IMPROVEMENT OF PERFORMANCE AND EFFICIENCY OF CARBAMIDE UNITS AT ODESSA PORT PLANT

Abstract

Carbamide (urea) is a highly liquid product representing the most concentrated nitrogen fertilizer. It is produced at large-scale chemical industry enterprises. A well-known manufacturer of granulated urea is Odessa Port Plant which has been operating two units on urea production since 1984 and 1985. They use the technology of «Stamicarbon» stripping process. Design daily capacity of each unit was 1000 tons. The plant specialists constantly focused on ensuring their safety, increasing productivity and efficiency. Reconstruction and modernization of the units began in 2000, and it was conducted in several stages. At each stage, the task was set to achieve a certain level of productivity of the units with the simultaneous creation of a platform for further improvement of carbamide production. Many implementations were carried out with the participation of the plant specialists. Their novelty and prospects were protected by patents of Ukraine. As a result, it was possible to significantly increase the daily capacity of the units: up to 1350 tons (unit No. 1) and 1500 tons (unit No. 2). In addition, there were reduced consumption factors for NH3 (from 0,58 to 0,57) and steam (from 0,80 to 0,72) per ton of carbamide. The experience accumulated by experts is particularly valuable because in each unit different approaches to the organization of work were applied, which were based on the use of equipment that was in operation on one of the units, while the other unit was being reconstructed.