UFC-85 Plants for Urea

Fertilizer Projects
Formaldehyde plants, which are designed to meet the needs of urea fertilizer producers, have been
developed and constructed. The UFC-85 Package Plant concept, which uses the "excess air"
principle and Tops0e's FK catalyst, produces a higher yield and is easier to operate than traditional
plants. This article examines the design, processes, and operation of the UFC-85 Package Plant.

Carl-Vilhelm Rasmussen
Haldor Tops0e A/S, Lyngby DK 2800, Denmark

Introduction improves mechanical strength, moisture resistance, and

free-flowing characteristics to urea from a single point

U
rea is produced on a worldwide scale well
exceeding 100 million metric tons per year.
The product can be finished in the form of
prills, granules, or liquid fertilizer.
Although prilling is in general the cheapest product
finishing technique, more and more customers are con-
verting to granular urea due to possible sizing of gran-
ules, uniformity, and more consistent yields.
Urea fertilizer, produced either in prills or in gran-
ules, shows a tendency to cake or form lumps.
Therefore, some kind of additive should be used in
order to minimize caking, especially when the bulk
urea storage facility has no humidity control or when
bulk urea has to be shipped long distances.
In the case of the urea granulation process formalde-
hyde addition is mandatory where the formaldehyde
also reduces dust formation during the production.
The use of formaldehyde in UFC-85 (urea-
formaldehyde-precondensate containing 60 wt. %
formaldehyde, 25 wt. % urea and balance water) as
anti-caking agent serves the dual purpose of condition-
ing, as well as coating, of urea granules or prills. It
of injection in the urea production process.
Recommended Dosage
The injected formaldehyde or UFC-85 is applied in
the following concentrations relative to the urea prod-
uct:
Prilled: approx. 0.25% formaldehyde by weight (as
100% formaldehyde).
Granulated: up to approx. 0.55% formaldehyde by
weight (as 100% formaldehyde).
As can be calculated from the above, a typical 1,000
MTPD ammonia plant producing 1,725 MTPD urea
will require per day:
Prilled: 4.3 TPD as 100% formaldehyde equal to 7
TPD of UFC-85.
Granulated: 9.5 TPD as 100% formaldehyde equal to
16 TPD of UFC-85.
To provide for the local formaldehyde requirement,
Haldor Tops0e A/S has developed and built a number
of formaldehyde plants with special focus on the needs
of urea fertilizer producers.

