Rheological Properties of Urea-CaLS Mixture for Urea Fertilizer Granulation

摘要

The rheological properties of feedstock for granulation process are important in controlling the parameters throughout the process. This study identifies the type of fluid that mixtures of Urea and Calcium Lignosulfonates (CaLS) possessed through the viscosity profiles using a parallel plate rheometer. The viscosity behavior of mixtures with varied weight percentages (wt %) of CaLS in urea solution were analysed. Results identified that the mixtures show shear thickening behavior of non-Newtonian fluid. It is also observed that the increases of CaLS content increase the viscosity of the mixtures. Moreover, the mixture with 50% CaLS addition is found not suitable for further investigation as its viscosity is too high (3.450-6.773 Pa·s at zero shear rate) compared to molten urea (0.002 Pa·s).