SUMMER TRAINING REPORT

ON

AT

BABRALA(U.P.)

SUBMITTED BY:-

AMAN KR SINGH
Serial No.-05/11
Roll No.- 1104551004

Final B.Tech. Chemical Engineering

H.B.T.I. KANPUR

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that AMAN KR SINGH (Roll number:-1104551004), Student of Chemical
Engineering Department, HBTI Kanpur has completed the summer training in urea
department on the project entitled COMPARISON OF PRILLING TOWER ON

THE ACTUAL AND DESIGN DATA under our guidance.

He has a good appetite for learning. We wish success for his future.

Project head: Mr. U.P Singh

(Head of Department urea plant)

Project Guide:Mr. Prabhat Srivastava

(Manager Urea Department)

Mr. Siddharth

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Words are inadequate and out of place at times particularly in the context of
expressing sincere feelings in the contribution of this work, is no more than a
mere ritual. It is our privilege to acknowledge with respect & gratitude, the
keen valuable and ever-available guidance rendered to us by Name and
Designation of Training Guide/Mentor of industry without the wise counsel
and able guidance, it would have been impossible to complete the training in
this manner.
I am always be highly grateful to Mr. U.P Singh, (Head of Department), and
Mr. PrabhatSrivastava,(MANAGER)for providing this opportunity to carry out
the present work. I would like to thank Mr. Siddharth for his appreciations that
made me more enthusiastic in delivering my best efforts for completion of the
project We express gratitude to other faculty members of Chemical Engineering
Department, HBTIK for their intellectual support throughout the course of this
work.
Finally, we are indebted to our family and for their ever available help in
accomplishing this task successfully.
Above all we are thankful to the almighty god for giving strength to carry out
the present work.

Name of Candidate :Aman Kr Singh

DECLARATION
I hereby declare that all the information mentioned in the project report is best to my
knowledge; I have not submitted the same report in any other organization. All the findings
are based on my own effort and research.

Aman Kr. Singh

CONTENTS
S.No.

Name

1. Introduction to Company
2. Fire & Safety

Fire Prevention
Classification of fire
Firefighting
gadgets

appliances
Safety programme at T.C.L.

Theory
Various methods to make a

3. Urea Plant (Process Description) and function

of important sections.
4. Project Objective

finished product.

5. Calculations

6. Results
7. References

Diameter of the tower.

Height of the tower.

&

8. Experience
9. Scope for further improvement

1. INTRODUCTION TO TATA CHEMICALS LIMITED

BABRALA
Tata Group, India's foremost business conglomerate. Tata Chemicals, by itself, is one of the
largest inorganic complexes in the world beginning to TATA Group. Its first plant, which is
also called inaugurated establishment of TATA. It is India's leading manufacturer and
marketer of inorganic chemicals and fertilizers, with a turnover of over Rs. 4000 crores and
is part of the Rs 65,000-crore ($14.25 billion) TCL's products and production processes are
benchmarked with the best of global touchstones, and meet the most rigorous international
specifications., Established in 1939. An ISO-9001/14001 OHSAS 18001 certified company,
TCL has a varied user industry base comprising glass, paper, textiles, food additives,
petroleum, refining, chemicals, dyes, pesticides, direct farm application etc. The products go
into numerous end-use applications in a variety of industries: glass, detergents, paper,
textiles, agriculture, photography, pharmaceuticals, food, tanning, rayon, pulp, paints,
building and construction, and chemicals.

Tata Chemicals is also one of India's leading manufacturers of urea and phosphatic
fertilizers. With an export presence in South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa,
it has set itself the objective of achieving global cost competitiveness in soda-ash. Its foray
into phosphatic fertilizers follows the merger of Hind Lever Chemicals Limited into Tata
Chemicals Limited. TCL's phosphatic fertilizer complex at Haldia in West Bengal is currently
the only manufacturing unit for DAP/NPK complexes in West Bengal. The Haldia plant has
production volumes exceeding 1.2 million tons per annum. Tata Chemicals makes urea at its
fertilizer complex in Babrala. The complex has an installed capacity of 3500 MTPD, which
constitutes nearly 12 per cent of the total urea produced by India's private sector. Tata
Chemicals is among the world's largest producers of synthetic soda ash, with the largest
domestic market share, produced at the company's integrated complex at Mithapur on the
Gujarat coast in western India.

The fertilizers, sold under the brand name 'Paras', lead the market in West Bengal, Bihar and
Jharkhand. TCL is also a pioneer and market leader in the branded, iodized salt segment. Its
salt has a purity percentage of 99.8 per cent, the highest in the country.

CREDENTIALS OF TATA CHEMICALS LIMITED BABRALA

AWARDS:

Prestigious Industry Award, Govt. of UP., 1995.

