RCF is one of the largest producers of Urea

in India, with manufacturing sites at two

locations, Mumbai & Thal.

RCF Thal is situated in coastal belt of

western India with 8.6 Sq.Kms premises
in lush green belt.
 We are an ISO-14001 &
OHSAS- 18001 Certified company.

Some of our chemicals are ISO 9001

certified.
RCF, THAL
 RCF Thal was established in 1984 as a
complex of Capacity:
Ammonia plants 2 X 1350 MTPD
Urea Plants 3 X 1500 MTPD

After revamping in two phases & debottlenecking

plant capacities were increased to ---
Ammonia Plants 2 X 1500 MTPD
Urea Plants 3 X 1725 MTPD
 Efforts To Maintain
Ecological Balance

Studies on Dispersion modelling

have been carried out
Environment Impact assessment
has been carried out
A functional marine outfall system is
in place.
Progressive Performance
Improvements in
Urea Plant, RCF Thal
This Presentation Deals with...
Improvements in
™ Carbamate Condensers
™ Titanium Strippers
Other Improvements
Steam Conservation Initiatives
Improvements in CW System
Process Improvements
 Improvements in
Carbamate Condenser (E5)

Problem #1 :
™ Failures in Carbamate Condensers
E5A/B were frequent
™ Failure in top E5 was more compared to
the bottom one.

Contd…
Layout of E5 (Old)
 Improvements in E5 contd…

Solution:
™ Top carbamate condenser was taken out of
service with no appreciable effect on
capacity.
™ Material of construction of bottom
carbamate condenser was changed from
SS316L UG to 25:22:2 Steel (2RE69)
Layout of E5 (Modified)
Improvements in E5 contd…

Problem #2 :
™ Higher temperature of Carbamate
solution to reactor
™ Shifting of vap. Load to MP section to a
large extent.
Analysis:
Bypassing of Partition plate

Contd…
Improvements in E5 contd…

Solution:
Welding of segments of partition
plate helped in avoiding bypass of
carbamate solution.
Result:
Let down of vapour from HP Loop to
MP Decomposer reduced.
Contd…
Improvements in E5 contd…

All Bolted Segments

Welded Segments

Bolted Segments
 Improvements in
Titanium Strippers

Problem #1 :
Cracks were observed in nozzles of
two of the strippers necessitating repairs
Analysis:
These cracks were because of
frequent leakages in liquid inlet nozzle
of stripper
Contd…
Improvements in
Titanium Strippers contd…

Cracked
area
 Improvements in
Titanium Strippers contd…

• Solution:
Extension of inlet nozzle by 1000mm.

Introduction of sacrificial sleeve in

inlet nozzle.

Contd…
 Improvements in
Titanium Strippers contd…
ORIGINAL MODIFIED

SPOOL PIECE

HV-3 HV-3

STRIPPER STRIPPER
REACTOR REACTOR
Improvements in
Titanium Strippers contd…
SACRIFICIAL SLEEVE

Stripper
Eroded
Sleeve

Sacrificial
Sleeve
 Improvements in
Titanium Strippers contd…
Problem #2 :
Inadequate decomposition in stripper
Analysis:
Deterioration of performance due to
wearing away of top tube ends leading to
loss of falling film and consequent
shifting of decomposition load to MP
section.
Contd…
 Improvements in
Titanium Strippers contd…

Solution:
Improved procedure for fixing of
ferrules during stripper overhaul.
This helped in saving 7 T/hr of
HP Steam per stripper.

Contd…
 Improvements in
Titanium Strippers
MODIFIED FERRULE FIXING
FERRULE

TEFLON
TAPE ERRODED
TUBE END

17 mm
3 mm
5 mm

TUBESHEET TUBE
 OTHER
IMPROVEMENTS
 OTHER IMPROVEMENTS

Improvement in Ammonia Storage Tank

Increase in Ammonia feed pump capacity

Improvement in 1st Vac Conc (E14)

Improvements in CO2 compressor

Improvement in CT pump efficiency

 Improvement in Ammonia
Storage Tank

Problem:
Cracks observed in Ammonia Receiver (V1)
Analysis:
Only local stress relieving of weld joints was
done during fabrication.
Solution:
Stress relieving of the complete tank was
carried out.
 OTHER IMPROVEMENTS

