Abstract SYMPHOS 2011

MERSEN HEAT EXCHANGERS: INNOVATIONS THAT GUARANTEE RELIABILITY,
LIFESPAN AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Laurent Trably
Mersen, Pagny-sur-Moselle FRANCE
PH-O-18
Mersen is a leading multinational industrial group. With its extensive expertise in high-grade materials and
electrical installation reliability and security, Mersen designs innovative solutions tailored to customer requirements
to improve their industrial performance in sectors such as energy, transport, electronics, chemical/pharmaceuticals
and process industries.
Its Process Equipment Division is internationally recognised for its expertise in the design and manufacture of
equipment made from high-grade materials for use in corrosive and hot environments.
Mersen has been designing and manufacturing heat exchangers for over 50 years. With its innovation-oriented
approach, Mersen capitalises on its expertise in heat exchange, its mastery of graphite and its wide range of
heat exchanger designs to develop solutions to meet the difficult constraints of phosphoric acid.
Graphite heat exchangers are very large devices. Their tubes are 6-metres long with no joints to guarantee
better process continuity. Isostatic graphite, a basic component of a heat exchanger, is impregnated with
resin to make it more corrosion resistant. To improve equipment lifespan and reliability, amorphous carbon
sleeves are used to strengthen the exchanger’s tubes and tubular plates.
Mersen affirms its position as a heat exchanger expert with the development of an exchanger with free-flow
welded plates; it re-concentrates sulphuric acid used during the mineral attack. The innovation lies in the plate
design with variable spacing. The design of the plates and the HXC exchanger also make it more energy efficient.
The Mersen industrial plants in Morocco (2,500m²), France (8,000m²) and China (150,000m²) confirm its
international position as the leading supplier of process equipment for the phosphoric acid and fertiliser
market.
PURIFICATION OF WET PROCESS PHOSPHORIC ACID VIA
MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY
PH-O-19
By Howard Skidmore
Process Engineering Manager, Engineering Manufacturing &
Technology Division, JR Simplot Company, Pocatello, Idaho, USA
Phosphate ore contains a variety of impurities that report to the wet process phosphoric acid.
For the production of most fertilizer products, these impurities are not of considerable concern. But for use in high
purity applications, the impurity content is a significant issue.
A method to purify wet process phosphoric acid has been developed by the JR Simplot Company by means of
membrane technology. Using this method, a significant portion of the residual ore impurities are removed from
the purified phosphoric acid product. The purification process occurs through a variety of steps. These steps include
acid pretreatment, two stage membrane purification, acid post treatment, and concentration to product grade.
The pre and post treatment steps depend on final Purified Phosphoric Acid (PPA) product quality requirements. The
treatment steps for this paper relate to those currently in operation at the JR Simplot Company, Pocatello, Idaho,
USA facility.
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