Toyo Engineering Corporation

Sumitomo Metal Industries, Inc.

Eiki Nagashima

Masashi Takahashi

Yoshimi Yamadera

Toshitsugu Fukai

There is provided a urea synthesis method having excellent reliability and productivity with the amount of oxygen used as a corrosion-resistant agent minimized without using special duplex stainless steel. In a urea synthesis apparatus having a synthesis tower, a stripper, and a condenser, general-purpose austenitic-ferritic duplex stainless steel with Cr content: 21 to 26 wt %, Ni content: 4.5 to 7.5 wt %, Mo content: 2.5 to 3.5 wt %, N content: 0.08 to 0.30 wt %, C content: 0.03 wt % or less, Si content: 1.0 wt % or less, Mn content: 2.0 wt % or less, P content: 0.04 wt % or less, and S content: 0.03 wt % is used as a urea synthesis apparatus material in at least some of parts where the urea synthesis apparatus comes into contact with a fluid having corrosiveness, and oxygen feed concentration with respect to carbon dioxide is 100 to 2,000 ppm.

Urea synthesis method

A duplex stainless steel for use in urea manufacturing plants, in mass %, consisting of C: 0.03% or less, Si: 0.5% or less, Mn: 2% or less, P: 0.04% or less, S: 0.003% or less, Cr: 26% or more, but less than 28%, Ni: 6-10%, Mo: 0.2-1.7%, W: more than 2%, but no more than 3%, N: more than 0.3%, but no more than 0.4%, with the balance being Fe and impurities, in which the content of Cu as an impurity is not more than 0.3%. The duplex stainless steel may also have Ca, Ce, and B content, and it is desirable that levels of Al and O (oxygen) as an impurities be no more than 0.05% and 0.01% respectively. Further, it is preferable that an increase in the Vickers hardness of the steel should not be more than 80, before and after the solution treated steel is subjected to the heat treatment of 800&#xb0; C. for 30 minutes and subsequent water cooling. This duplex stainless steel possesses a high corrosion resistance.

Duplex stainless steel for urea manufacturing plants

Stainless steels are welded using a shielding gas including 88 to 98.9 mole % Ar, 1 to 10 mole % H , and 0.1 to 2.0 mole % CO . The shielding gas permits low sulfur, high chromium, austenitic stainless steel pipes to be joined with welds having sufficient penetration, strength, corrosion resistance and durability for practical use.

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Chiba, Japan

Eiki Nagashima