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Saipem is a leading licensor of urea considered a leader in urea plant design, thanks
technology through its proprietary to its ability to channel all of that knowledge into
SnamprogettiTM technology, as well as its proprietary know-how, which it applies to study
a worldwide leader in designing and and develop innovative new solutions.
building ammonia/urea complexes. This approach to urea technology is the driver
With over 130 existing SnamprogettiTM behind a significant research and development
Urea Technology licenses in 34 countries (mainly effort on the part of the company, which sees
India and China) and a daily urea production special attention paid to studies aimed at identifying
exceeding 235,000 metric tons, Saipem holds new and efficient process solutions.
more than one third of worldwide installed urea The results of this effort have recently led to the
capacity and has also licensed one of the world’s development of two new innovations that look set to
largest single urea line plants, the Wulan Plant in secure an important role for the SnamprogettiTM on
China, with a production capacity of 4,000 tons per future urea/ammonia projects, namely Supercups
day. trays and Omegabond® Technology.
HP loop development: two Supercups trays
innovative solutions for urea for urea reactor
reactors and urea strippers
Urea reactors are non-ideal multi-phase plug-
An old saying goes: “knowledge is born from
experience”. So what kind of experience is required flow reactors (PFR) type equipped with dedicated
to be able to tackle all the various aspects of an
innovative chemical plant technology? In answering distributors for the reagents and a number of sieve
this question, we need to bear in mind that the
extent of knowledge in the various disciplines type trays, consisting of perforated plates that
pertaining to the design, management and start-
up of a fertilizer plant is enormous; whereas prevent back-flow of the heavier solution from
what is commonly referred to as “technology” is
a very specific, minor part - albeit one of central the upper part downwards and that favour gas
importance. In other words, the experience
acquired in all of those various aspects constitutes absorption in the liquid phase.
a key factor in achieving excellence.
In this framework Saipem, with its proprietary The innovative concept of the Snamprogetti™
technology SnamprogettiTM Urea, can be
SuperCups lies in the realization of a confined
reaction space within the reactor tray geometry,
in the form of the cups themselves, which provide
mixing units in which ammonia is contacted with
Urea plant view tOhnecgeastheeouresaCcOta2nitns small bubbles. the cups,
have swirled inside
the mixed solution of product and non-reacted
components is uniformly distributed on the upper
part of the tray by means of the upper cup
distributor. The outlet flow pattern ensures
a further mixing of the solution coming from
all the cups.
The behavior of the SuperCups is
characterized by a triple fluid-dynamic
effect: Gas Equalizer, Mixer Reactor and Gas
Distributor (figure 1).
The SuperCups technology was
comprehensively tested in two industrial
facilities and is now ready for commercial
launch.
The performance of these innovative trays
was assessed by monitoring plant operation
over a wide time frame. The laboratory
analyses, the steam balance and the process
evaluation of each process section all
provided evidence of an enhancement in the
performance of the units in question which,
following installation of the SuperCups,
operated at increased plant loads with
higher reactor yield and lower specific energy
consumption. In addition, at maximum plant
capacities - where reactor volume becomes
a limiting factor - the improvement in fluid-
Fig. 1 - CFD of SuperCups tray dynamic patterns afforded by SuperCups
Impiantistica Italiana - Luglio-Agosto 2016 69