National Energy Conservation Award, Ministry of Power, 1997.
National Energy Conservation Award, Ministry of Power, 1998.
Best Production Performance Award for Nitrogenous Fertilizers, Fertilizers
Association of India.
Second best productivity performance in Nitrogenous Fertilizers Industry, 1997-98.
YogyataPramanPatra Award, 1998.
Jawaharlal Nehru memorial National Award for Pollution Control and Energy
Conservation, 2000-01.
Golden Peacock Environmental Management Award, World Environment Foundation,
2001-02.
Best Technical Innovation Award, Fertilizer Association of India, Dec.2004.
Excellence in Safety, Fertilizer Association of India, Dec.24.
Commendation Certificate for Strong Commitment to TQM, CII-Exim Bank Award for
Business Excellence, Nov.2004.
5 Star Rating in Safety, British Safety Council, UK, Safety Gold Awards, Greentech
Foundation, Delhi.
Indian Chemical Council (ICC) confers the ICC award for social responsibility 200506.
NSCI safety award for 2006.
ICC Aditya Birla Award for Best Responsible Care Committed Company and ICC
Award for Social Responsibility for 2005-06.
Fertilizers Association of India Award for the Best Technical Innovation 2007.
Nine ABCI (Association of Business Communicators of India) Awards, 2008.

TCL BABRALA: THE NATIONS CONCEIT

Substituting a part of the imports of Urea, TCL, Babrala is estimated to save the
country about Rs. 500 crores in foreign exchange every year and provide the farmer
with nitrogenous nutrient, which could help raise the food production by about 4
million tones/year.
First major steps towards the fulfillment of a long standing TATA CHEMICALS
commitment to provide the farmer with an optimal package of agriculture inputs to
safe guard the food security of the company.
Produced more than 100% of the designated production during the first year of
commercial production.

Produced more than 8, 40,102.35 tons of Urea achieving a capacity of 113% in the
year1995-96, and produced 9, 51,764 tons of Nitrogenous Urea in year 1996-97.
Now produce capacity of 8, 64,000 tons of Urea per year, which constitutes nearly 12
per cent of the total urea produced by India's private sector.
Total production of urea at Babrala is 3575 tons/day maximum and 3500 tons/day
average.
Current maximum capacity is 101%.
The Babrala facility, among the best of its kind in India and comparable to the best in
the world, has set new standards in technology, energy conservation, productivity and
safety
It is the only fertilizer plant in the country to use dual feedstock: natural gas or
naphtha, or a combination of both.

MILESTONES OF TATA CHEMICALS LIMITED, BABRALA

Commercial Production Started on

December 21, 1994

AMMONIA UNIT
First firing of Reformer Furnace for dry out of refractory

October 12, 1994

First feed into Primary Reformer

October 20, 1994

First Carbon Dioxide for making Urea

October 23, 1994

First Ammonia production

November 14, 1994

UREA UNIT
Urea Prill Test conducted

October 04, 1994

First Prill Test conducted through Unit 2

November 05, 1994

Second Prill Test conducted through Unit 2

December 09, 1994

ISO 14001 certificate obtained in October 2000.

ISO 14001 certificate for Babrala township obtained in 2004.

COMPOSITION OF TATA CHEMICALS LIMITED, BABRALA

1.0Ammonia Plant

Capacity: 2000MTPD
Technology: HALDOR TOPSE Process, DENMARK
Plant (Single Stream) Production: 2000tons/day of liquid Ammonia.
After de-bottlenecking Plant at TCL, Babrala is the first low energy plant
in the country.

Basic scheme involves the following steps:

Desulphurization.
Primary, Secondary Reforming and fired heater
Carbon Dioxide Shift.
Methanation.
Synthesis and Chilling.
Storage and supply to Urea unit
2.Urea Plant

Capacity: 3500 MTPD

3.Offsite and Utilities

S. N. UNIT
CAPACITY
TECHNOLOGY
Technology: SNAMPROGETTI Process, ITALY
1. Ammonia Storage Tank
2X5000 MT
M/S Kaveri Engineering
Carbon Dioxide requirements supplied from ammonia plant.
2. Captive Power Plant
1X110 TPH
THERMAX/ L&T
3
urea strings
3. Two
Cooling
Tower have a common Prilling
24000 Msection.
/hr
M/S Paharpur Cooling

Tower
4. D. M. Water Plant
3X450 M3
Basic scheme involves the following steps:
5. Gas Turbine Generator
2X20 MW
Urea Synthesis
6. Heat Recovery Unit
2X90 TPH
Waste Water Treatment section
7. Naptha Bulk Storage
3X6300 KL

TCL, Mithapur
THOMASSON, Holland
L&T
M/S TechnofabEngg. Ltd.

Tank

SALIENT FEATURES OF TATA CHEMICALS LIMITED,

BABRALA
Location

Babrala, District Sambhal, Rajpura block, Gunnor

Tehsil, Uttar Pradesh. Approx. 160km. south-east

of Delhi.

