Kirovo-Chepetsk Chemical Plant has increased reliability of its ammonia production facility

A new instrument air compressors has been installed in the ammonia production unit AM-76 of the Kirovo-Chepetsk Chemical Plant (KCKK, part of Uralchem).

The instrument air compressor is vital during the start-up operations of the automation equipment and technological equipment devices, providing them with compressed air before the start of the main process air compressor. It is difficult to start the unit into operation without stable work of the instrument air compressor, as the valves and actuators are controlled with the help of air.

The previous compressor was installed on the unit at the time of its construction, so it is worn out and outdated, and the probability of failure has increased. The installation project for the new compressor was approved in 2018. They chose a screw compressor for installation. The majority of ammonia producers in the world use this type of equipment. Such a compressor meets all the necessary criteria: performance, greater reliability and dry compression (oil-free).

At the end of December last year, the equipment arrived at KCKK. In January-February, the compressor station was connected to the workshop networks. In early March, under the guidance of installation supervisors from the compressor supplier organization, the start-up of the compressor station began. The employees of the ammonia shop, the automation shop, mechanization and systems tuned the compressor for production, mastered its start-up, studied the features of maintenance.

After comprehensive testing of the compressor, the workshop specialists developed a list of suggestions on how to better integrate the new equipment into the ammonia production process chain.

The project cost amounted to 10.5 million rubles (more than $ 141 thousand). The new compressor eliminates the possibility of delayed start-up of the unit and generally increases the reliability of this operation.