Material and Energy Balance Analysis for Urea Production from Biomass via Methane Steam Reforming

Abstract

The urea industry often requires the use of fossil fuels or natural gas. This study raises the possibility of producing urea from biogas, a more environmentally friendly alternative. The purpose of this work is a block flow diagram for a passage process; also, the material in terms of molecular flow and energy balances has been resolved for some process units, considering the main theoretical chemical reactions that are involved in these processes. From the material balance analysis, it is possible to estimate a biogas ratio for urea of 14.8. Thus, it is possible to verify the relevance of the recovery and reuse of non-reactive products for increasing urea production. Therefore, the energy balance analysis, the endothermic and exothermic characteristics of the chemical reactions involved are necessary to estimate the thermal load of each unit studied.