LEM™ Low Energy Melamine

Key features

• Higher Energy efficiency
• Higher melamine conversion efficiency
• Unique Urea yield from waterfree off-gas

Melamine is a chemical made directly from urea, which finds application in high end plastic products such as molding compounds, decorative laminates, adhesives for the woodwork industry, coating resins, concrete plasticizers and resins for paper finishing.

Furthermore, the Off-Gases generated in the melamine plant can be recycled back to the urea plant where they will be converted again into urea thus making a melamine plant perfectly integrated within a fertilizer complex.

Melamine offers urea producers a very interesting business opportunity to diversify by extending the nitrogen value chain, starting from hydrocarbons, with a new product having a strong market growth potential. In Casale's LEM™ (Low Energy Melamine) process, urea is converted directly into melamine at high pressure and without the use of any catalyst, unlike melamine processes which are operated at lower pressure.

The Distinctive features of Casale LEM™ process are the following:

Energy efficiency

• Less energy (steam and gas) consumption
• Less Green House Gases (CO2)
• Recovers heat of condensation

Melamine conversion efficiency

• Reduced feedstock cost for melamine production
• Frees up additional urea volumes for sales
• Reduced energy demand for reprocessing of off-gas into urea

Urea yield from off-gas

• Water free off-gas as additional feedstock for urea production (“debottlenecking effect”)
• Off-gas available at much higher pressure
• Simple integration of off-gas stream into high pressure section of urea plant

Casale offers and extensive range of services, from the realization of feasibility studies up to project contracting on turn-key basis.