1519 acres
Plant area:1,069 acres
Township area:350 acres
Green belt: 100 acres

Fuel

Natural gas (main)

Naphtha (alternate)

Fuel Source

Natural gas supplied by GAIL (HBJ Pipeline)

Naphtha from IOCL, Mathura

Consumptive water
source

Eight deep bore wells.

Present installed
capacity

Ammonia:2000 MTPD
Urea: 3500 MTPD

Man power
Deployment
(During
Commissioning/
Erecting phase )

Total 7,855,128 man-hours.

Peak (month) 405,799 man-hours.

Beneficiary states

U.P., Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab, M.P., Assam.

Land Area

UNIQUE FEATURES OF TATA CHEMICALS LIMITED, BABRALA

An integrated energy network, which is the key, factor in achieving high energy
efficiency. The flexible range of the ratio of natural gas and naphtha as a fuel/
feed is a major reason for this. The current low operating energy record is 5.13
Gcal/MT of Urea.

The second unique feature is common single central control room (CCR) for
ammonia, Urea to captive power and steam generation plant (CPSSGP) and
other offsite and utility plants. This provides a well-coordinated and integrated
control of the entire complex from one location and on line inters plant sharing
of information. This has been found extremely beneficial especially during plant
startups and upsets.

2.FIRE AND SAFETY

FIRE CHEMISTRY: The well-known Fire triangle requires the three ingredients of
fire namely fuel, oxygen and source of ignition.
A fire is a combination of fuel, oxygen and source of ignition.

2.1 FIRE PREVENTION:

Fire prevention can be done in three ways:

Eliminate sources of ignition.

Eliminate combustible substances.
Eliminate air excess to combustible substances.

FIRE PREVENTION
SOURCES:

THROUGH

ELIMINATION

OF

IGNITION

To prevent fire the first is to remove the cause of fire. Studies made by fire insurance company
shows that majority of fires are caused by following general sources of ignition:

Electrically limited fire: Improper earthing, short circuiting, loose electrical

contacts, temporary direct connections without proper fittings, high current, over
heating of electrical equipment are among the common cause of electrically initiative
fires.
Smoking ignited fire: Smoking or even carrying cigarettes/ beedies/matches/lighter
etc. in the following areas is a serious offence. All non-smoking areas should carry
NO SMOKING signboards.
Friction and overheated material: In flame proof areas, frictional fires can also be
started by the friction of moving parts of machinery which are overheated due to
excess friction. This is likely in non-lubricated and not well maintained machinery.

FIRE PREVENTION THROUGH ELIMINATION OF

COMBUSTIBLE MATERIALS:

 Waste and combustible materials:All combustible wastes and materials like

waste paper, cotton waste etc. accumulated after a job should be transported to waste
bins and is the responsibilities of the person doing the job that creates the wastes.Tins
and cans of flammable materials like paints, oils, spirit etc.: These should be handled
carefully ensuring that no undue spillages takes place during their uses and any
spillages takes place during their use and any spillage should be cleaned
immediately.
Fueling of vehicle tanks: Engine should be always switched off while fueling a
vehicle. If diesel or petrol spills over during fueling, dry sand should covered over the
spill immediately till only dry sand is visible on the spilled area.
Waste disposal:All combustible waste must be regarded in such a way that can be
disposed of as such and not burnt.

PREVENTION THROUGH ELIMINATION OXYGEN SUPPLY:

Smoothening: It is a process of covering the burning area with a non-combustible

substance like asbestos or fire proof blanket, wet thick cotton blanket or sand.

2.2 CLASSIFICATION OF FIRES:

Fires are classified according to the nature of fuel burning and fire extinguishing methods
that can be applied and the following is the fire classification under the Indian fire code.

CLASS A FIRE
CLASS B FIRE
CLASS C FIRE
CLASS D FIRE
CLASS E FIRE

CLASS A FIRE: Fires where the burning fuel is a cellulosic material such as wood,
clothing, paper etc. is called class A fire.
It can be extinguished by the water and sand. Class A fires can also be extinguished by all
the available means of extinguishing fires like foam, soda acid, dry chemical powder, carbon
dioxide etc.

CLASS B FIRE: Fires where the burning fuel is a flammable liquid Naphtha, petrol
etc. are categorized as class B fire.

Blanketing is a useful first aid fire control for B class fire. Water is forbidden as a fire
fighting means on class B fires. Foam, carbon dioxide, dry chemical powder extinguishers
are the desired means of controlling B class fires.

CLASS C FIRE: Fire involving flammable like natural gases hydrogen are classified
as class C fire. The best means of extinguishing C type fire is by stopping the gas supply
to the leaking vessels or pipe lines if possible. This must be the intermediate and very first
step. Dry chemical powder and carbon dioxide are useful in controlling C class fire.

