LIQUID FERTILISERS

What is UAN?
rea ammonium nitrate (UAN) solu-

U tions are well established liquid fer-

tilizers, particularly in North
America, Western Europe and the former
Soviet Union. North America is traditionally
a market for anhydrous ammonia fertiliza-
tion, however, transport and storage risks
have increased insurance costs. Also,
many of the existing UAN production plants
are small in size and use an on-site surplus
of ammonia and urea for additional pro-
duction of UAN solutions, and can be
expected to be replaced by larger scale
facilities, as transport of UAN solutions is
safe and fairly simple.
Due to the different nitrogen com-
pounds contained in UAN solution this liq-
uid fertilizer also has certain advantages
concerning retarding effects and efficiency
of fertilisation.
UAN solutions are typically produced
from urea and ammonium nitrate solution
plus water. They usually contain a corro-
sion-inhibiting agent, frequently ammonia
but most commonly molybdenum or
anionic surfactant containing agents. The
UAN solution can then be stored in mild
steel equipment. Common UAN solutions

What on the market contain 28, 30 and 32% N,

but typically a 32% N quality is produced,
transported and, if required, diluted only at
the final destination.

happened The composition of typically marketed

UAN solutions can be defined by two char-
acteristics. The first is the temperature at
which a UAN solution of the required nitro-
gen content will start to crystallise or “salt

to UAN? out”. The lowest salting out temperatures

and densities of common solutions are
shown in Table 1.
The 32% N solutions start to salt out at
0 to -2°C, a fairly low temperature. When
stored in large tanks only partial salting out
can be expected even in cold climates and
Five years ago the prospects for UAN were promising. A steady without heating. When required, the salting
increase in demand and supply seemed to be certain, and out temperature can be significantly low-
ered by just adding water for long-lasting
many large-scale projects were discussed. In 2004 Uhde extreme temperature conditions (e.g. in
presented a “Mega UAN Concept” to meet the expected future Canada and Russia).
The second characteristic is the bal-
market demands, making use of the then latest technological ance of the nitrogen sources. The amide
developments in the UAN production chain. But have these nitrogen from the urea accounts for approx-
imately 50% of the total nitrogen content,
expectations been fulfilled? And are there any new technical whereas the other 50% are contributed
developments which would support large scale production equally by the nitrate and ammoniacal
nitrogen of the ammonium nitrate.
complexes or increase the economic or environmental Figure 1 shows a 3-phase diagram for
feasibility? Axel Erben of Uhde GmbH reports. UAN solutions.

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Table 1: Properties of common UAN solutions at lowest salting-out temperatures Safety

N Urea Ammonium nitrate Salt out temperature Density In recent years the safety issues of ammo-
(wt-%) (wt-%) (wt-%) °C kg/m3 nium nitrate-based fertilizers have been
32 35.4 44.3 -2 1320 reviewed thoroughly. Especially after the
30 32.7 44.2 -10 1300 Toulouse accident, the fertilizer market
28 30.0 40.1 -18 1280 reacted very sensitively with transport and
import restrictions on AN. Though some
fertilizer grades (e.g. CAN with 26-28% N)
Fig 1: 3-Phase diagram for UAN solutions have proven to be quite safe, storage and
transport of high N-containing AN fertilizers
H2O is still under discussion. UAN solutions

solubility isotherms
combine the properties of AN fertilizer with

isoconcs of nitrogen
an extremely high degree of safety.
phase boundaries
Production and costs
Liquid effluents from a fertilizer complex
are often a problem and may cause
increased investment and operating costs
for treatment steps. In a UAN complex
these effluents can be discharged into the
UAN solution without affecting the quality
or safety of the product.
Additionally the investment and mainte-
nance costs of a UAN mixing plant are
much lower than those of a fertilizer gran-
ulation plant. Therefore the total invest-
ment is also lower than for a comparable
solid fertilizer plant.

