Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Carlos M. Genoud
Ftrbrica de Fertilizantes PETROSUR, Pasa Petroqulmica Argentina S.A., Ruta 9,
K m 79.4,2804 Campana, Argentina
This paper is concerned with the physicochemical and mathematical modeling of a urea synthesis
reactor for simulation and optimization purposes, and with the computer implementation of a
reactor simulation module. Simulation results are compared with data from a production-scale
plant. The agreement between predicted and observed reactor sensitivity to changes in its operating
conditions is also discussed. The module allows comparison of the performance of reactors with
different configurations and different degrees of concentration back-mixing.
However, dissolved COZ and NH3 react according to a Table I. Assignment of Subscripts to System Components
complex chemical reaction scheme. Therefore, the equi- subscript component subscript component
librium yield of urea depends not only on the value of the 1 5 HCOa-
H2O
overall synthesis reaction constant but also on those of 2 "3 6 H2NCOO-
the other competing reactions. 3 c02 7 HzNCOOH
Experimental data reported independently by several
authors show that the equilibrium conversion of COz to
urea increases with increasing temperatures in the range
160 "C < T < 180 "C, showing a trend opposite that
predicted by considering the overall synthesis reaction
alone. These data have been used to adjust a correlating
expression between temperature, the initial NH3/C02 and
HzO/C02 mole ratios, and the equilibrium yield of urea
(Gorlovskii and Kucheryavyi, 1980).
Usually, the synthesis reactor is operated at tempera-
tures close to the critical temperature of the reacting
CO,(1) + 2NH3(l) - H,NCOO- + NH4+ (4)
H,0(1) Q HO- + H+
1
The temperature dependence of the pure liquid refer-
ence fugacity of NH3 at zero pressure was approximated
with the expression
In f20(T)= (A,/T) + A, In T + A3T + A, (18)
where f2O is in kPa and T is in K.
i
The temperature dependence of the pure liquid refer-
ence fugacity of C02 at zero pressure, f3O, was approximated
by an expression of the same type as that adopted for f2"
(eq 18). Considering the limiting form of the UNIQUAC C O N D E F
expression of the activity coefficient of C02 in the rational
symmetric scale taken as X I - 1, it was shown that the T
expression giving the temperature dependence of Henry's
constant of C02 in water, at the pure water vapor pressure,
H ~ Jis, given by (Isla et al., 1993)
+
In H3,1(T)= (B1/T) B2 In T + B3T + B4- 43731 (19)
t3
t, ei- e-l,iVc..a:RLj;
=
r=6
r=4
j = 1, 2, ...,N - 1 (23)
Figure 2. Urea synthesis reactor. Model scheme.
03. partial molal enthalpies of all components in each subset of fast reactions
inlet and outlet stream 5 6
04. temperature, detailed concentration, and partial K~(T;) = ~ z , r ( 4 , 2 , 4 , 2 , c~y,r(~;,c6,2,eU,2,tU,2)
t,~
molal enthalpy profiles for the downcoming carbamate
stream and the upgoing urea stream along the reactor r = 4, 5. The calculated state vector (TY,~t,~,ek,~,et,~) is
05. local rate of the synthesis reaction along the reactor also the current state vector of stage 2 of the urea sequence.
06. local heat flow along the reactor S12. With the current state vector (Ty,e4U,2,ek,2,eb,2),
07. highest local bubble pressure the enthalpy flow associated with the stream leaving stage
08. outlet conversion and final approach to equilibrium 2 of the urea sequence can be calculated.
Option 1. Solution Strategy. The solution of the
mathematical model proceeds through the followingsteps. S13. The local heat flow between the downcoming
S1. Enthalpy flows of all inlet streams, except that of carbamate stream and the upgoing urea stream in stage
the carbamate recycle stream, are calculated. l,Q1, can be computed as the difference between the stage
S2. An initial estimated value of the synthesis reaction outlet and inlet enthalpy flows of the urea stream (already
extent in the product stream, e&, is chosen. calculated in 54 and S12, respectively).
S14. The outlet enthalpy flow from stage 1 of the
53. With the current value of e& and the input value
of TY, the detailed composition of the outlet stream is carbamate sequence, e, can be estimated as the alge-
braic sum of the stage inlet enthalpy flow, e, and the
calculated by means of the chemical equilibrium rela-
tionships for the subset of fast reactions local heat flow 81, i.e.,
U 4 5 6
Kr(TY) = Kz,r(e6,1,eL,l,et,l)K,,r(Tl ~cu,1~eu,1~cu,1) @=$+Ql
r = 4,5, the resulting state vector (TY, is also S15. The temperature of stage 1 of the carbamate
the current state vector of stage 1of the urea sequence.