CLASS D FIRE: Fire involving material like magnesium, aluminum, zinc, potassium
etc. are classified as class D fire. Sand buckets are useful in most cases of metallic fires.
Special dry chemical powder also works on class D fires.

CLASS E FIRE: Fires involving electrical equipments are classified as E class

fires. Only carbon dioxide and D.C.P extinguishers are used on class E fires.

2.3 FIRE FIGHTING GADGETS AND APPLIANCES: CO2:- It contain under pressurized liquid carbon dioxide.
SODA ACID:- Contain a double container with sodium bicarbonate solution in outer
container and dilute sulphuric acid in the inner container. After the inner container
both react and produce a liquid of entrapped CO2.
FOAM:- Contain aluminous sulphate in inner container and sodium bicarbonate in
outer one. After cracking the container both reacts to produce carbon dioxide and the
foam stabilizer makes stable form of carbon dioxide.
DRY CHEMICAL POWDER:- It contains an inert dry chemical powder of sodium
bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate or potassium chloride and diammonium
phosphate along with liquid carbon dioxide under pressure.
HALON/ BROMOCHLOROFLUORO METHANE:-Halon is in the form of a liquid
gas under pressure that is released on pressing the knob.

2.4 SAFETY PROGRAMME AT T.C.L

The company conducts regular programs for safety measures, which not only creates
awareness about safety but also maintains it; the fire and safety department of T.C.L
organizes many programs to motivate in this direction and to make the employees aware.
National safety day 4th march is being celebrated each year with earnestness and includes
various awareness programs, competitions and includes various awareness programs,
competitions etc.
Some of these are listed below:

Training programs on safety.

Home safety.
Use of safety equipment.
Safety quiz.
Safety slogan competition.

SAFETY PROVISIONS
Personal protective equipment (PPEs): The various types of PPEs are:

Helmet for head protection.

Goggles for eye protection.
Ear plugs and muff for ear protection.
Safety shoes for foot protection.
Gloves for hand protection.
Face shields foot protection.
Full body protection suits.
Hoods for head, neck, face, and, eye protection.
Safety belts or life belts or harness.
Breathing apparatus or respiratory protection equipment.

Fencing of machinery.
Devices for power cut.
Hoists and lifts.

3.UREA SYNTHESIS (Process Description)

Urea is produced from ammonia and carbon dioxide in two equilibrium reactions:
2NH3 + CO2 NH2COONH4
Ammonium carbamate
NH2COONH4 NH2CONH2 + H2O
urea
The urea manufacturing process, shown schematically in Figure below, is designed to
maximisethese reactions while inhibiting biuret formation:
2NH2CONH2 NH2CONHCONH2 + NH3
biuret
This reaction is undesirable, not only because it lowers the yield of urea, but because biuret
burns the leaves of plants. This means that urea which contains high levels of biuret is
unsuitable for use as a fertiliser. The structure of these compounds is shown in Figure 3.

Step 1 - Synthesis
A mixture of compressed CO2 and ammonia at 240 barg is reacted to form ammonium
carbamate. This is an exothermic reaction, and heat is recovered by a boiler which produces
steam. The first reactor acheives 78% conversion of the carbon dioxide to urea and the liquid
is then purified. The second reactor recieves the gas from the first reactor and recycle
solutionfrom the decomposition and concentration sections. Conversion of carbon dioxide to
urea isapproximately 60% at a pressure of 50 barg. The solution is then purified in the same
process as was used for the liquid from the first reactor.

Step 2 - Purification
The major impurities in the mixture at this stage are water from the urea production reaction
and unconsumed reactants (ammonia, carbon dioxide and ammonium carbamate). The
unconsumed reactants are removed in three stages3. Firstly, the pressure is reduced from 240
to 17 barg and the solution is heated, which causes the ammonium carbamate to decompose

to ammonia and carbon dioxide:

NH2COONH4 2NH3 + CO2
At the same time, some of the ammonia and carbon dioxide flash off. The pressure is then
reduced to 2.0 barg and finally to -0.35 barg, with more ammonia and carbon dioxide being
lost at each stage. By the time the mixture is at -0.35 barg a solution of urea dissolved in
water and free of other impurities remains.
At each stage the unconsumed reactants are absorbed into a water solution which is recycled
to the secondary reactor. The excess ammonia is purified and used as feedstock to the
primary reactor.
Step 3 - Concentration
75% of the urea solution is heated under vacuum, which evaporates off some of the water,
increasing the urea concentration from 68% w/w to 80% w/w. At this stage some urea
crystals also form. The solution is then heated from 80 to 110oC to redissolve these crystals
prior to evaporation. In the evaporation stage molten urea (99% w/w) is produced at 140oC.
The remaining 25% of the 68% w/w urea solution is processed under vacuum at 135oC in a
two series evaporator-separator arrangement.
Step 4 - Prilling
The urea melt is typically fed into a conical shaped bucket spinning in the centre of a
concrete tall prilling tower. Sometimes static sprayers are applied. Efforts were made in the
past to realize an easy, simple and reliable process. The urea melt is typically fed into a
conical shaped bucket spinning in the centre of a concrete tall prilling tower. Sometimes
static sprayers are applied. Efforts were made in the past to realize an easy, simple and
reliable process.

