Product Quality Control

LABORATORY UNIT
 Contents

o FINISHED PRODUCT ANALYSIS: MOISTURE, BIURET,

FINES, SIZE DISTRIBUTION, APS, etc.

o PACKING MATERIAL: UREA BAGS, LINER & THREAD

ANALYSIS

o DROP TEST & CAKING TENDENCY

o SONA UREA BAG FROM MARKET

o COMPETITOR’S UREA ANALYSIS

 Moisture

Impacts
• Lump Formation
• Fine Generation
• Deformation
• Decrease in Average Prill Size
• Difficult to disperse
• Decrease in value for farmer
• Financial impact
 Moisture

Monitoring
• Frequency: 8-hourly
• Limit: 0.45%
• Impact of Limit: Dispatch Closed & product diverted.
Time, Energy & Financial impact.
• Operational Steps
• Dispatch continue after re-analysis from lab after
adjusting plant parameters
 Biuret

Impacts
• Fine generation & decrease in APS
• Doesn’t dissolve in soil for days
• It decreases rate of nitrification of soil
• Reduces / eliminate plant growth
• Damages germinating seeds due to NH3 evolution
Yellowing & Damage due to Biuret
Biuret Damage
 Biuret

• Monitoring
• Frequency: 8-hourly
• Limit: 1.00%
• Impact of Limit: Dispatch Closed & product diverted.
Time, Energy & Financial impact.
• Dispatch continue after re-analysis from lab after
adjusting plant parameters
 Fines
• Chemically Fines & Product are the same
• Fines give bad image to customer
• It is difficult for manual sprinkle
• Fines stay on leaves and damage them
• Their dessolution is faster and hence urea doesn’t
distribute completely in the field
• It eventually effects economy & sale
• Company loses edge over competitors, who are now
sieving their product
 Fines
Monitoring
• Limit: 3.5%
• Impact of Limit: Dispatch Closed & product diverted.
Time, Energy & Financial impact.
• Operational Steps
• Dispatch continue after re-analysis from lab after
adjusting plant parameters
• Frequency: 8-hourly
 Size Distribution & APS
• Concept of Uniformity
SIZE Retention (%)
2.80 mm 2.6
2.36 mm 22.4
2.00 mm 67.1
1.70 mm 2.3
1.41 mm 1.2
1.00 mm 2.6
0.85 mm 0.7
0.60 mm 0.8
Receiving Pan 0.3
Fines 1.2
Average Prill Size 2.23 mm
 Size Distribution & APS
• Larger APS improves product look
• Larger APS creates hollow prills and generates fines,
so product has to be somewhere in between
 Other Parameters
• Iron
• Chromium
• Nickel
• Ash
2- Packing Material

•Bag
•Liner
•Thread
 Packing Material (Bag)

 Weight of Bag
 Length
 Width
 Stitch Margin
 Horizontal Threads
 Vertical Threads
 Ash
 Packing Material (Liner)

 Weight of Liner
 Length
 Width
 Seal Margin
 Foil Thickness
 OBD Additive
 Ash
 Packing Material (Thread)

Ply
Weight of
Thread
Twist per inch
Breaking
Strength
Drop Test
Drop Test
 Drop Test

Fines before
1.2 %
Drop Test
Fines after
2.5 %
Drop Test
Increase in
1.3 %
Fines
Dispatch-able
3.5 %
Limit
 Caking Tendency

Fines & Moisture act as cementing

material for Urea Prills
Caking Tendency
Caking Tendency
 Caking Tendency

Bags stacked for 6-

months
Caking occures
Analyzed for “Size”
to observe damage
due to “CAKING”
 SONA UREA BAG
FROM MARKET
Marketing makes surprise
visits all over Pakistan & sends
samples to us for testing
N %= 28/60 x 100 = 46.6 %
Actual Nitrogen is around
46%, guess why?
We once found Salt mixed in
Urea
 COMPETITOR UREA ANALYSIS

Moisture, Biuret, Size, Fines, APS are

tested in FFC, Engro, Fatima & DH
FFC is leading in Moisture & Biuret
Other industries lead in Fines & APS
due to ‘Sieving’