Abstract:
A process for the production of urea from ammonia and carbon dioxide, combined with the preparation of ammonia, is disclosed wherein ammonium carbamate in the urea solution produced is removed from said urea solution by subjecting the urea solution to two stripping stages. The first stripping stage uses the urea synthesis starting gas, which contains hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The second stripping stage, which is at substantially the same pressure as the first stripping stage, uses a gas containing at least one of the components needed in the ammonia synthesis. This second stripping gas is substantially free of ammonia and carbon dioxide. The disclosed process has the advantage, compared to prior processes, that the stripping gases need not be compressed at relatively high temperatures.
Abstract:
A process for the manufacture of urea from ammonia and carbon dioxide is described with particular reference to procedures in handling the ammonia feed to the urea reactor whereby the volume of inert gases in said reactor is reduced without need for condensation and liquefication of the ammonia synthesis gas. The technique described involves absorbing the ammonia from the ammonia synthesis gas mixture (containing ammonia, hydrogen and nitrogen) in water, a dilute aqueous solution of urea, or a dilute aqueous solution of ammonia and carbon dioxide at a relatively high pressure (250 atm. or more) and then delivering the absorbed ammonia solution to the urea plant-this technique being practiced so that only a relatively small amount of additional water (over and above that autogenously formed in the urea reaction itself) is introduced into the urea reactor.