Improvement in Ammonia Storage Tank

Increase in Ammonia feed pump capacity

Improvement in 1st Vac Conc (E14)

Improvements in CO2 compressor

Improvement in CT pump efficiency

Increase in Ammonia Feed
Capacity
Problem:
Vibrations in discharge pipeline &
Unloading of pump at higher loads
Analysis:
Insufficient pumping capacity
Solution:
Installation of higher capacity pump
block to increase capacity by 10%.
 OTHER IMPROVEMENTS

Improvement in Ammonia Storage Tank

Increase in Ammonia feed pump capacity

Improvement in 1st Vac Conc (E14)

Improvements in CO2 compressor

Improvement in CT pump efficiency

 Improvement in 1st Vac
Conc (E14)
Problem:
Heat transfer efficiency of 1st
Vac.Conc.(E14) had reduced drastically
affecting vacuum adversely

Analysis:
It was observed that tubes were getting
severely fouled with rust and hard scale.
This was causing poor boil-off &
shifting of load to II Vac.Conc.(E15) Contd…
Improvement in 1st Vac
Conc (E14) contd…
Solution:
™ Special lance for hydro-jet cleaning was
developed for removing hard scale.
™ Fully blocked tubes in the centre portion
had to be drilled to remove hard scale
™ Procurement of spare heat exchanger
to reduce down time during
hydrojet cleaning.
 OTHER IMPROVEMENTS

Improvement in Ammonia Storage Tank

Increase in Ammonia feed pump capacity

Improvement in 1st Vac Conc (E14)

Improvements in CO2 compressor

Improvement in CT pump efficiency

 Improvements in
CO2 Compressor
Problem:
Popping up of 4th Stage PSV below set -
pressure
Analysis:
High vibrations in CO2 final discharge
pipeline
Contd…
 Improvements in
CO2 Compressor contd…

Installation of Pinched passage diaphragm

(Supplied by M/s. BHEL, India)

Modification of supports of final discharge

pipeline after flexibility analysis.

Contd…
Pinched Passage
Diaphragm
ORIGINAL MODIFIED
CO2 OUTLET CO2 OUTLET
 OTHER IMPROVEMENTS

Improvement in Ammonia Storage Tank

Increase in Ammonia feed pump capacity

Improvement in 1st Vac Conc (E14)

Improvements in CO2 compressor

Improvement in CT pump efficiency

 Improving Efficiency of
Cooling Water Pumps

After corro-coating of pumps

™ Efficiency of each pump increased by 4%

™ The power consumption has reduced

by 250Kw

Contd…
Improving Efficiency of
Cooling Water Pumps

Before Corro-Coating
Improving Efficiency of
Cooling Water Pumps

After Corro-Coating
 Efforts Towards
Steam Conservation
STEAM CONSERVATION

UREA OPTIMIZATION SCHEME

INSTALLATION OF PARALLEL
STEAM HEADER WITH CALCIUM
SILICATE INSULATION
 MPD
Vac Sec
LS E-7

LPD

MV-52
E14

MS
MV-52
E1
E5
MV1

NH3 P-51
E5 P- 3
CO2
UREA OPTIMIZATION SCHEME

Advantages:
Steam saving of 120 kg/MT of Urea
Reduced load on M.P. condenser which is
the most critical exchanger.
Stable operation of plant at higher
loads upto 2000 MTPD.
Better utilisation of excess LP Steam
through MP pre-decomposer instead of
injection in turbine.
 Installation of Parallel
HP Steam Header
STEAM DISTRIBUTION NETWORK