Detailed Study Of Each Section

High Pressure Synthesis Section-Figure below shows the Process synthesis section. The
reactor, stripper, carbamate condenserand ejector comprise the synthesis section as major
equipment. Liquid ammonia is fed into thereactor via the ejector. Most of the CO 2 is fed to the
stripper as stripping media and the rest is fedto the reactor as a source of passivation air and
a raw material for urea synthesis in the reactor.Carbamate solution from the carbamate
condenser is fed to the reactor after being pumped by theejector that is motivated by high
pressure liquid ammonia. Urea synthesis solution leaving thereactor is fed to the stripper.
Stripped urea solution is sent to MP decomposition stage. Thestripped off gas is fed to
vertical submerged-type carbamate condenser. NH3 and CO2 gascondenses to form
ammonium carbamate and urea in the shell side of the carbamate condenser.The

condensation heat is recovered to generate low pressure steam in the tube side. Packed bedis
provided at the top to absorb uncondensed NH 3 and CO2 into recycle carbamate solution
fromMP absorption stage. Inert gas from top of the packed bed is sent to MP absorption
stage. Thedriving force for liquid and gas circulation in the synthesis loop is mainly provided
by the ejector,while appropriate elevation of the carbamate condenser supplies additional
driving force bygravity.

The unique heat integration between the synthesis section and downstream sections further
reduces energy requirement (See Figure). MP steam is supplied to synthesis section to
decompose and separate excess NH3 and carbamate in the stripper. The stripped NH 3 and
CO2gas mixture is sent to the carbamate condenser and the condensation heat is recovered
by the twoparallel carbamate condensers. One is utilized for decomposition in the medium
pressure sectionand the other is for low pressure steam generation to be utilized in the low
pressure andevaporation sections. Condensation heat in medium pressure section is also
utilized inevaporation section.
.

Medium Pressure Decomposition Section-In this section concentration of urea takes place
.It consist of medium pressure decomposition column which function is to decompose
carbamate and separate from urea solution. Then there is a medium pressure condenser
which function is to condense mixture of liquid and gas .Then there is a absorber which
absorbs NH3 and CO2 from the reaction. There is a ammonia absorber and inert washing
tower in which inert gas saturated in NH3vapour is scrubbed with cooled steam condensate.
Then there is a carbonate solution pump which is used to pump carbonate to decomposition
section.
Low Pressure Decomposition Section-The function of this section is same as the medium
pressure decomposition section but it operates at a reduced pressure then earlier.
Pre VaccumAndVaccum Evaporation Section-Firstly there is vaccum pre concentrator
section which is used to increase the concentration of urea solution to the evaporation
section.Then partial evaporation of water present in urea solution coming from the vaccum
pre concentrator holder. In second vaccumconcentrator total evaporation of water
remaining in urea solution takes place. Then there is 1st and 2nd vaccum separator which is
used to separate ammonia carbon dioxide and water vapours present in urea solution
.Vaccum system is used to make vaccum in two evaporation section.
Prilling Tower-The urea melt is typically fed into a conical shaped bucket spinning in the
centre of a concrete tall prilling tower. Sometimes static sprayers are applied. Efforts were

made in the past to realize an easy, simple and reliable process. The urea melt is typically fed
into a conical shaped bucket spinning in the centre of a concrete tall prilling tower.
Sometimes static sprayers are applied. Efforts were made in the past to realize an easy,
simple and reliable process.

Prilling Tower

4.PROJECT OBJECTIVEComparison OfPrilling Tower On The Actual And Design DataBrief Description Of Prilling Tower And Process Involved In It --Urea is marketed as a solution or

in the solid form. Urea in solid form is produced in the final process stage by either
granulation or prilling. Transformation of urea from melt to solid prills takes place in the
urea prilling tower. In theprilling process, urea melt is pumped to the top of 50 to 60 meter
(above ground) cylindrical concrete tower where it is fed to the prilling device that called
rotating bucket. The rotating bucket is a sieve-like cylindrical or conical drum that rotates

