Kirovo-Chepetsk Chemical Plant completed a unique project

The Kirovo-Chepetsk Chemical Plant (KCKK, part of Uralchem) has completed commissioning works as part of the project for the processing of calcium nitrate sludge cake.

During the production of calcium nitrate, there is a sludge that is usually called cake. The cake was partly used in the production of calcium ammonium nitrate as a filler, and partly it was sent for storage.

To implement the project, special filter presses were purchased and the reactor equipment was modified. Now the sludge cake will be first separated in a new technological process and then returned to the production of calcium nitrate and complex mineral fertilizers.

“After comprehensive testing of the new scheme, we received a small expected economic effect. Now we plan to reach the full payback of the project in terms of capital investments. We expect it to take less than five years,” said Ruslan Garaev, Head of the scientific and technical department of KCKK.

It’s a unique project, the technology of which has not yet been tested anywhere. Therefore, the engineers of the scientific and technical department worked together with the adjusters of filter presses to develop their own programs and instructions for the equipment operators servicing the cake processing unit.

The new scheme is a big step forward in the technology of calcium nitrate production. It will help the company to reduce the cost of purchasing raw materials released from cake processing, as well as make the production of calcium nitrate almost waste-free and improve the quality of the produced fertilizers. The cost of the project amounted to 174 million rubles (approximately $2.45 million).