Stamicarbon B.V. (Sittard, the Netherlands; www.stamicarbon.com), part of Maire Tecnimont Group, and Jiujiang Xinlianxin Fertilizer Co., (XLX), have signed contracts for the licensing of technology and for the delivery of proprietary equipment for a new ultra-low-energy urea plant to be built in Jiujiang, Jiangxi, Peoples Republic of China. This grass root project follows a smaller revamp project between the parties in 2016.
The scope of the project comprises the license, the process design package (PDP), the delivery of proprietary high-pressure equipment in Safurex and associated services for both the urea melt plant and the finishing by prilling. The urea plant is based on Stamicarbon’s Launch Melt Ultra-Low Energy Design with a Pool Reactor. Plant start-up is planned for the end of 2020.
This new technology is an important innovation in energy efficiency. Not only does it lead to a very significant reduction in energy cost of a urea plant and therefore in OPEX, it also reduces the carbon footprint substantially in comparison with other types of urea plants.
Most urea processes until now are based on a so-called “N=2” heat integration design, in which the heat supplied to the plant is used twice. In the Ultra-Low Energy Design Stamicarbon has gone one step further with the “N=3” design, in which the heat is used three times. This results in about 40% reduction on steam consumption.
The Ultra-Low Energy Design is not only suitable for new plants, it can also be used as a powerful revamp tool for both CO2 stripping and conventional urea plants.
“Energy efficiency will become more and more important in many countries. This project is a major step in implementing innovative energy efficient technologies and it will pave the way for many other projects. We look forward to the successful cooperation with this main fertilizer producer in China”, says Pejman Djavdan, CEO of Stamicarbon.