about its axis. Liquid jets emerge from the various holes on the curved surface of the drum,
and break up due to centrifugal and capillary instability. The liquid urea droplets formed fall
downward the prilling tower.
A countercurrent cooling air stream enters from intake openings located around the
circumference of the tower at a height approximately 7 meters from the ground level of the
tower. Heat and mass transfer between the downward urea droplets and the upward cooling
air stream along the heightof the tower occurs, and thus a solidification-cooling process
takes place. The product, urea prills, goes from the tower base to a conveyor belt where it has
collected and packed. The air stream exhaust from the tower through the exhausted stakes
located at the top of the tower where it spreads in the surrounding environment. As ambient
air is used in the process of cooling and solidification of the prills inside the tower, thus both
the dry bulb temperature and humidity of the ambient air highly affect the quality of the final
product Based on the reportedinformation from the company that is in some days in summer
session, the prills are hot to the limit that cannot be packed directly. The delay in the packing
process leads to a decrease in the yearly company production. In addition, in humid/ hot
days, the lamp of prills forms at the bottom of the tower that also is not desired for the
product quality.
While designing prilling tower, the following assumptions are considered:
1) The droplet/ particle are spherical (from experimentalmeasurements)
2) Steady state for the urea melt is maintained.
3) The pressure drop along the tower is neglected (about 0.01 Pa); therefore, constant
pressure conditions can beapplied.
4) Evaporation of urea in the whole process, as well as the conversion of urea to ammonia
and carbon dioxide(around 0.4% as reported from the company) is neglected.
5) Radiation heat transfer between urea prills and the prilling tower walls is neglected
(estimated about 0.6%).
6) An adiabatic process is considered due to the material (concrete low thermal conductivity
=0.8-1.4 W/m. K)and large thickness of the tower wall (0.25 m)
7) The volumetric ratio of droplets/ particles in the prilling tower is normally very small
(around 0.1% only) so that the effects of droplets/ particles on each other in both heat
transfer and movement are neglected.
8) Average value of the air velocity in the axial direction is considered (0.63 m/s measured by
the company).
Hydrodynamics balance
The prilling tower has a cylindrical shape. Thus, the prilling process hydrodynamics model is
derived in the
cylindrical coordinates ( r,,z ) with the unit vectors ( er ,e ,k ) respectively.
Three forces affect on the particle during its fall throughthe tower. These forces are; the
weight force
Fw
4
Fw=m p g= R p3 g
3

that actsdownward,

Buoyancy force FB
F B= a V p g= a

( 43 R ) g
3

, and Drag force FD

1
F D = a C D ( R p2)Vrel 2 V 0
2
The drag coefficient CD is determined by the formula for 2<Rep<500
CD=

18.5
p0.5

Where Rep

a V az D p
a

both ofthem acts upward as illustrated in figure.

Energy Balance- Heat transfer between the particles and the cooling air takes place along

the height of the tower. Three zones of state have been assumed for each particle as it falls
from the top to the bottom of the prilling tower. In the first zone, the liquid droplet loses its
sensible heat to the cooling air until it reachesthe crystallization temperature. In the second
zone, a solid layer ( z ) begins to appear on the surface of the droplet, and hence two
phases exist in each droplet liquid and solid. Heat from the core of the particle transfers to
the ambient air by conduction through the liquid and solid phases of the prills. In this stage,
the solid layer moves toward the center decreasing the liquid phase until the droplet becomes
completely solid. In the last zone, the solid particle loses sensible heat and further cooling
takes place until the particle exits from the bottom of the tower at certain temperature. The
three zones are shown below
Figure showing different zones in prilling tower-

the heat transfer coefficient is obtained from the Ranz-Marshalls equation as follows
1

Nu=2+0.552 p 2 Pr 3
Where Nu and Pr are the dimensionless Nusselt and the Prantdlnumber,respectively.

Various Methods To Make A Finished Product-1. Prilling Tower method

2. Granulation method
3. Rotoform Technology

1.Prilling Tower method- This method has been discussed in detail in the above section.
2. Granulation method-The urea is fed to the unit with a concentration of 98.5 %. To reach
this concentration twoevaporators are installed in the urea melt plant. In the first evaporator
the urea solution isconcentrated to about 95.0 %.In figure 2 a process flow diagram is given of
the lay out of the granulation plant.In the suction of the urea melt pump the urea melt is mixed
with the urea formaldehyde. Thissolution is added to stabilize the final product. The urea
formaldehyde is added as a precondensatemixture between formaldehyde and urea. A
concentration of formaldehyde in thefinal product of 0.30 % is enough to realize good final
product properties. The urea melt is fed to the granulator. In the lower part of the granulator a
number of headers are installed with the urea melt line in the center of the air header. By this
design it is assured that the urea melt line is always in a hot environment preventing the risk of
the crystallization ofthe urea melt. The air header itself is insulated with a water resistant
material to prevent heattransfer from the cold fluidization air to the secondary air. The core of
the system is the urea melt nozzle in the granulator. The nozzle is a film spraying nozzle
surrounded by injection air in a cylindrical pattern around the urea melt. This secondary air

has a high velocity creating a zone with reduced pressure at the top of the nozzle. As a result of
the lower pressure the seed material is sucked into this area and passes the urea melt. The urea
melt leaves the top of the nozzle as a film and the seed urea material has to pass this thin film.
In this way all seed material is covered by a thin film of urea melt and the concentratedliquid is
completely consumed. By this process there is no lump formation.