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 122 2002

The Formaldehyde or UFC-85 Package
Plant Concept
The plant consists of three 40-ft. standard container
modules plus the absorber. These are assembled and
tested in the factory before delivery. They can be trans-
ported to the plant site by truck or ship, like other nor-
mal containers. See Figure 1.
The modules are mounted on foundations provided
by the customer. Two modules containing the process
equipment will be positioned vertically. The third mod-
ule contains the oil system and the rotating equipment.
This module is placed horizontally. Instrument panels
and motor control center, if part of a package plant of
the "stand-alone" type, could be placed in an addition-
al horizontal container.
Only a few welds and cable connections have to be
performed at the site. Meanwhile, the catalyst, heat-
transfer oil, and absorber packings are installed.
Thereafter, the plant is ready for startup and subsequent
Figure 1.17 MTPD UFC-85 package
plant layout/ assembly drawing.
AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
operation. See Figure 2.
While the plant is compact, the layout provides easy
access to all the equipment, instruments, and valves.
TheTopsoe Experience in Formaldehyde
Production
Jointly with the Japanese company of Nippon Kasei
Chemical Co. Ltd., Haldor Tops0e A/S has developed a
process for the production of formaldehyde by oxida-
tion of methanol.
The process uses the so-called excess air principle,
and the oxidation of methanol takes place over a cata-
lyst composed of iron oxide and molybdenum oxide.
This catalyst, denominated FK, is developed and pro-
duced by Tops0e. See Figure 3.
The advantages of the excess air process offered by
Tops0e as compared to the excess methanol process
using a silver type catalyst are:
Figure 2.17 MTPD UFC-85 Tops0e pack-
age plant at the Popka Urea Project at
Bontang East Kalimantan, Indonesia.
123 2002
• The plant is easier to operate and is not very sensi-
tive to power failure. It may be readily restarted after
power failures lasting up to several hours.
• The yield is higher, typically 93% compared to
87.5% for the silver catalyst process.
• The metal oxide catalyst is not very sensitive to poi-
soning. Therefore, the quality demands for the
methanol feedstock can be less stringent.
• A high formaldehyde content can easily be obtained
without the use of auxiliary equipment.
• The methanol content in the product is low, typical-
ly 0.21% by weight in UFC-85.
Process Description
The Tops0e formaldehyde or the UFC-85 process
unit will be laid out in accordance with the Process
Flow Diagram, shown in Figure 4.
Liquid methanol is mixed with air and recycle gas
circulated by the blower. The mixture is simultaneous-
ly evaporated and heated to a temperature of approx.
165°C in the methanol evaporator/process gas heater
by heat exchange with circulated liquid heat-transfer
oil. The reaction mixture has a methanol content of
Figure 3. Tops0e FK-2 formaldehyde catalyst
AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
8.4% by volume and oxygen content of 10% by vol-
ume.
The preheated gas enters the reactor hi which it pass-
es through tubes containing Tops0e metal oxide cata-
lyst type FK-2. The principal reaction, the catalytic oxi-
dation of methanol into formaldehyde, occurs accord-
ing to Eq. 1
CH3OH + _O2_HCHO (1)
A limited amount of formaldehyde is further oxi-
dized to carbon monoxide by the following side reac-
tion
HCHO + _O2 _ CO + H2O (2)
Also minute amounts of dimethyl ether and formic
acid are formed.
These reactions are strongly exothermal, and in order
to maintain optimum temperature conditions and to
limit the formation of byproducts, the heat of reaction
has to be removed during the reaction. This is done
through heat transfer from the catalyst tubes to a bath
of a heat-stable boiling heat-transfer oil. See Figure 5.
124 2002
 PURIFIED TAIL GAS

RECYCLE GAS ABSORBER

AIR COOLER CATALYTIC
"• f «T 'S INCINERATOR
J I
EVAPORATOR/PREHEATER n\oe»/
—r uu u /?N
CW —rSn-»"
^~~^
j OIL
TOR
X
jiJLn. —ö

< r"\ WATER OR UREA SOLUTION

v^/
MM&
AIR

1EACTOR
BLOWER
uu u Jl^\.

X CW—^W*

METHANOL/ JI_JLjL —Q
FORMALDEHYDE AF-37/55 OR
PUMP uu u UFC-85 PRECONDENSATE
AFTER
COOLER • X^N
\ tt
r><C
l WW ~~v >(/*'

-s
Figure 4. Process flow diagram for a 17 MTPD Tops0e urea formaldehyde (UFC-85) Plant.

TEMPERATURE °C
400

380
360
340
320
300
280
260 *• GAS FLOW DIRECTION

240
220
/ TOP ZONE (DILUTED CATALYST) BOTTOM ZONE
200
O 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1
CM FROM TOP

Figure 5. Temperature profile in a catalyst tube during normal operation.

