UFT fluid bed granulation

Superior technology

Uhde Fertilizer Technology

Content

Company profile................................................. 3
UFT fluid bed granulation
Plants throughout the world................................. 4
Process description
Features of the granulation process ...................... 6
Emission
Attractive options for emission reductions ............. 8
UFT activities
Standard, Mega and Jumbo plants .................... 10
UFT activities
Tailored revamps and further UFT activities ......... 11
UFT activities
Granulator design by UFT .................................. 12
Facts and figures ............................................. 13
Advantages of UFTs
Fluid Bed Granulation Process ........................... 14

Company profile

Uhde Fertilizer
Technologys team

Uhde Fertilizer Technology (UFT) was established in 2005 as a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp

Nederland B.V. and is domiciled in Roermond in the Netherlands. UFT holds the exclusive
license rights for the fluid bed urea granulation technology, acquired from Yara Fertilizer
Technology (YFT) in the Netherlands, and now exclusively licenses the renowned fluid bed
urea granulation technology worldwide.
UFT delivers the license, the process design included in the Process Design Package, and
the Granulator Lower Casing as proprietary equipment and the Granulator Upper Casing
as optional supply for new granulation plants and provides additional services, such as
operator training. UFT also provides after-sales service, including operational support, troubleshooting, spare part deliveries and revamps for existing granulation plants built under
license from YFT or UFT.

Uhde Fertilizer Technologys

office building in Roermond
in the Netherlands

UFT fluid bed granulation

Plants throughout the world

Fluid bed granulation technology was developed in the mid-1970s by NSM Sluiskil
(then Hydro Agri, later Yara), a large Nitrogen
fertilizer company which had been producing urea in Sluiskil in the Netherlands since
the 1950s.
At the time, there was a market demand
for granulated urea to overcome the various
short-comings of prilled urea (particle size
limitations, poor hardness, product caking,
environmental constraints).
The process was developed with the following requirements in mind:

the production of urea granules of
the highest possible quality and sizes
required by the market

environment-friendly operation at
competitive costs

maximum straightforward operational
flexibility

a single-train design to match everincreasing urea synthesis capacities
competitive investment costs
After extensive laboratory research and
pilot plant tests, the process was successfully implemented on an industrial scale
in Sluiskil in 1979. HFT/YFT, a dedicated

licensing company registered in Sluiskil,

then began licensing the technology to
fertilizer producers worldwide in 1980. Fluid
bed granulation became the leading technology, boasting more than 60 reference
plants with single-stream capacities ranging
from 500 mt/d to 3,850 mt/d.
In 2004, after the integration of Norsk
Hydros fertilizers activities into Yara International, an independent company, Yaras
decision to focus strictly on its core business (production and marketing of fertilizers) led to the divestment of its urea fluid
bed granulation licensing business. In 2005
Uhde Fertilizer Technology acquired the exclusive worldwide rights to further license
the technology without any restrictions. Thus
UFT has taken over the heritage of the company who developed the urea fluid bed
granulation technology.
Based on intensive research and development and based on the experience from
more than 60 plants in operation this superior technology has been further improved
and optimized by UFT.
There are now fluid bed granulation plants
based on UFTs technology on all five continents, and new capacities are constantly
being added.

165,000

UFT urea fluid bed granulation capacity (1975 2013)

150,000

137,800

120,000

99,700

mt/d

90,000

68,800
60,000

25,100

30,000

15,000
0

150

3,500

6,000

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

Contract year

2000

2005

2010

2013

Others
UFT fluid bed granulation plants operate under a
wide variety of different climatic conditions all over
the world. UFTs share of the market for fluid bed
granulation technologies is more than 80% with
respect to overall production capacity in operation.

