Kirovo-Chepetsk Chemical Plant cooling complex fertilizers

An investment project to modernize the complex fertilizer production process has been completed at the Kirovo-Chepetsk Chemical Plant (KCKK, part of Uralchem).

The project aimed at reducing the energy consumption by replacing the cooler. The old equipment with cooling by the fluidized-bed process was replaced with a plate heat exchanger 11 m high.

The product is fed from above into the exchanger, falls down and is cooled by contacting with the plates, inside which cold water circulates. To increase efficiency, its fall is somewhat slowed by the flow of dried air coming from below. In this case, the volume of air that is pumped through the exchanger is much less than the volume required to create a fluidized bed, therefore, much less energy-intensive blowers can be used.

The new equipment has been installed on one of the three identical production trains. The other two production trains are also going to be modernized.

The result of the project is a reduction in energy consumption by 9.5 kW per tonne of 1 product. The project cost amounted to 65.8 million rubles (approximately $ 887 thousand).