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 125 2002

 The oil vapors from the reactor are sent to the oil sep-
arator and then condensed in the air cooler. All con-
densed oil is recycled by gravity to the reactor via the
oil separator. In the oil separator the temperature of the
return oil condensate is equilibrated with oil vapor thus
ensuring a uniform oil bath temperature in the reactor.
The reactor effluent is cooled to about 130°C in the
after-cooler by heat exchange with heat-transfer oil,
which has been cooled in the aforementioned evapora-
tor/preheater. The heat-transfer oil is of the same type
as used for cooling the reactor. It is circulated in a
closed circuit by the heat-transfer oil pump operating at
a relatively low temperature of 90-100°C.
The formaldehyde-containing gas is passed on to the
absorber, where the formaldehyde is absorbed in urea
solution, which can be directly obtained from the urea
process. If aqueous formaldehyde solution product is
desired, this can be obtained by introduction of process
water to the absorber in place of urea solution. The
lower part of the absorber contains two packed beds
with a number of valve cap trays in between. The upper
part of the absorber contains a section with valve cap
trays and one packed bed at the top.
The heat of the solution and the sensible heat of the
reaction gas are removed in the lower beds by the two-
absorber coolers. In this way the major part of the
formaldehyde is absorbed. Having passed the two
packed beds, the gas stream enters the upper tray sec-
tion, where most of the remaining formaldehyde and
methanol are removed from the gas by countercurrent
washing with urea solution. In the top packed bed max-
imum cooling is applied and from this stage the excess
water is also drawn.
The purified gas leaving the absorber is split in recy-
cle gas, which is recycled back by the recirculation
blower and tail gas, which is vented after further purifi-
cation by a catalytic incinerator.
The UFC-85 product at the exit of the absorber con-
tains approx. 0.04 wt. % formic acid.
Catalytic tail gas incinerator
The catalytic tail gas incinerator treats the scrubbed
tail gas as well as it may eliminate the surplus excess
condensate. Scrubbed tail gas is heated to approx.
250°C in the tail gas heater. At this temperature, the gas
AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
enters the catalytic incinerator. Here the Tops0e CKM-
22 catalyst makes the combustible compounds, CO,
CH3OH, HCHO and (CH3)2O burn with the O2 present
in the tail gas. Thereby the gas temperature is increased
to approx. 450°C. The hot gas leaving the incinerator is
cooled by heat exchange with the untreated tail gas and
then discharged to the atmosphere via a separate vent.
If excess condensate produced by the UFC-85
process cannot be utilized for instance for preparation
of the urea solution, it can as well be vaporized by the
excess heat produced by the process in a separate
excess condensate evaporator, whereafter it is mixed
with tail gas and purified in the catalytic incinerator. As
a result, the formaldehyde plant is completely neutral
towards the environment.
Steam production
If required, the formaldehyde plant can be built to
produce steam for export.
Operation of the Plant
Startup procedure
The reactor is first heated to the reaction temperature
of 260-275°C. This heating takes place by circulating
the oil in the reactor through an electric startup heater
by one of the heat-transfer oil pumps. While the reac-
tor is heated, liquid levels are adjusted in the absorber,
the liquid recirculation loops are started, and circula-
tion of heat-transfer oil through the process gas heater
and aftercooler is established.
The blower is now started at reduced capacity, and
the ratio between fresh air to recycle gas is controlled
to the normal operating level. While heat input to the
reactor is maintained, the evaporator/preheater is
warmed up and methanol is added at a low rate. The
methanol concentration is kept low during startup.
Only when the oxygen concentration has dropped to
10%, the airflow, recirculation flow, and methanol flow
are gradually increased until design capacity has been
achieved.
126 2002
Normal operation
The plant is easy to control by the methanol flow, the
recirculation flow, and the airflow. The optimum reac-
tion temperature, which is practically independent of
the plant capacity, is controlled by the heat-transfer oil
pressure. This is adjusted once in a while by adjusting
the pressure controller at the inlet to the air cooler.
The yield
The theoretical consumption of methanol per metric
ton of 37 wt. % formaldehyde solution is 395 kg. The
actual consumption will increase both with the amount
of byproducts formed and with the amount of uncon-
verted methanol.
A low methanol consumption, that is, a high yield,
can only be obtained if both the overall conversion and
the selectivity are high. The overall conversion is the
fraction of the feed methanol which is converted. The
selectivity is the fraction of the converted methanol
which is transformed into formaldehyde.
By changing the temperature of the heat-transfer oil
- the most important process parameter — the two fig-
ures will vary in opposite directions as shown in Figure
6. The yield, which is the product of the overall con-
version and the selectivity, will therefore be maximum
at a certain temperature.
Figure 6. Conversion, selectivity, and
yield vs. oil temperature.
AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
Plant turndown capacity and onstream factor
The turndown capacity of the plant is 40% of the
name plate capacity.
The expected onstream availability of the plant is
minimum 350 days per year.
Manpower
Within the battery limits, the plant is equipped with
all necessary measuring and control systems to ensure
safe operation without continuous supervision by oper-
ators.
Manpower requirements are limited to one full-time
panel operator and one part-time field operator.
The operators may take care of other plants as well.
Materials of construction
The whole absorption system and the equipment
between the reactor and the absorber are made of
austenitic stainless steel for all parts in contact with the
reactor effluent gas. The choice of this material is made
to avoid corrosion and to obtain a maximum purity of
the product. The remaining equipment is made of car-
bon steel.
Design Basis
Tables 1 through 4 represent a typical case and are
adaptable to the client's requirements. Table 1 depicts
feedstock and raw materials, available by pipeline at
battery limits. The Tops0e catalytic combustion unit
(CATOX) will reduce the content of organics and CO
in the tail gas to the values shown in Table 2. All excess
water may be vented after evaporation and treatment in
the catalytic incinerator. It is anticipated that the utili-
ties shown in Table 3 are available at the battery limits.
For consumption and production figures, see Table 4.
Plant layout
A typical layout of the formaldehyde unit is shown
in Figure 1.
The process unit, with a capacity of 17 MTPD (UFC-
85), requires a ground area of approximately 10 x 15 m.
127 2002
 Table 1. Feedstock and Raw Materials
Methanol
Methanol Content wt. % 99.3
Appearance clear
Acidity mg KOG/g 0.1
Aldehyde content (as CH3CHO) wt. % 0.1 Table 2. Waste Streams
Ketone content (as acetone) wt. % 0.1 Tail Gas
Water content wt. % 0.2 CH3OH, max ppmv 10
Specific gravity 0.7902 HCHO, max ppmv 10
DME, max ppmv 10
Urea Solution CO, max ppmv 10
Aqueous urea solution wt. % 65-70 Temperature °C 454
Temperature °C 60 Pressure atmospheric
Pressure kg/cm2 4.0
Process Condensate (Excess Water)
Product Urea Formaldehyde Precondensate Temperature °C 55
2
Temperature °C 39 Pressure kg/cm g 2.0
Typical Composition,
HCHO wt. % 60.00
Urea wt. % 25.00
CH3OH wt. % 0.21
HCOOH wt. % 0.04
H2O wt. % balance

