Energy saving in a HP melamine plant: advice for adequate revamping

Energy saving in an HP melamine plant: advice for adequate revamping

Old high-pressure melamine plants still in operation nowadays feature a single-reactor synthesis section and an ammonia-based melamine purification. The main drawbacks of these plants arise from the processing of the reaction off-gases along with the melamine melt in the quencher in an aqueous solution.
These drawbacks are the production of medium-pressure water-saturated off-gases and the high energy consumption partly due to the necessary CO2 separation from the melamine solution.
Taking advantage from the Casale dual-reactor melamine synthesis section with urea-based offgas scrubbing, single-reactor HP melamine plants can be revamped to obtain high-pressure anhydrous reaction off-gases (to be recycled to the associated urea plant) and eliminating the CO2 stripping from the melamine solution.
Such a revamping will positively impact both the melamine plant and the associated urea plant in terms of a decreased energy (steam) consumption.