Russia’s Acron Upgrades Ammonia Units
Russian fertilizer producer Acron is spending $190 million to revamp two ammonia units at its Novgorod site. Once the upgrades are complete in 2023, the company’s total ammonia production will increase by 375,000 t/y.
Acron Engineering is the project’s designer, and US engineering contractor KBR is providing a license for its Kres process technology, along with proprietary equipment and basic design package. The original plants were commissioned in the 1970s.
"KBR's revamp expertise and technology are valued for reducing energy consumption, increasing capacity, and improving reliability of older plants at lower investment,” said Doug Kelly, KBR president, technology.
“Upgrading the units and expanding their capacity will allow us to increase our output of all ammonia-based products while reducing both consumption of natural gas and nitric and carbon oxides emissions,” said Acron chairman Alexander Popov.
In late 2020, Acron ramped up output at its Ammonia-4 unit at Novgorod to 2,500 t/d, 21% above its design capacity.
Author: Ellaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist
