What is the service life of a granulation tower?
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The granulation tower often gets clogged; repeated washing with water causes significant corrosion to the tower. What is the service life of such a granulation tower?
I think it should be present alongside the system
It depends on the condition of maintenance, upkeep, and corrosion protection; the corrosion of the granulation tower is quite severe.
The function of a granulation tower is to produce fertilizer pellets in fertilizer plants. It has a chimney-like shape, with the same diameter at the top and bottom, and is constructed as a reinforced concrete cylinder; its height generally ranges from 50 to 100 meters. In production, the synthetic liquid fertilizer is pumped to the top via pipes and then sprayed out; as it falls, it cools down in the air and automatically solidifies into small particles. Under normal circumstances, a granulation tower should be able to operate for forty to fifty years without any problems.
It’s not designed to last 50 years, is it? A design life of 20 or 30 years should be reasonable, right?
According to other online descriptions, the design lifespan is generally 50 years. Epoxy resins are used for anti-corrosion purposes.
The granulation towers of the large-scale fertilizer production plants introduced in the 1970s have been in use for over 30 years and are still in operation today, which shows that as long as proper design, corrosion protection, maintenance, and care are provided, it is possible to use them for more than 30 years! Of course, according to some design institutes, the design lifespan is generally 50 years.
Our original plant used a granulation tower with a diameter of 9 meters and a height of 58 meters, which was in use for 25 years. In 1998, as production capacity increased, sticking issues became severe, so another tower with a diameter of 12 meters was built, and the original 9-meter tower was removed.
We have been using this system for over 40 years; to ensure its long service life, it is essential to carry out proper maintenance, upkeep, and anti-corrosion measures on the granulation tower.
Our urea granulation tower has been in use for over 30 years; now we have replaced it with a taller one. But when the new tower has problems, the old tower can still be used.
Our granulation tower was built when 13 sets of large-scale fertilizer production equipment were introduced in the 1970s; it is now over 30 years old. Due to severe sticking issues, high-pressure water is used for cleaning during major repairs, and corrosion is significant. Urine leakage from the floor of the granulation tower is also a serious problem, so reinforcement is planned.
It can be said with certainty that it is designed for a lifespan of 50 years, and the seismic resistance rating seems to be level 8??. It differs from other equipment in that it can be upgraded. Anti-corrosion measures need to be strengthened; the biggest concern is the penetration of urea solution into the concrete, which can cause corrosion of the rebar. This post was last edited by lxq700918 on 2009-4-28 at 20:33.]
Our factory has been in operation for 43 years, and we’re still using it
The service life of the granulation tower is fifty years
The service life is closely related to the quality of your maintenance； It can be used normally for decades without any problems
Regardless of the service life, it is related to the maintenance carried out during overhauls. After being in use for a certain period of time, it is important to carry out anti-corrosion maintenance on the granulation tower, which will naturally help to extend its service life!
We used an epoxy resin lining and have not used high-pressure water guns for cleaning.
Units like yours that are used without maintenance won’t last long either.