S4. With the current state vector (TY,e~,l,e~,l,~~,l), the
sequence, e,
can be calculated by solving the system of
nonlinear equations
enthalpy flow associated with the stream leaving stage 1
of the urea sequence, HY, can be calculated.
S5. The enthalpy flow associated with the carbamate
~r(c)
= Kz,r(e&,e;,l) Ky,r(G,&,&,l)
Q[ = ( U A ) l ( c - TIT)
This set of three equations in the unknowns TCR,e&, and
can be solved for every value of HCRobtained in 55. If their difference is larger than the required precision, a
57. The enthalpy flow at the outlet of the adiabatic new estimated value of TY is chosen and calculations are
mixing chamber (j = 0), $, can be calculated as the sum resumed back a t step S11. The procedure is repeated
of the enthalpy flows of the streams at the inlet of that until convergence.
chamber. S17. Steps S9 to S16 are repeated for j = 2,3, ...,N -
S8. The temperature of the adiabatic mixing chamber 1 instead of j = 1, and j = 3, 4, ...,N instead of j = 2,
of the carbamate sequence, e,
can be calculated by
solving the system of nonlinear equations
successively. If the value of etfl thus obtained differs
from 0 by an amount larger than the precision required,
~r(c) = ~ z , j - ( e & , & , o ) Ky,r(cte&,&J
then calculations are resumed back at step 53 with a new
estimated value of the synthesis reaction extent in the
r = 4,5, together with product stream, e&. The procedure is repeated until
i=8
convergence.
= ~ F & ( E : , o , c ; p ) fii(c$&,E;,o) It should be noticed that the proposed computational
131 scheme guarantees stage-by-stage closure of both mass
This set of three equations in the unknowns
4,g can be solved for every value of @ obtained in S7.
ande, and energy balances.
Option 2. Solution Strategy. The solution strategy
9. With the results obtained in S3, the rate of the
for option 2 is quite similar to that for option 1. They only
differ in the following few steps.
synthesis reaction in stage 1of the urea sequence, Rt,l,
and the extent of reaction et,2 at the outlet of stage 2 can S1. Enthalpy flows of all inlet streams are calculated.
be calculated. Their sum equals the enthalpy flow of the product outlet
S10. The value of the temperature of the stream leaving stream, HY.
stage 2, TY, is guessed. S3. With the current value of et,,
and the value of
,911. With the current values of et,? and TY, the HY obtained from S1, the temperature and the detailed
detailed composition of the outlet stream is calculated by composition of the outlet stream is calculated by solving
means of the chemical equilibrium relationships for the the following set of equations:
70 ------ COIL INSIDE
0 200
0 - -MAIN CAVITY - 75
e
3
L 65
8
G
U I 1 I I I I 1
W
P 0 20 40 60
% OF REACTOR HEIGHT
80 100
about 197 "C. This needs an adequate temperature at the version of COZto urea increases with increasing outlet
coil inlet which in practice is controlled by the carbamate reactor temperature, but the effect is attenuated as the
recycle temperature. This temperature has to be adopted outlet temperature approaches the maximum allowable
when running the program in simulation mode, and is an value of 200 OC.
output variable when the module is used in design mode. The effect of the outlet temperature on the carbamate
The impact of the coil surface available for counter- recycle temperature follows a trend similar to that of the
current heat exchange between the feed stream and the C02 conversion to urea. For every 1-deg change in the
mixture in the urea synthesis section is shown in Table output temperature there is a corresponding change of
IV. between 2 and 3 deg in the carbamate recycle temperature.
Table V shows the impact of the reactor outlet tem- The approach to the equilibrium value of the exit
perature on other important operating variables. Con- conversion of CO2 to urea, defined as
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 32, No. 11, 1993 2679
Table 111. Reactor Simulation Module Performance. Acknowledgment
plant this Financial support from Pasa Petroqu-mica Argentina
reactor simulator
S.A., Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y
carbamate recycle temp ("C) 108.8 106.9 TBcnicas, and Universidad Nacional del Litoral is grate-
mixing chamber outlet temp ("(2) 178.4 179.3 fully acknowledged.
