Molten Urea Flow Meter

What is molten urea?

In the fields of chemical, agricultural, and industrial processing, molten urea plays a central role as a key intermediate or final product. 

Molten urea is a liquid form formed by heating urea above its melting point (approximately 275 ° F, or 135 ° C), which is crucial for processes such as fertilizer production, resin manufacturing, and industrial coatings.

Why need accurate flow measurement of molten urea?

The precise flow measurement of molten urea is not only related to operational efficiency, but also the cornerstone of quality control, cost management, and compliance supervision. 

Without accurate flow measurement data of molten urea, manufacturers may face risks such as excessive consumption of raw materials, compromised product consistency, or inability to meet industry safety and environmental standards. Therefore, for enterprises using molten urea, it is crucial to find a flow meter that can adapt to its unique properties.

Why it is very difficult to measure molten urea?

The measurement of molten urea faces a series of unique challenges that differ from conventional fluid measurement tasks. 

High temperature flow meter needed.

The primary challenge is the high temperature requirement: the working temperature of the medium is between 275 ° F and 305 ° F (135 ° C and 152 ° C), slightly above its melting point, which means that any measuring equipment must withstand this high temperature environment to avoid malfunctions. 

Steam jacket flow meter needed.

More complicated is that the measuring equipment needs to be equipped with a steam jacket - if the molten urea cools below 275 ° F, it will solidify, block the pipeline, and cause complete production interruption.

Flow meter measurement needs to be depend of density change

Another major challenge is the variability of fluid physical properties: its density varies slightly with temperature, with 1.33 g/cm ³ at 275 ° F and 1.32 g/cm ³ at 305 ° F; There is uncertainty in viscosity, with reported values from different sources ranging from 1.3 mPa · s to 12.3 mPa · s at typical operating temperatures (300 ° F, i.e. 149 ° C). 

Wide flow measurement

In addition, this application typically requires a wide flow range, such as it needs -3 to 6 gallons per minute during normal operation, with an ideal maximum range of 0 to 45 gallons per minute, which adds another level of variability to the selection of suitable flow meters. 

Why choose Coriolis flow meter for molten urea?

This is precisely why the Coriolis flowmeter has become an ideal solution for measuring molten urea.

Coriolis flow meter can bear high temperature 

Firstly, its high temperature tolerance perfectly matches the requirements: advanced Coriolis flowmeters can easily handle the working temperature of molten urea from 275-305 ° F, and models from silverinstruments.com can even withstand max temperatures up to 350 ° C. 

Steam jacket design flow meter

The design of its compatible steam jacket is a major breakthrough - manufacturers can directly integrate the steam jacket into the flowmeter housing, keeping the molten urea at a constant temperature above the melting point to prevent solidification.

Direct molten urea mass flow measurement with high accuracy

In addition to high temperature resistance, Coriolis flowmeters also have precision and versatility that other technologies cannot match. Unlike volumetric flow meters,such as positive displacement flow meter, oval gear flow meter, vorex flow meter or magnetic flow meters , Coriolis flow transmitters directly measures urea mass flow without the need for correction based on density changes - a crucial characteristic for measuring molten urea with slight density fluctuations. 

No moving parts flow sensor

Coriolis flowmeter has no moving parts, reducing wear and tear, lowering maintenance requirements, and avoiding the common risk of blockage caused by urea solidification in mechanical flowmeters. 

Stainless steel flow meter

Finally, it is necessary to ensure that the overcurrent components of the flowmeter are made of corrosion-resistant materials (such as 316L stainless steel), all wet parts is stainless steel for molten urea to resist the slight corrosiveness of molten urea for a long time. 

In summary, the high temperature characteristics, variable physical properties, and wide flow range of molten urea require flow measurement solutions to be robust, durable, accurate, reliable, and flexibly adaptable. The Coriolis flowmeter perfectly meets these requirements, with advantages such as compatibility with steam jackets, high temperature resistance, direct measurement of mass flow rate, and wide range ratio, making it the preferred solution for this complex application. By selecting Coriolis flow meters that are suitable for the specific technical parameters of the molten urea process, enterprises can ensure stable and accurate flow data, maintain production continuity, and ensure their own economic benefits. 

Technical Parameters of Coriolis flow meter for molten urea

• Medium: molten urea
• Flow Accuracy :±0.2%~±0.1% flow
• Density measurement accuracy: ±0.002g/cm³,±0.001g/cm³
• Repeatability: ±0.10% ,±0.05%
• Operation Pressure: standard 16 bar, option with 25bar,40bar or higher like 900LB
• Molten urea Temperature Range :-50°C~ +350°C,
• Environment temperature :-20°C ~ +70°C for transmitters , and -40°C ~ +150°C for sensors
• Output signal:

(1) 4-20mA current signal of flow, with load resistance ≤500Ω
(2) 0-10KHz, frequency signal of instant flow.
(3) RS485 Communication protocol
(4) Hart protocol

• Power supply voltage: 24VDC or 220V AC
• Material of measuring Tube: 316L stainless steel or hastelloy alloy C ,Titanium
• ATEX approved

Flow meter size and corresponding molten urea flow range