Table 3. Utilities Table 4. Consumption and Production Figures

Electricity Expected Consumption Per 1,000 kg of UFC-85
Voltage V 380-500 Methanol (as 100% CH3OH) kg 700
Phases 3 Urea solution (as 100% urea) kg 250
Frequency Hz 50 or 60 m3
Cooling water 81
Electricity kWh 115
Cooling Water
NaOH (as 100%) kg 0.35
Temperature inlet/outlet °C 35/45
2
Pressure inlet/outlet kg/cm g 3.5/2.5 (2.0 at BL) Production Per 1,000 kg of UFC-85
UFC-85 kg -
Instrument Air 3
Tail gas Nm 1562
Pressure kg/cm2g 6 Excess Water kg 588
Quality clean and dry
Dew point at pressure °C 20 below amb. temp.

AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL 128 2002

Erection at Site
The package formaldehyde plant is erected at the site
in only three weeks, provided that foundations and
paving are ready to receive the plant. All instruments,
valves and control loops, as well as rotating equipment,
are tested before transportation to the site.
First, the absorber and the modules are placed on the
foundations and are aligned and bolted together. Then,
the top section of the absorber is welded to the bottom
section and the transport fixations are removed.
Meanwhile, catalyst is loaded into the reactors, heat-
transfer oil is filled into the oil tank and the absorber
packing is installed. After that, the piping between the
modules is connected by welding and by means of dis-
tance pieces. Also, the customer's piping is connected.
When the power supply has been established and
cables between the modules have been rolled out and
connected, the plant is ready for commissioning.
Project Schedule
Delivery of equipment, materials and catalyst
The EXW delivery time may be as short as 12
AMMONIA TECHNICAL MANUAL
months from the effective date of order when the com-
plete and relevant design basis plus all relevant specifi-
cations are available.
Conclusion
The inclusion of a package formaldehyde or UFC-85
plant in an ammonia urea fertilizer plant (project) may
compare with other package utility systems for boiler-
feed water, nitrogen, instrument air, and so on.
The advantages of ordering a package unit for supply
of the required amount of formaldehyde is to ensure the
following benefits to the end-user:
(1) Fast and easy installation at site.
(2) Produces formaldehyde or urea-formaldehyde in
the same plant.
(3) Fully automatic operation with supervision from
urea plant control room or the package plant.
(4) No waste materials or harmful effluents to the
environment.
(5) Competent and dedicated design to do the spe-
cialized job.
129 2002