main cavity inlet temp ("C) 182.5 182.6
main cavity temp at 1/2reactor height ("C) 196.2 196.9
C02 to urea conversion (%) 67.8 67.5 Nomenclature
a Comparison with plant data for usual operating conditions (see Aj = jth parameter in the correlation of pure liquid reference
Table 11). fugacity of ammonia with temperature
Table LV. Influence of (UA)on Reactor Performance. aij = UNIQUAC binary interaction parameters between
components i and j
lO-'UA reactor outlet conversion main cavity Bj = jth parameter in the correlation of Henry's constant of
W/K) temp ("C) (%) mean temp ("C) carbon dioxide in water with temperature
0 193.1 65.4 189.9 CT = total molar concentration in the liquid phase
2.5 193.0 66.9 192.6 C k , r 4 t h parameter in the correlation of the equilibrium
5.0 192.6 68.1 195.7 constant of chemical reaction r with temperature
7.5 192.6 69.1 199.6
CSTR = continuous stirred tank reactor
Feed and other operating conditions are the same as in Table 11. e = molar flow rate of component i fed at the reactor bottom
= molar flow rate of component i fed at the reactor top
Table V. Influence of Reactor Outlet Temperature on COz
to Urea Conversion. ci = molar flow rate of component i leaving stage j in the
carbamate sequence
outlet carbamate conversion approach to
temp ("C) recycletemp ("C) (5%) equilib conversion (%) F& = molar flow rate of component i in the recycle stream
187.5 91.5 64.0 91.0 F:i = molar flow rate of component i leaving stage j in the
190.0 99.0 65.8 93.7 urea sequence
192.5 105.9 67.3 95.8 6 = pure liquid reference fugacity of component i at zero
195.0 112.1 68.2 97.3 pressure
197.5 117.8 68.9 98.3 Ri = partial molal enthalpy of component i
200.0 123.1 69.2 98.9
= partial molal enthalpy of component i at stage j of the
a Feed and other operating conditions are the same as in Table 11. carbamate sequence
R:i = partial molal enthalpy of component i at stage j of the
urea sequence
= enthalpy flow associated with the stream leaving stage
j of the carbamate sequence
is also favored by an outlet temperature increase. For HY = enthalpy flow associated with the stream leaving stage
outlet temperatures in the usual range, the approach to j of the urea sequence
equilibrium is always larger than 90% under average = enthalpy flow at the outlet of the adiabatic mixing
operating Conditions. chamber
Simulation results summarized in Table VI accurately mcj= heat of reaction r at stage j of the carbamate
reproduce the unfavorable effect of excess water on the sequence
final yield found in practice. muj= heat of reaction r at stage j of the urea sequence
H ~= J Henry's constant of component i in solvent j
Conclusions K, = equilibrium constant of chemical reaction r
It = reaction rate constant
The reactor simulator has been tested against operating N = total number of stages
data from a production-scale plant. The response to P = pressure
different sets of input variables was accurate and fast. Pv,i = vapor pressure of component i
The computational algorithm developed is simple and Qj = heat exchanged locally between the carbamate stream
robust. These features make the module a useful tool to and the urea stream at stage j
perform parametric studies in a short computing time. qi= UNIQUAC surface parameter of component i
Predicted trends reproduce the reactor sensitivity to Rr = rate of reaction r
changes in NHdC02 and H20/C02 feed mole ratios, as RLj = rate of reaction r at stage j of the carbamate sequence
well as to the carbamate recycle temperature observed in RLj = rate of reaction r at stage j of the urea sequence
practice. RG = gas constant
The module allows testing of different reactor config- T = absolute temperature
urations and estimation of the degree of concentration = temperature of the stream leaving stage j in the
back-mixing in operating equipment. carbamate sequence
Table VI. Influence of Water Content in Carbamate Recycle Stream on COa to Urea Conversion.
H2O mass flow in carbamate carbamate recycle carbamate recycle stream composition (% w/w) C02 to urea
recvcle stream (ke/h) stream mass flow (kn/hl NHa cog Hz0 urea conversion ( % )
4000 21 045 42.29 37.49 19.01 1.21 68.6
4500 21 545 41.31 36.62 20.89 1.18 67.8
5000 22 045 40.37 35.79 22.68 1.16 67.1
5500 22 545 39.48 34.99 24.40 1.13 66.3
6000 23 045 38.62 34.23 26.04 1.11 65.4
a Feed and other operating conditions are the same as in Table 11.
2680 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 32, No. 11, 1993
TY = temperature of the stream leaving stage j in the urea Hatch, T. F.; Pigford, R. L. Simultaneous Absorption of Carbon
sequence Dioxide and Ammonia in Water. Znd. Eng. Chem. Fundam. 1962,
1 (3),209-214.