>80%

Remarkable reference plants:

Customer

Location

Capacity

Special Features

CFI

USA

2 x 3,500 mt/d

Repeated Orders after 1996, capacity 2,000 mtpd

Qafco (5 & 6)

Qatar

2 x 3,850 mt/d

Qafco 3 & 4: UFT granulation plants as well

AOFP

Algeria

2 x 3,850 mt/d

Design capacity: 2 x 4,200 mt/d with acidic scrubbing

Petrobras

Brazil

3,600 mt/d

Ammonia Convert Technology

Safco 5

Saudi Arabia

3,600 mt/d

Safco 1,2,3 & 4: UFT granulation plants as well

CNOOC

P.R. China

2,700 mt/d

Biggest plant in P.R. China

AFC, EFC & MOPCO

Egypt

3 x 2,000 mt/d

For more details see separate list of reference plants which can be downloaded from the UFT homepage under
http://www.uhde-fertilizer-technology.com/publications.html

Process description
Features of the granulation process

Feed solution, which is typically a 97% urea

solution, is dispensed to the injection heads
where it is finely atomized up into the bed of
moving particles, assisted by air.
Fluidization air, delivered by a fan under the
perforated plate, flows through the product
layer to create a fluid bed and is discharged
at the granulator top.
Granular urea flows at a controlled rate from
the granulator to a fluid bed cooler. After
cooling, the granules are lifted to the screening section using a bucket elevator.
The fines fraction is recycled directly to the
granulator, while the coarse material is
crushed before being sent to the granulator
as seeding particles.
The on-size product is sent to the warehouse after final cooling. Cooling the urea
to a constant and sufficiently low storage
temperature is a key parameter in avoiding
caking.

Features of the granulation process

In UFTs process, the granulation mode is
accretion. This means that particles grow
through the solidification of tiny droplets
on the seed material. The result is a very
hard granule, far superior in quality than
granules produced through layering or
agglomeration-based processes.
This slow accretion process is unique in
permitting the water present in the urea
solution to be thoroughly stripped on a continuous basis, resulting in the end product
having a remarkably low moisture content.
The solids recycle ratio, which at 0.5:1 is
very low and stable, is another significant
feature as it eliminates the need to overdesign the solids recycle loop equipment.
The low recycle ratio is acceptable as it
only plays a minor role in the granulator
heat balance.
The bulk of the crystallization heat released
as the urea solidifies is removed by evaporating the water in the urea solution. This
method of heat release limits the amount
of fluidized air and the evaporation is highly
efficient because it takes place directly on
the granule surface.
Operation of the fluid bed granulation plant
is simple and very reliable, guaranteeing a
high on-stream factor. The granulator itself
contains no moving parts, and its design is
optimized to limit downtimes for cleaning to
a strict minimum.
The use of solids handling equipment is
minimized to increase the reliability and
availability of the fluid bed granulation plant
and to reduce maintenance costs.

to atmosphere

process
condensate

Granulator Granulator
Ammonia Dust
Scrubber Scrubber
acid
ammonium
salt solution

recycle to

process
condensate

sate

Cooler
Scrubber

Tank

process
condensate

1)

formaldehyde
urea solution

to storage

air
atomization air

fluidization air

air

1)

Depending on site conditions, Bulk Flow Cooler can be applied as alternative.

Emissions
Attractive options for reducing emissions

the emission figures. This scrubber technology is exclusively available in combination with UFT fluid bed
technology. An extra feature of the horizontal design is
the clear separation between the dust removal section
and acid handling in order to avoid back-mixing and
cross-contamination of the two streams.
Beside these advantages further important aspects of
the horizontal design are to the benefit of the customer.
Based on the design the overall power consumption
is essentially lower compared to a standard scrubber
design and in case a further reduction of urea fine dust
particles is required the horizontal scrubber can be extended by the AEROSEP stage with a very limited additional pressure drop. This allows UFT to provide a tailor
made scrubbing design exactly to needs of the clients.
Emission
Achievable urea dust emission

< 20 mg/Nm air

(with horizontal cross flow scrubbing system)

Traces
(with AEROSEP stage)

Ammonia
The majority of the ammonia is carried with the urea
solution from the urea synthesis plant. As the amount
is dictated by the equilibrium achieved during the evaporation process in the urea synthesis plant, it cannot be
influenced. A small part is generated by the biuret formation occurring in the transfer line between the urea
synthesis plant and the granulator in the urea granulation plant.

