Prilling

Prills:-
A prill is small aggregate of material, most often a dry sphere
formed from melted liquid

PRILLING:-
Solidification of droplets of molten material free falling against
upward stream is called prilling.

Why we need prills??

It is more convenient for use , storage and transporting because
of their much smaller specific surface area and bulk density
Prills of fertilizers are small , easy to handle , easily absorb in
land , light in weight , very small impurities etc
 PRILLING TOWER
A prilling tower is defined as a large column in which prills are
generated as the feed is given to the tower.
 The melt must be sprayed into droplets uniform size as required.
The sprayed droplets must be fully solidified and cooled in order
to avoid bonding of particles with each other and caking on
wall.

Working principle
The molten fertilizer is sent on the top of fertilizer plant with the
help of centrifugal pump.
With the help of spryer molten fertilizer is droped from the top
in the form drops inside the prilling tower.
While from the bottom hot air is blown which dries the droplets
in the form of solid prills.

Products of prilling tower

This process is widely used in manufacturing of ammonium
nitrate, calcium nitrate and fertilizers of N, K and P.
Prilling also used in explosives industry to produce porous
prills of ammonium nitrate which will absorb oil.
Typical prilling tower produce 200 ton/day of fertilizer.

Importance Of Prilling Tower

Prilling tower is backbone of fertilizer or any other chemical
industry where the final product is in the form of solid prills.
We cant imagine a fertilizer industry without a prilling tower.
The process in prilling tower is continuous, prills moves
downward due to gravitational force.
 DRAWBACKS
The prill tower is a major source of emission in urea plants. The
large volumes of discharged untreated cooling air contain
particulate urea dust (1-2kg.t-1) as well as NH3 (0.7-1.0kg.t-1).
Increasing the load on a prilling tower can have negative
consequences for the prill quality. Higher moisture contents and
higher temperatures cause more dust formation and an
increased likelihood of caking problems.