UA = product of the overall heat-transfer coefficient U and Isla, M. A.; Irazoqui, H. A.; Genoud, C. M. Simulation of a Urea
the coil heat-transfer area A Synthesis Reactor. 1. Thermodynamic Framework. Znd. Eng.
Chem. Res. 1993,preceding paper in this issue.
VC= stage volume in the carbamate sequence Jojima, T.; Inoue, S.; Uchino, H. Improvements in Urea Manufac-
VU = stage volume in the urea sequence turing Plant-Reduced Production Cost and Pollution. Presented
vi = liquid molal volume of component i
at the Fourth International Conference on Fertilizer Technology,
London, 1981.
u p = liquid molal volume of component i at infinite dilution Jojima, T.; Uchino, H.; Hashimoto, K. Urea Plant Revamp-Energy
x i = mole fraction of component i in the liquid phase Conservation.Presented at the Ammonium Nitrate Polution Study
Group Meeting, Williamsburg, VA, 1982.
x = array of the mole fractions in the liquid phase Kummel, K.; Kugler, L.; Beudel, H.; Jasche, K. Research on the
yj = mole fraction of component i in the gas phase Kinetics of the Urea Formation Reaction. Chem. Tech. 1981,33
(9),463-465.
y = array of the mole fractions in the gas phase Lemkowitz, S.M.; de Cooker, M. G. R. T.; van den Berg, P. J. Some
Fundamental Aspecta of Urea Technology. Meeting of The
Greek Letters Fertiliser Society; Alembic House: London, 1972.
Lemkowitz, S. M.; de Cooker, M. G. R.; van den Berg, P. J. An
af= stoichiometric coefficient of component i in reaction r EmpiricalThermodynamic Modelfor the Ammonia-Water-Carbon
yi= activity coefficient of component i; rational symmetric Dioxide System at Urea Synthesis Conditions. J. Appl. Chem.
convention Biotechnol. 1973,23,63-76.
Nakamura, R.; Breedveld, G. J. F.; Prausnitz, J. M. Thermodynamic
yio = activity coefficientof component i; rational unsymmetric Properties of Gas Mixtures Containing Common Polar and
convention Nonpolar Components. Znd. Eng. Chem. Process Des. Dev. 1976,
e k j = extent of reaction r at stage j of the carbamate sequence 15 (4),557-584.
Sander, B.; Fredenslund, A,; Rasmussen, P. Calculation of Vapor
= extent of reaction r at stage j of the urea sequence Liquid Equilibria in Mixed-Solvent Salt Systems Using an
ai= fugacity coefficient of component i in the gas phase ExtendedUNIQUAC Equation. Chem. Eng. Sci. 1986,41(3),1171-
1183.
Stamicarbon Staff. Stamicarbon Carbon Dioxide Stripping Urea
Literature Cited Process. In Handbook of ChemicalsProduction Processes; Meyers,
R. A., Ed.; McGraw-Hill: New York, 1986,Section 3.11.
Anderson,T. F.; Abrams, D. S.;Grens, E. A. Evaluation of Parameters Uchino, H. Toyo Urea Process-Advanced Process for Cost and
for Nonlinear Thermodynamic Models. AIChE J. 1978,24 (l), Energy Savings. In Handbook of Chemicals ProductionProcesses;
20-29. Meyers, R. A., Ed.; McGraw-Hik New York, 1986;Section 3.12.
Buckingham, A. D.; Handy, N. C.; Rice, J. E.; Somasundram, K.; Weast, R. C., Ed. CRC Handbook of Chemical and Physics, 60th ed.;
Dijgraaf, C. Reactions Involving COz, HzO, and "3: The CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 1980; Section D.
Formation of Carbamic Acid. J.Comput. Chem. 1986,7(3),283- Yoshimura, S. Optimize New Urea Process. Hydrocarbon Process.
293. 1970,49(6),111-113.
Chao, G. T. Urea, its Properties and Manufacture; Chao's Institute,
Ed.: Taipei, Taiwan, 1967.
Claudel, B.; Brousse, E.; Shehadeh, G. Novel Thermodynamic and Received for review February 8, 1993
Kinetic Investigation of Ammonium Carbamate Decomposition Revised manuscript received July I, 1993
into Urea. Thermochim. Acta 1986,102,357-371. Accepted July 14, 1993.
Gorlovskii,D. M.; Kucheryavyi, V. I. Equation for Determination of
the Equilibrium Degree of COz Conversion During Synthesis of * Abstract published in Advance ACS Abstracts, October 1,
Urea. Zh. Prikl. Khim. 1980,53 (ll), 2548-2551. 1993.