Acron (Veliky Novgorod) expands and upgrades its granulated calcium nitrate (CN) operations.
The project includes the capacity increase to 135,000 tpa at the CN unit that was commissioned in 2022 and the construction of the second 135,000-tpa CN unit. Once launched, the new unit will bring the aggregate CN capacity to 270,000 tpa, increasing the total CN output by a factor of 2.5.
The second unit, with Acron Engineering Research and Design Centre (a member of the Acron Group) as the general designer, is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of 2024, a total investment reaching RUB 3.5 billion.
The project includes the replacement of the evaporators, the refurbishment of the granulation and drying units, the construction of the substation with two 2.5 MW transformers, the water recycling system, and a warehouse. The fluidised bed drum granulation technology, previously supplied by a foreign licensor, will be replaced with in-house technology.
Alexander Popov, Chairman of Acron’s Board of Directors, said, ‘Our company continues to grow organically through new investment projects. As we see positive potential in our industry, we are looking for promising niches and introducing new products. The first stage of our calcium nitrate project has been successful, and we have decided to scale it up. This project is perfectly in line with our strategy of expanding the product portfolio with premium products and will ensure diversification and greater production flexibility’.
The first granulated CN unit was commissioned in Veliky Novgorod in August 2022. Since then, Acron supplied more than 80,000 tonnes of high quality CN to its customers in Russia, Latin America (including Brazil and Mexico), Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and the CIS.
Calcium nitrate is a fertiliser widely used in agriculture. It is readily soluble in water, has a high calcium content and is free of insoluble impurities. It is applied to various types of soil, but has proved to be most effective on sod-podzolic soils. It is also used extensively in the oil industry.