CO(NH2)2 NH4NO3 Demand for UAN plants

The world consumption of fertilizer nutri-
ents is growing by approx. 2-3% per year.
Due to their characteristics UAN solutions injected into irrigation systems. Also second- In 2004 it was expected that the market
have certain advantages over solid fertilizers: ary nutrients like sulphur and micronutrients for UAN would grow at an even faster
(e.g. boron) may be added to the solution to annual rate of 3-5% due to the ongoing dis-
Application be simultaneously applied to the field. cussions on AN safety and security issues
One of the advantages of nitrogen solutions and the direct use of anhydrous ammonia.
is that they can be more uniformly applied Transport and storage In addition the relocation of UAN produc-
to the field (mostly via various types of noz- Other advantages of nitrogen solutions tion to areas with lower gas prices was
zles) than dry fertilizers. The mechanical include their relative ease of handling (no expected, since the main raw material for
spreaders normally used in dry fertilizer caking or dust problems) and they can eas- UAN production, ammonia, is produced
application tend to result in varying con- ily be transported via pipelines or in barges predominantly from natural gas. This
centrations of nutrient over the field. or rail cars. means essentially the replacement of
In comparison to granulated urea, UAN small and medium size plants in the vicin-
Nutrients solutions have an even higher nutrient den- ity of customers by world-scale facilities
UAN solutions contain nitrate, ammoniacal sity. With a bulk density of approx. close to the major gas fields. The total UAN
and amide parts (Fig. 2). The nitrate part is 760 kg/m³ and a nitrogen content of consumption in 2004 reached approxi-
readily available to the crop while the 46.2% granulated urea contains about mately 11 million tonnes, for 2007 a pro-
ammoniacal and amide parts have to be 350 kgN/m³, whereas the figure for UAN- duction of 18 million tonnes was reported,
converted by soil bacteria first. This means 32%N solution is about 420 kgN/m³. representing more than 15% annual
UAN has immediate and retarded action Transport volumes are therefore some increase of the UAN market.
components, resulting in a possibly higher 20% smaller for the same amount of nitro-
N efficiency and added value for the farmer gen, though the weight percentage of nitro- UAN technology
compared to single-acting fertilizers. gen in the fertilizer is lower.
An additional advantage of solutions is The neutral pH (pH 7 or slightly higher) A complete UAN complex comprises an
that both pesticides and herbicides can be also make UAN solutions suitable for low ammonia plant, a urea synthesis plant, a
incorporated in the liquid solution and applied cost storage, such as pit storage. nitric acid plant and an ammonium nitrate
at the same time. In this way they can be neutralisation plant with a UAN mixing unit,

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 LIQUID FERTILISERS

Fig 2: UAN nutrient makeup Fig 3: Stand-alone block flowsheet for UAN production
and crop availability
CO2
fast
nitrate N natural
(25% of total) gas NH3
NH3 urea
time for water
ammoniacal N conversion in
(25% of total) the soil and
crop reception HNO3

water UAN
amide N product
(50% of total) AN UAN
slow

all being available from or through Uhde. For this alternative a total recycle urea vapours without any ammonia surplus, the
Two main flow schemes are realised technology is employed, which makes max- excess condensate from the AN/UAN plant
in UAN production facilities. While the imum use of the ammonia and CO2 feed can be fed to the nitric acid absorption
ammonia and the nitric acid technologies resulting in extremely low effluent figures. tower. Due to the total condensation of the
are independent of the different flow The ammonium nitrate technology is con- process vapours the plant does not emit
schemes, there are significant differences ventional neutralisation technology, such gaseous effluents.
in urea and ammonium nitrate neutralisa- as the Uhde vacuum neutralisation The second scheme (see Fig. 5) refers
tion technologies. process. The flow diagram for this process to an integrated concept. While the ammo-
The first scheme (see Fig. 3) shows a with UAN mixing is shown in Fig. 4. nia and the nitric acid technologies are
stand-alone concept. Ammonia is utilised This flowsheet is advantageous if urea unchanged, the urea plant employs partial
for urea solution and nitric acid production, solution is also used for other purposes recycle technology. This means that the
with the acid and ammonia being feed- like a urea granulation or melamine pro- ammonia-rich dissociation gas after the
stock for the AN neutralisation plant. The duction plant. The ammonium nitrate plant high pressure synthesis loop of the urea
UAN is mixed from the urea solution, the can be of a simple and economical design, plant is not re-compressed and fed back
ammonium nitrate solution and balance without jeopardising safety and environ- to the synthesis, but sent to the ammo-
water (i.e. condensates from the AN solu- mental requirements. As the Uhde neutral- nium nitrate plant where it ser ves as
tion or the urea plant). isation generates extremely clean process ammonia feedstock. A typical composition

