibility

Customized design in terms of product quality, environmental requirements, minimum investment cost, low operating cost, local conditions and com-petent support during the life cycle of the plant

Various alternative plant concepts for small and medium urea granulation plants available. These plant concepts and the equipment in the required size are already proven in UFT granulation plants.

Use of a typical 97% urea solution, coupled with low recycle ratios to the urea synthesis plant, results in the design of the upstream urea concentration unit, and of its related desorption/hydrolysis section in the urea synthesis plant, being simplified considerably:

- only single-stage evaporation downstream of the urea solution buffer tank,

- reduced steam and cooling water consumption, - minimized electrical power consumption, - reduced investment and operating costs for the

urea synthesis plant.

Based on the horizontal cross flow scrubbing system developed by Kimre and UFT the electrical power consumption can be minimized.

Compact layout for maximum operability with minimum investment costs

As the heart of the urea granulation plant, the granulator, has no moving parts, the entire operation is highly reliable and simple.

Maximum use of gravity flow as a means of trans-port inside the battery limit

Advantages of UFTs Fluid Bed Granulation Process

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Excellent Operating Features

Its outstanding flexibility permits virtually all requested product size within an average diameter range of 2 to 8 mm, to be produced in the same plant with only minimum adjustments.

Start ups and shut downs are simple.

Operating with a urea solution concentration as low as typically 97% allows the biuret content of the granules to be maintained at a level significantly lower than that of other granulation processes, thereby improving the product quality.

Easy operation, reduces manpower to a strict minimum.

Operation and maintenance costs are low.

Maximum on-stream factor

Outstanding Environmental Features

No liquid effluents are released into the sewers from the urea granulation plant.

Efficient control of atmospheric emissions com- patible with the most stringent environmental regulations

A dust removal efficiency of more than 99.8% can be reached consistently with proven wet scrubbers.

UFT offers highly efficient and industrially proven schemes for ammonia emission reduction such as:

a) UFTs proprietary Ammonia Abatement System, ammonia emissions are reduced by up to 40%,

b) Acidic Scrubbing with e. g. sulfuric acid, ammo-nia emissions are reduced by approx. 90% and more,

c) UFTs proprietary Ammonia Convert Technology, ammonia emissions are reduced by approx. 90% and more, avoiding any side stream by recycling of the ammonium salt from the acidic scrubbing into the final product. This combines minimized emissions with remarkable economic benefits.

The combined urea dust and ammonia emission reduction by the horizontal cross flow scrubbing sys-tem (Kimre and UFT development) can achieve very low emission figures and a simultaneously reduced pressure drop. This leads to lower investment and operating cost.

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Uhde Fertilizer Technology B.V.

Noordhoven 19 6042 NW Roermond The Netherlands

Tel.: +31 475 399 770 Fax: +31 475 399 777

www.uhde-fertilizer-technology.com

CoverContentCompany profileUFT fluid bed granulation Plants throughout the worldProcess description Features of the granulation processEmissions Attractive options for reducing emissionsUFT activities Standard, Mega and Jumbo plantsUFT activities Tailored revamps and further UFT activitiesUFT activities Granulator design by UFTFacts and figuresAdvantages of UFTs Fluid Bed Granulation ProcessBack