3.Rotoform Technology- Already for nearly ten years, Stamicarbon and Sandvik Process

Systems have been co-operating together to develop the Rotoformer for urea application.The
Sandvik Process Systems Rotoform process as a very promising and successful alternative
oraddition to the traditional finishing techniques of prilling and granulation.TheRotoform
process has been successfully employed in the petrochemical, chemical, food and fertilizer
industries since the early 1980s and there are currently more than 1500 Rotoform units in
operation worldwide. Mechanically, a single Rotoform unit for urea pastillation consists of a
continuously moving steel belt, typically 1.5 - 2.0 m, wide and between 15 and 20 m in length
(for a 125 175 metric ton/day unit), with a drop former feeding device at one end of the
moving belt and a scraper at the discharge endThe feed to the Rotoform is urea melt with a
concentration of 99.6 wt% and in existing urea plants can be branched off from the urea
evaporation section downstream of the urea melt pumps. Urea is introduced under pressure
(2-3 barg) in molten form to the drop former. The Rotoform HS (High Speed) drop former,
patented by Sandvik, consists of a heated stator and a perforated rotating shell which turns
concentrically around the stator to deposit drops of urea across the full width of the belt.
The circumferential speed of the Rotoformer is synchronized with the speed of the steel belt
cooler ensuring that the drops are deposited on the belt without deformation and, after
solidification, result in regular pastilles with an optimum shape. The rotating shell contains
rows of small holes which are sized to deliver the required product size. The heat released
during crystallization and cooling is transferred by the stainless steel belt to the cooling

water. The cooling water is sprayed against the belt underside, absorbs the heat and is
collected in pans, cooled in a cooling system (cooling tower) and returned to the Rotoform
units. Under no circumstances can the cooling water come into contact with the urea
product. The use of formaldehyde is not necessary in this technology to realize pastilles with
a high crushingstrength. The pastilles are very uniform and additional screening is not
needed. After solidification the pastilles are smoothly released from the steel belt via an
oscillating scraper. The product then falls directly onto a conveyor belt for transfer to
storage. The section above the moving steel belt is enclosed with a hood and vented to an
existing vent system. There are no large air flows involved in this technology and there is no
visible urea dust emission. Only some ammonia vapors which can be easily caught in a
simple atmospheric absorber leading to a negligible emission of ammonia and urea, which is
a unique feature of this technology.

5.CALCULATION -

Physical properties of urea

To(melting point) =
(latent heat)=

132.6
224457

density of liquid=
density of solid=
specific heat capacity of liquid
urea
specific heat capacity of
solidurea.

1230
1335

1748

thermal conductivity of liquid

thermal conductivity of solid
viscosity of liquid urea

0.83
1.19
0.00216

Physical properties of air(36.1)

density of air =
specific heat capacity of air=
viscosity of air=
thermal conductivity of air=

mass flow rate of urea

melt=

(degree celcius)
j/Kg
Kg/m3(13
3)
Kg/m3(20)
2098 j/(Kg*K)(132.6

j/(Kg*K)[25-132]
W/(m*K)[80]
W*(m*k)
N*sec/m2[80]

(degree celcius)
1.14

kg/m3
1008
0.000019
0.0268

j/(Kg*K)
N*sec/m2
W*(m*K)

146000 Kg/hr

Outlet temperature of air =83C

Inlet temperature of air= 42C
Inlet temperature of urea melt=137C
Outlet Temperature of Urea Melt=74C

1.Calculation involving volumetric flow rate of air at the bottom of the prilling tower--

Heat given =Heat taken

Sensible heat of the liquid +latent heat of fusion + sensible heat of the solid = Sensible
heat of the air + latent heat of vapourisation of water

Sensible heat of the liquid = (mass flow rate of urea melt)*(specific heat capacity of liquid )*(inlet
temperature -melting point of urea)
Latent Heat of fusion = (mass flow rate of urea melt)*(latent heat of fusion)
Sensible heat of solid= (mass flow rate of urea melt)*(specific heat of solid urea)(melting point of
urea-outlet temperature of urea)
Sensible heat of the air= (mass flow rate of air)*(specific heat capacity of air)*(outlet temperature of
air -inlet temperature of air)
Latent heat of vapourisation of water = (mass of water in the urea melt )*(latent heat of water)
The equation of energy balance
146*103 *2098*(137-132.6) + 146*103 *224,457 + 146*103*(132.6-74)*1,748 = m *1008*(8342) + .4/100*146*103*2260*103

The mass flow rate of air

is(m)