Urea dust
The air from the granulator and the fluid bed coolers
contains some urea dust which is easy to catch in
standard scrubbing equipment. Efficiencies of more
than 99.8% are easily obtained using industrially proven scrubbers, with dust outlet concentrations of less
than 0.1 kg per ton of urea produced being achieved.
Typically the urea dust is recovered as a 45% solution
and recycled to the evaporation unit in the urea synthesis plant.
Horizontal Cross Flow Scrubbing System
The preferred scrubbing system of horizontal cross
flow scrubbers with specially designed scrubbing pads
of the company Kimre, an expert in manufacturing of
highly efficient phase separation technology, reduces
the pressure drop to much lower values compared to
other scrubbing technologies, while further improving

The ammonia is released into the exhaust air leaving

the granulator when the urea solution is sprayed into
the fluidized bed. The standard wet scrubbing system
is able to catch nearly all the urea dust. However, it is
unable to catch the ammonia as the solubility of ammonia in an aqueous urea solution under the prevailing
operating conditions is limited.
The following options are available for reducing
ammonia emissions:
a) UFTs proprietary Ammonia Abatement System
The ammonia abatement system is based on the reversible gas phase reaction between ammonia and formaldehyde. The free ammonia is captured from the
exhaust air leaving the granulator and is recovered in
the urea synthesis. As a result, ammonia emissions are
reduced by up to 40 %. No additional scrubbing agent
is required and the additional investment and operating
costs are negligible.

Process diagram of Ammonia Convert Technology (ACT)

ammonia < 15 mg / Nm to atmosphere

make up
acid

process
condensate

Combined Dust
and
Acidic Scrubbing System
recycle

Recycle Evaporation

Battery Limits

Urea Synthesis Plant

incl. Evaporation

urea solution

b) Acidic Scrubbing, e. g. with

sulfuric acid as scrubbing agent
Dilute sulfuric acid is used as the scrubbing agent in an
acid scrubbing stage installed downstream of the dust
scrubbing section. The gaseous ammonia is absorbed
in the diluted acid, and an ammonium sulfate (AS) solution is obtained as an additional side stream. This side
stream has to be subjected to further treatment or disposed of both options taking place outside the battery
limits of the urea granulation plant. As a result, ammonia emissions are reduced by approx. 90% and more.

exhaust air
with urea dust & ammonia

urea solution

urea granules
N > 46 %wt.
S < 0.1 %wt.

Granulation

the recycle vacuum evaporation section is fed directly

into the combined acidic and dust scrubbing system as
make-up water.
The urea granules contain traces of ammonium sulfate,
the presence of the micronutrient is resulting in an upgrading of the fertilizer. Ammonia emissions are reduced
by approx. 90% and more.
The advantages of the Ammonia Convert Technology are:
Drastically reduced ammonia emissions

c) UFTs proprietary Ammonia Convert Technology

The Ammonia Convert Technology is based on an acid
scrubbing stage and recycling of the ammonium salt obtained back into the final product.
A special arrangement in the scrubbing system allows
the ammonium salt and the washed out dust to be recycled to a separate small recycle vacuum evaporation
section within the urea granulation plant. The concentrated mixture of urea and ammonium sulphate will be
mixed with the urea solution coming from the vacuum
evaporation in the urea synthesis plant.
As no recycle flow to the urea synthesis plant is required,
investment and operating costs within the urea synthesis plant are reduced. The process condensate from

No side stream of acidic scrubbing solution to

be disposed of
Nitrogen content in the urea fertilizer above 46%
Upgraded product quality due to an additional
nutrient in the product
Significant savings in production costs per ton
and per annum
The most stringent environmental regulations can
easily be met, additional production is achieved, and
the companys image in the community is improved.
Emission
Achievable ammonia emission

