Urea is an important raw material for numerous industries. Due to its high nitrogen content, urea is used as a fertilizer and as a feed additive in agriculture. Urea also plays an important role in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. It is used in the production of resins and melamine or in personal care products (toothpaste, skincare products).
The production of urea takes place directly in conjunction with ammonia synthesis, as the starting materials are liquid ammonia and carbon dioxide. The combination of both processes enables resource-saving production. The inline measurement process LiquiSonic®enables urea concentration measurement at any time and ensures optimal operation of urea production.
LiquiSonic® Sound velocity measurement in urea
Application
Urea can be produced by numerous methods. A technical synthesis possibility for urea is the thermal conversion of ammonium carbamate, which is made from ammonia NH3 and carbon dioxide CO2 is obtained at a temperature of 200 °C and a pressure of 130 to 200 bar.
The reaction mixture (urea and ammonium carbamate) is relaxed to atmospheric pressure and freed from ammonium carbamate in distillation columns at 70 °C. Since the conversion is not complete, the ammonium carbamate still present in the reaction solution is stripped with CO2 into the starting materials NH3 and CO2 decomposed and these are fed back into the reactor. The urea solution is evaporated and the urea is crystallized under vacuum. For further processing, the crystallized urea is centrifuged and dried.
Installation
The LiquiSonic® immersion sensors can be easily installed at the outlet of the decomposer, typically in DN80 pipelines. The robust sensor construction and the choice of special materials ensure long process life of the system. The LiquiSonic® Controller 30 can be connected with up to 4 sensors. This makes it possible to monitor several measuring points simultaneously.
Typical measuring range:
Concentration range: 0 to 100 m%
Temperature range: -10 to 140 °C
Customer benefit
LiquiSonic®reduces time-consuming laboratory measurements:
- Time required: 1 hour per day
LiquiSonic®ensures resource-saving and optimal synthesis and increases production.
The quality control of urea is of enormous importance for further processing. LiquiSonic® enables the determination of the urea concentration at any time for seamless documentation and for maintaining consistent product quality. In case of disturbances and deviations, immediate action can be taken.