1155483.59
5 Kg/hr

Volumetric flow rate is = m/(density of air at inlet temperature) =

1013582 m3/hr
2.Calculation of diameter of prilling towerAssuming air velocity at the bottom of the prilling tower is 0.51m/sec
Area of the prilling tower is = (volumetric flow rate of air)/(velocity of air *3600)
A= 1155483.595/(0.51*3600) = 552.0599676 m2
Diameter of the tower is=

4552.0599676
)
= 26.5148 meters

3.Calulation of terminal velocity of the urea particleDiameter of granules = mass flow rate of urea melt= number of openings in the
bucket*density of urea *volume of a urea particle
From this diameter comes out to be 0.001448951

Rep

a V az D p
Rep =452.0726625
a

CD=

0.87009686
9

FD=

2.21088E05

(drag
force)

FB=

1.78095E08

(buoyancy force)

FW=

2.08559E05

(gravitational force)

we can see that drag force +buoyancy force is nearly = gravitational force
terminal relatve velocity is
taking average velocity

of air =

actual velocity of the particle is

5.2

m/sec

0.45

m/sec

4.75

m/sec

Calculation of heat transfer coffecient of solid ureaRe = 452.0726625

Pr =Cp /K =0.714627

Using the following equation to find Nu

1

Nu=2+0.552 p 2 Pr 3
Nu = 12.49308 =h*Dp/K , h=
231.073775
5

W/(m2*K)

Time Required for cooling of liquid urea-3

Area of urea granules is= 4 /3 R p , where Rp is the radius of urea granules.

Uo(overall heat transfer coffecient)

1/UoAo = 1/hi*Ai + (1/R1 -1/R2)/4 K

,where k is the thermal conductivity of liquid

urea
UoAo= 0.001268
t(sec) = m*Cp*(inlet temperature of urea melt- melting point)
UoAo*(average temperature of urea melt -average temperature of air)
t(sec) comes out to be 8.273136

Time Required for phase change of liquid urea to solid urea1/UoAo= 656.2572
t(sec)= (latent of urea)*(mass of a single urea particle)
UoAo (132.6- average temperature of air)
t(sec) for phase change comes out to be4.467331107
Time required for cooling of solid urea1/UoAo = 1/hi*Ai + (1/R1 -1/R2)/4 K

,where k is the thermal conductivity of solid

urea
UoAo =

0.001335865

t(sec) = m*Cp*(melting point of urea melt- exit temperature of urea pellets)

UoAo*(average temperature of solid urea -average temperature of air)
t(sec) comes out to be 3.995536453

Height of the prilling tower from the bucket to the air inletTotal height of the prilling tower is =(terminal velocity of the particle)*(toal time taken by
urea pellet to reach the air inlet )
=79.50meters

6.RESULT-

The diameter of the prilling tower is 26.52meters

The height of the prilling tower is 79.50meters

7.REFERENCES Fire and safety manual, Fertilizer association of India.

Trainee Manual, MTPD UREA Plant (operating Manual Vol 1)
J .M. Smith, H.C. VanNess, M.M Abbott, Introduction to chemical
Engg Thermodynamics, McGraw Hill International Editions.
Yunus A. Cengel, Micheal A. Boles; Thermodynamics : An
Engineering Approach, Tata McGraw Hill
Process Flow Diagram; available at Tata Chemicals Limited, Babrala
International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications, Vol.
3, No. 5, October 2012
Ullmann, Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Wiley-VCH, 2007.

8.Experience
I am in TCL under 5 week summer training and my first industrial experience is too good so
that I cannot express it in my words. This industry is as prosperous as one engineer can
dream. This industry consists of several employs and all are very much helpful as they helps
trainee like me with their full devotion. They give us time from their busy schedule and try to
resolve our every problem.
This industry consist of wide and prosperous safety department which is providing a
landmark to the most important parameter of the company Safety and this industry is
standing as one of the most safe chemical industry of the world.
For trainees TCL provides best technical library which consist of best books regarding all
the technical aspects and for various field of engineering with good facility of internet but in
my view its capacity is less and procedure of issuing books for trainees is very complicated.
Moreover food facility in canteen is much better in comparison to other industries.
This industry also have beautiful township area which is clean and full of natural
environment moreover this area is completely pollution free and also providing 24 hrs light
facility. My residence is in township and there I feel as I am in heaven. Moreover rule and
regulations of traffic are up to the mark.
In nut and shell my experience in this industry is unforgettable and as good as I can think & I
want to come here again in future.

9. SCOPE FOR FURTHUR IMPROVEMENT

In summer there is a problem of getting urea prills at a high temperature, which
makes it difficult to pack. This problem can be avoided by using bucket with larger number of
holes thus it will have larger area for heat transfer from urea prills. In humid condition there
is a problem of lump formation or increased moisture in urea prills, which can be avoided by
passing air through a dehumidification column. For obtaining a better product, we can also
pass the urea prills through a drier which will reduce the moisture content as well as the
temperature of the urea prills.