UreaKnowHow.com presents at LRSV 2021

At LRVS 2021, we will be presenting on, “Safety Incidents with High Pressure Rotating Equipment in Urea Plants”.
Here’s what to expect: This paper elaborates the most critical safety incidents including its prevention and mitigation measures.
To minimize / avoid incidents that do repeat, we recommend making use of the Center for Chemical Process Safety: Risk Based Process Safety Management approach.
Also proper attention must be paid to the right design, fabrication, installation, inspection, repair and operational procedures. Involve experienced and knowledgeable urea experts as owner’s engineers in your projects and training programs.
Treat safety and reliability as your number one priority.
Remember, LRVS2021 will be taking place from the 14-15th September!
Find out more by clicking here!

UreaKnowHow.com presents at AIChE Ammonia Safety 2021 Virtual Conference

A century of ammonia synthesis technology - with an emphasis on continual progress in ammonia plant safety - is the theme of AIChE's 65th Annual Safety in Ammonia Plants and Related Facilities Symposium on August 29 - September 2, 2021. Experts from around the world will discuss the latest advances related to the safe production and use of ammonia, case studies, and lessons learned. UreaKnowHow.com will present a paper with the title: The #1 Safeguard for Any Urea Plant. As of January 2021, UreaKnowHow.com has collected and analyzed more than 135 serious urea incidents. Based on this analysis, what is the most important, or the number one, safeguard, for any urea plant? It is the leak detection system for loose liners of the high-pressure equipment. In just two recent years (2018 and 2019), at least six serious incidents have occurred whereby the available leak detection system failed! It is really a miracle no casualties were involved. This paper explains why a proper leak detection system for loose liners of high-pressure equipment is crucial. This paper also explains why most existing systems are not acceptable anymore by illustrating their shortcomings in several incidents. The paper will conclude with how a modern state-of-the-art leak detection system, The #1 Safeguard for Any Urea Plant, should be designed. The goal of this paper is to convince urea plant owners to upgrade existing leak detection systems to state of the art standards and improve the safety and reliability level in our industry. Register here

How a vacuum system is able to detect clogging in the tubing ?

When talking about active leak detection systems, one can distinguish a pressurized system, in which an inert carrier gas stream flows through the leak detection circuits and a vacuum based system, where one pulls vacuum pressure behind the liner. All liner compartments are connected in a logical and economical manner via tubing to the ammonia analyzer.
In a pressurized system a flow indicator should be installed to detect clogging.
In a vacuum system vacuum pressure exists in the complete leak detection system; the achieved vacuum pressure is a result of the capacity of the vacuum pump and the amount of ambient air leaking in via the tubing connections. It is unavoidable that some ambient air will enter into the system.
Once a clogging does occur somewhere in a section, the part between the clogging and the vacuum pump / ammonia analyzer will remain under vacuum pressure and under detection. However, the part between the atmospheric ball valve and the clogging will rise in pressure until atmospheric pressures has been reached. This allows for a detection of clogging also in a vacuum system as described below ...

Click here for the full explanation

Click here for all latest information

What is reason #7 to choose for a vacuum system ?

We recommend to use a vacuum based leak detection system for several important reasons:

Reason #1: No risk of liner bulging (refer to FAQ 6)
Reason #2: Direct coverage of the complete carbon steel surface of a compartment (refer to FAQ 7)
Reason #3: A vacuum system is less prone to clogging (refer to FAQ 9)
Reason #4: A vacuum system does not restrict the leaking flow and does not built-up pressure or introduces risks for backflow (refer to FAQ 10)
Reason #5: A vacuum system also works when there is only one leak detection hole in a liner compartment (refer to FAQ 11)
Reason #6: A vacuum system also works when there are clogged grooves or no grooves (refer to FAQ 12)
Reason #7 is: A pressurised system requires a dedicated ammonia analyser for each high pressure equipment item whereas a vacuum system needs only one ammonia analyser for all high pressure equipment items to realise the same reliability.

Click here to find out why.