Fig 4: Uhde AN neutralisation with UAN mixing

1 Neutraliser
2 Vapour separator and scrubber
CW 3 Circulation pump
4 NH3 heater
7 5 UAN mixing tank
6 UAN pump
7 Condenser
8 Process condensate tank
2
9 Process condensate pump
10 UAN cooler
4
NH3 gas
AN solution
urea solution

HNO3 1 UAN solution

NH3 gas
28-32% N
10
CW
process
condensate 3
8 6
9 5

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 LIQUID FERTILISERS

Fig 5: Integrated flow scheme for UAN production UAN projects

CO2 Despite the very positive prospects, the
steep increase in UAN consumption and
natural
gas several large-scale projects (especially in
NH3
NH3 urea Trinidad), only a few UAN projects have been
water realised since then as new, added nitrogen
urea
offgas
projects. Large UAN capacities were created
by re-configuration and revamp projects in
AN existing nitrogen fertilizer plants. Among
them are small reconfiguration projects like
UAN the UAN plant of Abu Qir Fertilizer Company,
water product Egypt, where existing capacities of urea and
HNO3 UAN ammonium nitrate solution were used to
mix UAN solution with a capacity of
1000 t/d of UAN-32. A similar project is
ongoing in Ain Sukhna, Egypt, also without
of this urea off gas is 40 wt-% NH3, 40 wt- is more than compensated by significant generating additional nitrogen output.
% CO2 and 20 wt-% H2O. Due to the high savings in the urea synthesis plant, which The only large-scale project being
amount of iner t CO2 the ammonium consists of a minimum amount of high realised is the MHTL UAN plant in Point
nitrate technology chosen is a natural cir- pressure equipment and a low pressure Lisas, Trinidad, which is currently under
culation neutralisation. The ammonia con- desorber. commissioning. The complex consists of
tained in the off gas is reacted with nitric The disadvantage of this integrated con- an 1,850 t/d ammonia plant (KBR), a
acid, while the CO2 is taken off with the cept is the lack of flexibility. The urea and 2,080 t/d urea solution plant (TEC), a 180
resulting process vapours in the vapour the AN/UAN plants are directly linked, so t/d melamine plant (Eurotecnica), a 1,520
separator. The inert CO2 leads to ammo- that the neutralisation has to immediately t/d dual-pressure nitric acid plant (Uhde)
nia entrainment and partial condensation, follow the operational variations of the urea and a 1,925 t/d AN solution plant, pro-
so that the ammonia gas has to be plant. The streams of urea solution and ducing 4,300 t/d of UAN-32 as final prod-
removed in a scrubber before the CO2 can ammonia in the off gas are well balanced, uct. Due to the dual use of the urea
be vented (Fig. 6). so that an offtake of urea solution for other solution (for melamine and UAN solution)
Compared to the conventional AN neu- purposes (e.g. for urea granulation or only conventional technology is applied.
tralisation plant the urea off gas neutrali- prilling) is not possible. Figure 7 show a This means that the urea plant is a total
sation contains more equipment, leading flowsheet for urea synthesis for a partially recycle plant with the ability to receive the
to higher investment costs. However, this integrated UAN plant. off-gas from the melamine plant and that