15 mg/Nm air

10

UFT activities
Standard, Mega and Jumbo plants

3D plant model of a Jumbo plant

Licensing and process design

With more than 60 plants in operation and a market
share of more than 80% of the plant capacity in operation, the fluid bed urea granulation technology licensed
by Uhde Fertilizer Technology has been setting the world
market standard for granular urea for more than three
decades.
UFT provides the license, the process design included
in the Process Design Package, and the Granulator
Lower Casing as proprietary equipment, and offers additional services, e.g. operator training and operational
support.
As a general rule, urea granulation plants can be split
into three classes based on annual production capacity:
Standard plants
Mega plants
Jumbo plants
Plants producing less than 1 million metric tons per
year are classed as standard plants.
Plants producing between 1 and 1.3 million metric tons
per year (approx 3,000 to 3,850 mt/d) in a single line
are classed as mega plants. In total, UFT has already
designed 21 plants with a capacity of more than 3,000
mt/d-eight of them are in operation, four are under
construction, and nine are in the engineering phase.
The biggest single line plant in operation to date has a
name plate capacity of 3,850mt/d. The highest daily

production achieved so far in a UFT fluid bed granulation plant is more than 4,200 mt/d.
UFT is the only licensor who can offer proven technology for mega plants.
Market demands for further reductions in investment
costs per ton of production have resulted in continuous
increases to individual plant sizes.
Based on its experience in the design and commissioning of world-scale plants, with capacities of 3,500 to
4,000 mt/d, UFT has developed a process schematic
for single-line urea granulation plants with capacities of
4,200 to 6,000 mt/d, the so-called jumbo plants.
As equipment sizes increase dramatically in such enormous plants, UFT has created tools used especially
for designing the granulator. These tools allow the design
to be optimized with regard to process and mechanical
parameters (please refer to page 12). One of these
tools, a model based on the Finite Element Method (FEM),
is used to perform and optimize the mechanical design
of the granulator lower and upper casing.
The layout is based on a product flow-oriented design
in which the product is only moved by gravity flow
once it has been lifted to the screening level. The advantages are short paths for the product and the air
flow and therefore minimized investment cost. A typical
layout for a 5,000 mt/d fluid bed urea granulation plant
has been drawn up based on the equipment design and
resulting equipment sizes (refer to the figure above).

11

UFT activities
Tailored revamps and further UFT activities

Small revamps (10 to 15%) in UFTs fluid bed granulation plants are easy to implement if spare fluidization
air is available. In this case the urea spray system
can cope with the extra capacity without needing to be
modified.
However, larger revamps are also easy to implement.
The main item, the granulator, can be upgraded by
increasing the number of urea sprayers installed in
the granulator using part of the granulators existing
cooling section. The residual cooling section in the
granulator can be enlarged by adding an additional
cooling section which must have additional fluidization
air. All other equipment has to be adapted to the new
capacity required on a case by case basis. This may
involve increasing the cooling capacity of the fluid bed
coolers, expanding the screening surface, or boosting
the scrubber capacity.
Several UFT granulation plants have been revamped
in the past, ranging from revamps for minor capacity
increases of 10% at PCS Trinidad, to major capacity
increases of more than 40%, such as the one for Yara
Belle Plaine, Canada, formerly Saskferco, or for ABF,
Malaysia. The latter example has already undergone
two revamps, increasing the capacity by more than 60%.
The Yara Belle Plaine plant in Canada is operating at
more than 3,000 mt/d and a total annually production
capacity of 1 million tons.

Further activities
R & D is one of UFTs major activities. Its main objectives are to improve and optimize the renowned fluid
bed granulation technology and to keep it in line with
market requirements.
In this context UFT cooperates with universities and
research institutes worldwide.
The ability to carry out tests in pilot plant scale facilities, coupled with the experience gained from operating
plants for selected customers, allows R & D results to be
implemented in industrial scale plants.
UFT also provides after-sales service, including operational support, troubleshooting and spare part delivery.
UFT is at the customers disposal at all times to suit the
customers requirements.