BOILER III BOILER II BOILER I

104 Kg/cm2 & 5100C

Existing Header
New Header

Unit 11 Unit 21 Unit 31

93 Kg/cm2 &
4890C
 Installation of Parallel
HP Steam Header contd…
STEAM DISTRIBUTION NETWORK

BOILER III BOILER II BOILER I

104 Kg/cm2 & 5100C

Existing Header
New Header

New Header

Unit 11 Unit 21 Unit 31

98 Kg/cm2
& 4890C
 Installation of Parallel
HP Steam Header contd…
Advantages:
HP steam consumption has reduced by 5 T/hr
HP steam pressure near the farthest compressor
has improved from 93 kg/cm2 to 98 kg/cm2
Thermodynamic efficiency of turbine has
improved.
IMPROVEMENTS IN
COOLING WATER
SYSTEM
 Cooling Water System
Cooling water:
™ Recirculation rate : 28,000 M3/hr
™ Hold-up : 10,000 M3

„ Organo-phosphate based treatment

„ Alkalinity, Hardness of raw water
changes twice during the year.
pH varies between 6.5 & 8.0
 Improvements in
Cooling Water Quality

„ Stabilisation of cooling water pH

„ Deployment of small capacity

Cooling water pump
Stabilisation of pH
Problem:
1. Continued Low pH between 5.5 to 6.5
2. High consumption of cooling water
Chemicals / Soda ash
3. Hydroblasting of Heat Exch. had become
mandatory during annual turnaround due
to slime formation.
Analysis: Increased bacterial activity
Contd…
Stabilisation of pH contd…

Solution:
™ Identification of location of maximum
growth of bacteria and introduction of
chlorine at proper location
™ Improvement in efficiency of side-
stream filtration by using new properly
sized blower.

Contd…
 Stabilisation of pH contd…

COOLING TOWER BASIN

Original point CW Pumps

Of Chlorination

CELL 1 CELL 2 CELL 9 CELL 10

BIOLOGICAL
SLUDGE

Modified point of
MIDIFIED BLOW DOWN
CHLORINATION VALVES
Chlorination
POINTS FOR
TOTAL 10 CELL
 Small Capacity Pump
Initial Scheme:
3 X 1.9 MW CW Pumps for a load of
4500 MTPD
Modified Scheme:
2 X 1.9 MW + 1 X 1.1 MW CW Pumps for
a load of 5400 MTPD
Savings: 600 KW of Power
Power Savings in CW Pumps

Savings due to small capacity pump – 600 Kw

Savings due to corro-coating – 250 Kw

Total Power Savings --- 850 Kws

Farthest Vacuum condenser (E41)
– After 24 months of Operation
 Vacuum Condenser (E41)
during previous inspections

Picture of fouled exchanger

 Improvements in
Cooling Water Quality contd..
Advantages:
„ Soda Ash consumption required for pH
correction was reduced from an average of
3000 kgs/month to nil.

„ Turbidity reduced from 7-9 NTU to 3-4 NTU

 PROCESS
IMPROVEMENTS
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS

• Generation of Boiler Feed Water through

MP Hydrolysis
• MV7 Crown Washing with Urea Melt
• Overcoming of Reactor feed flow variations
due to fluctuations in frequency
• Performance improvement of E7
BFW PRODUCTION
THROUGH
MEDIUM PRESSURE
HYDROLYSIS
 BFW PRODUCTION

Reasons for success of MP Hydrolysis

(Operating Temp. 215 0C & Press. 23 Kg/cm2):

™ Lower urea concentration (0.6%)

in inlet to distillation column
™ Higher hydrolyser residence time .
 SCHEMATIC OF WASTE
WATER SECTION
DISTILLATION
TOWER
O.H. CONDENSER

STEAM
HYDROLIZER

LS

Press. 23 kg/cm2
Temp. 2150C
REBOILER Resi. Time: 40 min
 Hydroliser in Urea Plant
Press. 23 kg/cm2
Temp. 2150C
Vapour Outlet Resi. Time: 40 min

Hydroliser feed Steam

Urea – 0.4% HYDROLIZER
Amm.- 0.3%

Liquid Outlet
Urea conc. in BFW

Amm. 2500ppm
CO2 800 ppm
Urea 8800 ppm
Temp 2150C
Residence time: 35 min

Urea 1.8 ppm

Hydrolyser residence time

 MEDIUM PRESSURE
HYDROLYSIS contd…
Analysis of BFW condensate:

NH3 content < 1.7 ppm

Urea < 0.5 ppm
pH 7.5 to 8.0
Conductivity < 20 micro-mhos
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS

• Generation of Boiler Feed Water through

MP Hydrolysis
• MV7 Crown Washing with Urea Melt
• Overcoming of Reactor feed flow variations
due to fluctuations in frequency
• Performance improvement of E7
Crown washing of MV7 with
Urea melt
Crown washing with condensate:
Solution has to be diverted. About
30T of HP steam is required for
recovery of Urea solution.
Crown washing with Urea melt:
No polymer deposition was observed
when the vessel was inspected during
shut down.
 Crown washing of MV7

MV6 MV7

LW

P8 PT
ME 52
 Crown washing of MV7
with Urea Melt

MV6 MV7

LW

P8
ME52 PT
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS

• Generation of Boiler Feed Water through

MP Hydrolysis
• MV7 Crown Washing with Urea Melt
• Overcoming of Reactor feed flow variations
due to fluctuations in frequency
• Performance improvement of E7
 Fluctuations of Electrical
Frequency
National power grid has frequency variations
due to variable demand of power
RCF Electrical grid being synchronized with
national grid, leads to fluctuations in reactor
feed ratios.
Leads to increased steam consumption &
increased openings of process vents.
Contd…
 Fluctuations of Electrical
Frequency contd…

In-House software logic development for

Automation of rpm control of
Ammonia Feed Pumps (P1)
Automation of carbamate recycle pump (P2)

This has led to stabilization of

feed flow to Reactor (R1)
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS

• Generation of Boiler Feed Water through

MP Hydrolysis
• MV7 Crown Washing with Urea Melt
• Overcoming of Reactor feed flow variations
due to fluctuations in frequency
• Performance improvement of E7
Performance improvement of
MP condenser (E7)
Scaling in MP Condenser (E7) causes
deterioration of C1 performance and
consequent load limitation.

On line chemical cleaning was carried out

Contd…
 Performance improvement of
MP condenser contd…

Advantages:
Performance of condensation has improved
Ammonia reflux to MP absorber reduced
by 2 m3/hr.
Reduction of down time & consistent high
load operation

Contd…
Performance improvement of
MP condenser contd…

Innovative procedure for

sustaining E7 performance

Utilization of acidic condensate from CO2

separator to maintain CW pH of E7 at
around 7
 FUTURE PLANS

Installation of VFD on Ammonia Feed Pumps

Savings-80 Kw per pump
Installation of Passivation Air Compressors for
Bimetallic Strippers
Installation of gas-gas exchanger to improve
CO2 discharge temp. from 1100C to 1400C
thereby saving of steam & improvement in
R1 conversion.
 FUTURE PLANS contd…

Installation of high efficiency trays in Reactor

Improved prilling buckets for obtaining Prills

with higher Mean Prill Diameter from 1.75 mm
to 1.88 mm.

Lining up of M.P. off gases to ammonia plant.

 Production Performance

YEAR PRODUCTION SPECIFIC CONSUMPTIONS

Energy Ammonia Steam Power

MT MKCal/MT MT/MT MT/MT KWH/MT
1998-99 1,442,900 7.143 0.5811 1.522 65.36
1999-00 1,488,585 7.114 0.5800 1.613 66.95
2000-01 1,329,400 7.129 0.5820 1.483 65.00
2001-02 1,451,150 7.218 0.5820 1.451 63.56
2002-03 1,537,300 6.949 0.5803 1.309 60.74
2003-04 1,731,350 6.574 0.5786 1.226 57.28
PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE
Contd…

Half yearly Production:

9,37,120 MT
Projected Yearly Production:
18,50,000 MT
 Production Over the Years
Yearwise Performance Indicators

2,000,000 7.400

Sp. Energy Cons.

7.200
1,500,000
Production

7.000
1,000,000 6.800
6.600
500,000
6.400
0 6.200
98-99 99-00 ^00-01 ^01-02 ^02-03 ^03-04

Year
Production
Sp. Energy Cons
RCF makes this possible
We thank SnamProgetti for giving
us an opportunity to present the
success story of RCF Urea Plant
to this august gathering.