Fig 6: Uhde urea off-gas neutralisation with UAN mixing

12 CW

2 1 Off- gas neutraliser

2 Vapour separator
3 UAN mixing tank
4 UAN solution pump
10 5 UAN solution cooler
AN 6 Urea expansion tank
solution 7 Urea feed pump
urea off-gas
8 Gas scrubber
9 Gas scrubber pump
HNO3 1
10 Vapour scrubber
8
11 Vapour scrubber pump
12 Condenser
corrosion 13 Process condensate tank
inhibitor 14 Process condensate pump
9 11
UAN solution
NH3 gas
28-32% N 5 clean process
condensate
CW
14 13
4 3 7 urea solution
6

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 LIQUID FERTILISERS

the AN/UAN plant is of a standard Uhde

Fig 7: Urea synthesis for partially integrated UAN plant
vacuum neutralisation design.
with Stamicarbon Urea200Plus™ pool reactor technology
Though the UAN capacity of this complex
is large, it does not reach the capacities
which would be reasonably possible while dissociation offgas to AN unit
still employing a single line ammonia plant. heater/separator
With the “Mega UAN Concept” it was inves-
pool reactor
tigated what would be the effect of making
use of the maximum referenced single-line S
ammonia technology, which is represented
by the Uhde dual-pressure ammonia plant
C
SAFCO IV with 3,300 t/d. The full conver-
urea solution
sion of this ammonia would result in the pro- to UAN mixing
duction of 8,400 t/d UAN-32, with the nitric NH3 stripper
acid and the ammonium nitrate plants being
CO2
of dual-line design (Fig. 8).
In spite of advantages in indexed capi-
tal cost such a complex has not yet been
projected. The reasons for this are and Fig 8: Indexed capital cost per t/d of plant capacity for various UAN capacities
include limited access to natural gas
reserves or lack of interest in venturing 120
from standard granular urea production Uhde with dual pressure ammonia plant
indexed capital cost per t/d of plant capacity, %

into a product, which is not such an impor- with conventional ammonia plants
110 extrapolated
tant commodity. Further, the decrease in
UAN + urea co-production
trade and production of straight ammonium reference plant
nitrate due to safety and security concerns 100
has not occurred to the expected extent, ammonia { single
single/Uhde dual pressure
/ conventional dual line
with less need for UAN solution as a safe
90
substitute for straight AN.
5500 t/d UAN +
UAN solution does have its advantages, AN: single/dual line
2000 t/d urea-gran.
including at large scale. However, with 80
large granular urea projects continuing to
be realised, and large UAN production
capacities which have recently been added 70
Mega
through re-configuration projects, invest- nitric acid UAN
single/dual line complex
ment into large integrated complexes is 60
challenging, but definitely presents an 1.000 2.000 3.000 4.000 5.000 6.000 7.000 8.000 9.000
interesting alternative to the norm. ■ capacity UAN 32% N, t/d

References Fig 9: PDMS model of the nitric acid and UAN plants for MHTL Trinidad
1. IFDC/UNIDO: “Fertilizer Manual” (1998).
2. EFMA: “BAT Booklet 6 of 8: Production of
Ammonium Nitrate and Calcium Ammonium
Nitrate” (April 2000).
3. EFMA: “BAT Booklet 5 of 8: “Production of
Urea and Urea Ammonium Nitrate” (April
2000).
4. Erben A. and Kamermann P.: “Mega UAN
Concept – A Step Ahead in the Fertilizer Busi-
ness?”; presented at the Nitrogen 2004
Conference, Munich, Germany (21-24 March
2004).
5. “UAN solutions – a growing market?”; Nitro-
gen & Methanol No. 194; (Nov/Dec 1991).
6. Lippmann D., Larsen, J., Hooper C.W.: “A
New Process for Large Scale Ammonia
Plants“, Nitrogen & Methanol No. 253, pp.
41-46 (Sep/Oct 2001).
7. “How will markets absorb the surge in new
capacity?”; Fertilizer International No. 429
(March/April 2009).

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