Remarkable reference plants for revamps:

Customer

Location

increase from

KAFCO

Bangladesh

1,725 to 2,100 mt/d

EFC

Egypt

2,000 to 2,250 mt/d

ABF

Malaysia

1,500 to 2,450 mt/d

Yara Belle Plaine

Canada

2,000 to 2,850 mt/d

PCS Nitrogen

Trinidad

1,620 to 1,800 mt/d

12

UFT activities
Granulator design by UFT

FEM Model of Granulator Upper Casing

CFD Simulation of Air

Flows through Granulator

The granulator is the key component in every

granulation plant. The granulator is comprised of the
Granulator Upper Casing and the Granulator Lower
Casing including the urea injection system.
UFT delivers the Granulator Lower Casing as a complete factory-pre-assembled package unit, and is consequently involved in every phase from engineering, to
expediting and inspection, to delivery of the Granulator
Lower Casing, as well as cooperating with selected
manufacturers.
The delivery of the Granulator Lower Casing as proprietary equipment, UFTs outstanding experience in
granulator design spanning over thirty years, and the
feedback from the 60+ granulators designed ensure
the highest possible quality standards.
UFT has gone to enormous lengths to optimize the
design of the granulator. For example, fluid dynamic
calculations were performed to optimize the fluidization air flow supply to the granulator lower casing,
and the exhaust air flow to the downstream scrubbing
system. As a result, UFT offers a granulator design

FEM lifting study of Granulator Lower Casing

which provides excellent product quality while boasting

low investment costs and low operating costs per ton
of urea.
FEM (Finite Element Method) models have been developed to optimize the mechanical design of the Granulator Upper and Lower Casing under prevailing design
conditions, such as design pressure and earthquake
factors, and to minimize the weight of the granulator
upper and lower casing while maintaining higher mechanical stability.
Based on UFTs proprietary design tools, UFT offers as
optional supply the detail engineering and the delivery
of the Granulator Upper Casing. The design and the
delivery of the complete Granulator from one source
results in the optimum fit and the highest mechanical
stability. At the same time weight and therefore investment cost for the equipment and the necessary foundation can be reduced.
This means that UFT is able to make customized designs for all plant sizes, especially for mega and jumbo
plant size granulators.

13

Facts and figures

Mega plant

Products
The UFT fluid bed granulation process can produce
all required product sizes within an average diameter
range of 2 to 8 mm, e.g. 2 to 4 mm (standard granule)
or 4 to 8 mm (large granule), in the same plant with
only minimum adjustments.
Product characteristics
Urea granules produced in the fluid bed have a well
rounded shape and are very hard. They are particularly
resistant to crushing and abrasion, and are consequently dust-free, non-caking and completely free
flowing, even after long storage times and frequent
handling and shipping.
Specification (Typical)

Standard size

Large size

Total nitrogen

46.3 wt%

46.3 wt%

Biuret

0.7-0.8 wt%

0.7-0.8 wt%

Moisture

0.2 wt%

0.3 wt%

Crushing strength 4.1 kg (:3 mm)

10.0 kg (:7 mm)

Average diameter 3.2 mm

6.3 mm

Size distribution

95 wt% (2-4 mm) 95 wt% (4-8 mm)

Formaldehyde

0.4 wt%

0.4 wt%

Consumption figures
The consumption figures largely depend on the climatic
conditions on site, local environmental regulations, the
end-product storage temperature, and the overall plant
energy management system.
Typical Specific Consumption
Electric power

25 kWh/mt 1)

LP stream

35 kg/mt

Process water

0.2 m/mt

Cooling water

none

1)

depending on climatic conditions

Application
Granular urea can be substituted for prilled urea in all
applications. Urea granules have a number of superior
features as a result of their excellent physical characteristics:

Granules can be stored in bulk and transported in
large volumes without loss or quality degradation
Granular urea is particularly suitable for bulk
blending operations; segregation or mechanical
damage during mixing and transport is virtually nil
The larger granules have improved agronomical
efficiency, particularly when used in paddy rice fertilization, and are also suitable for aerial spreading

Left photo: Urea product

Right photo: Mega plant

14

Advantages of UFTs
Fluid Bed Granulation Process

Outstanding Experience

Excellent Design Features


Excellent product quality, setting world market
standard for granular urea


Single-stream capacities which are always large
enough to handle the largest urea synthesis units
developed to date.


