Dorogobuzh increased annual ammonia production to 800 thousand tons

The Dorogobuzh plant (part of Acron Group) increased the output of the ammonia unit to 2.25 thousand tons per day as a result of a major overhaul. At the same time, the specific consumption of natural gas decreased by 20 cubic meters per 1 ton of product. The output of the product after the overhaul will be up to 800 thousand tons of ammonia per year. Investments in the project amounted to 1.2 billion rubles (almost $15.8 million).

542 specialists from contractors and 7 units of heavy-duty equipment took part in the overhaul of the ammonia workshop. Among the main technical measures in the conversion department, the replacement of reaction tubes, catalyst and partial replacement of the lining in the primary reformer were performed. Specialists replaced support bed and catalyst in secondary reformer, a catalyst in a low temperature shift reactor, and absorber in the hydrogenation reactor. The waste heat boiler was replaced and diagnostics and repair of the tube space of the heat exchanger were carried out.

“For the first time, the technical re-equipment of the cleaning department was carried out. Under the control of the Capital Construction Department, specialized organizations installed two new devices – an evaporator and a demwater heater, and replaced the boilers with equipment with a larger heat exchange area. As a result, we improved the work of the cleaning department and created a reserve for increasing production capacity,” said Pavel Simakov, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Engineer of Dorogobuzh.

The carried work significantly improved the performance of the compressor and provided an increase in the productivity of the ammonia plant. In addition, repairs were made to dynamic equipment, revision of shut-off and control valves, instrumentation and control devices and electrical apparatus, and replacement of oils.

Recall that this ammonia unit in the Smolensk region was put into operation in 1979. In 2019, Dorogobuzh completed a large-scale ammonia production reconstruction project. Then, for the first time in the post-Soviet space, units reached a capacity of 2.1 thousand tons per day from 1.74 thousand tons per day.