Urea Production

CHE 498
Nawaf Alwadani
Moayed Aqili
Outline

• What is Urea

• Uses of urea

• Environmental Impacts

• Social Impacts

• Economic Impacts
 What’s Urea

• Urea is an organic chemical compound.

is mostly created by the Haber-Bosch
process, which includes a reaction
between ammonia and carbon dioxide.
•
Urea, a crystalline solid also urea has a
high water solubility and a
comparatively high nitrogen content.
 Properties of Urea
Molecular formula CH4N2O

Molar mass 60.06 g/mol

Appearance White solid

Nitrogen content 46.6 %

Density 1.32g/cm3
Melting point 133-135 OC
Solubility in water 51.8 g/100 ml(20 OC)
71.7 g/100 ml (60 OC)
95 g/100 ml (120 OC )
Reaction state of urea Endothermic
 Agriculture/
Fertilizers

Industrial
Medical and
Applications
Pharmaceutical
Applications Such as:
Uses of
Such as: Topical Urea Dyes & Fuels and
Dermatological fuel additives
Treatments & Pigments
Inhibitor

Cosmetic and
Personal Care
Products
Economic of urea
• Urea trade is a vital and important business activity on a local and global level. Therefore,
urea production is one of the most important and basic industries in the industrial sector.
Below is some economic information about urea production.

• The global production of urea was

estimated to be around 150 –180 million
metric tons annually.

• Local production of urea 9.8 million metric

tons annually .

• The global price of urea today in 2023

ranges between 470 and 550 $ per ton

Urea exporting countries

IMPACTS OF PRODUCTION UREA

SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT ECONOMIC

• Environmental • Greenhouse • Price Volatility

Pollution Gas Emissions • Risk of
• Displacement • Air Pollution Overproduction
and Land Use • Water Resource
Issues Depletion
• Dependence on
Fossil Fuels:
Process of Urea Manufacturing
CO2
Raw
Materials
1- Raw materials NH3

2- Chemical reactions
3- Brief description of equipment in operation
in the process

4- Process flow sheet and description UREA

PRODUCTION
FLOWSHEET
Raw materials:
The raw materials required for the production of urea are primarily
ammonia (NH3) and carbon dioxide (CO2).

• Sources of ammonia and carbon dioxide:

We can obtain ammonia and carbon dioxide from a several sources.
Ammonia such as :
-Natural Gas Processing Plants
-Petroleum Refining Plants

carbon dioxide (CO2) :

- Power plants
Chemical reactions
• Urea is manufact by reacting ammonia and caron dioxide in autoclave to form
ammonium carbamate at operating temperature of 135 oC and pressure of 35 atm.

Urea production consists of main two reactions.

1. Formation of ammonium carbamate.
2. Dehydration of ammonium carbamate.

3. Undesirable side reaction

Biuret
%1> Not allowed
The equipment in process of urea
high pressure plunger pump:
is a type of positive displacement pump that is specifically designed
to generate high pressure.
At urea production This type is used in the urea industry to pump
ammonia into an autoclave reactor.

Compressors:
High-pressure reciprocating compressors are typically used in the
production of urea to compress carbon dioxide.
synthesis autoclave reactor

• The synthesis autoclave reactor is a high pressure

and high temperature reactor.

• In the urea production, ammonia and carbon

dioxide are introduced into the reactor, and they
are mixed at 180 °C and 185 °C.
Choke valves & Steam saving devices

Choke valves:
The purpose of these valves is to create a pressure drop or restriction in
the flow of reactants, such as ammonia (NH3) and carbon dioxide (CO2),
through the system.

Steam-saving device:
These devices aim to minimize steam consumption by recovering and
reusing waste heat from various sources within the urea plant.
flash evaporator & flash drum

Flash Drum: Due to the low pressure, it separates volatile

substances such as ammonia and carbon dioxide from the
urea.

Flash evaporators : Flash evaporators evaporate water and

remaining volatile materials at 27 atm and 140 °C to produce urea
with a concentration of 90%.
Prilling Tower

• prilling tower is a crucial piece of equipment

used in the final stage of the urea production
process. It is specifically used for the
solidification of urea into prills, which are small
spherical granules
Thank You for
listening
Any Questions?