Proven technology for more than 30 years

With more than 60UFT granulation plants worldwide
operating under all climatic conditions, and a worldwide market share with respect to operating capacity
of more than 80%

UFT is the only licensor of urea granulation technology to have licensed 21 urea granulation plants
with equal or higher capacities than 3,000 mt/d,
eight of them are in operation, four are under construction and nine are in the engineering phase
(first commissioning in 2004/max. achieved
capacity of 4200 mt/d in a single line).

High operating flexibility


Customized design in terms of product quality,
environmental requirements, minimum investment
cost, low operating cost, local conditions and competent support during the life cycle of the plant

Various alternative plant concepts for small and
medium urea granulation plants available. These
plant concepts and the equipment in the required
size are already proven in UFT granulation plants.

Use of a typical 97% urea solution, coupled with low
recycle ratios to the urea synthesis plant, results in
the design of the upstream urea concentration unit,
and of its related desorption/hydrolysis section in the
urea synthesis plant, being simplified considerably:
- only single-stage evaporation downstream of the
urea solution buffer tank,
- reduced steam and cooling water consumption,
- minimized electrical power consumption,
- reduced investment and operating costs for the
urea synthesis plant.

Based on the horizontal cross flow scrubbing system
developed by Kimre and UFT the electrical power
consumption can be minimized.

Compact layout for maximum operability with
minimum investment costs

As the heart of the urea granulation plant, the
granulator, has no moving parts, the entire operation
is highly reliable and simple.

Maximum use of gravity flow as a means of transport inside the battery limit

1515

Excellent Operating Features

Outstanding Environmental Features


Its outstanding flexibility permits virtually all
requested product size within an average diameter
range of 2 to 8 mm, to be produced in the same
plant with only minimum adjustments.


No liquid effluents are released into the sewers from
the urea granulation plant.

Start ups and shut downs are simple.


Operating with a urea solution concentration as
low as typically 97% allows the biuret content of
the granules to be maintained at a level significantly
lower than that of other granulation processes,
thereby improving the product quality.

Easy operation, reduces manpower to a strict
minimum.

Operation and maintenance costs are low.

Maximum on-stream factor


Efficient control of atmospheric emissions compatible with the most stringent environmental
regulations

A dust removal efficiency of more than 99.8% can
be reached consistently with proven wet scrubbers.

UFT offers highly efficient and industrially proven
schemes for ammonia emission reduction such as:
a) UFTs proprietary Ammonia Abatement System,
ammonia emissions are reduced by up to 40%,
b) Acidic Scrubbing with e. g. sulfuric acid, ammonia emissions are reduced by approx. 90% and
more,
c) UFTs proprietary Ammonia Convert Technology,
ammonia emissions are reduced by approx. 90%
and more, avoiding any side stream by recycling
of the ammonium salt from the acidic scrubbing
into the final product. This combines minimized
emissions with remarkable economic benefits.

The combined urea dust and ammonia emission
reduction by the horizontal cross flow scrubbing system (Kimre and UFT development) can achieve very
low emission figures and a simultaneously reduced
pressure drop. This leads to lower investment and
operating cost.

FL 240e/2000 12/2013 UFT/TK printmedia/Printed in Germany

Uhde Fertilizer Technology B.V.

Noordhoven 19 6042 NW Roermond The Netherlands
Tel.: +31 475 399 770 Fax: +31 475 399 777
www.uhde-fertilizer-technology.com