Stamicarbon BV (Sittard, the Netherlands), the innovation and license company of Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. (Rome, Italy; www.mairetecnimont.com), has been awarded a licensing and equipment supply contract for two Ultra-Low Energy grassroots urea plants in the People’s Republic of China. The plants will be built in Dongping, Shandong Province, for a local urea producer.
Stamicarbon will deliver the process-design package and the proprietary high-pressure equipment in Safurex duplex stainless steel and associated services for the urea melt plant and finishing by prilling. The two urea melt plants will each have a capacity of 2,334 metric tons per day (m.t./d) and a Pool Reactor. The plants are expected to start up in the middle of 2023.
This contract represents Stamicarbon’s fifth and sixth application of its proprietary Ultra- Low Energy technology since its introduction. It builds on the success of the three earlier plants in China, of which Jinjiang Xinlianxin and Hubei Sanning are in operation and Henan Xinlianxin is under construction.
Stamicarbon’s Ultra-Low Energy design allows for heat to be used three times (instead of two), bringing energy savings to an unprecedentedly low level, says the company. It substantially reduces plant operating costs (OPEX) by significantly reducing steam and cooling water consumption. The Ultra-Low design is not only suitable for new plants, but it can also be used as a powerful revamp tool for both CO2 stripping and conventional urea plants.