Acron Group has increased the capacity of its Ammonia-3 unit at its Veliky Novgorod production site to 2,300 tpd (830,000 tpa), bringing the facility’s total ammonia output to 2.4 million tpa.
Acron Engineering Research and Design Centre was the general designer of the USD 142 million project, and KBR provided the basic engineering.
The project involved upgrading the main sections of the ammonia shop and commissioning more than 70 items of cutting-edge process equipment, including a horizontal ammonia synthesis column. Some of the equipment and production units were refined by Group specialists and Russian machine-building plant employees. Acron’s specialists also provided engineering support and supervision during installation and commissioning.
During the upgrades, the Company introduced several innovative engineering solutions for the first time. These included connecting an additional KRES reactor equipped with a once-through waste heat boiler, replacing the gas synthesis compressor and its steam turbine and installing a modular system of heat exchanger units.
The project has delivered both economic and environmental benefits. By applying best available techniques, Acron has reduced its natural gas consumption by 10% per tonne of ammonia. Aiming to eliminate CO2 emissions, the Company has enhanced the CO₂ treatment process to enable its use in urea and NPK production.
Alexander Popov, Chairman of Acron’s Board of Directors, said, ‘This project is of strategic importance to the Company and to the chemical industry in general. It will meet our growing demand for ammonia, caused by the dynamic growth of nitrogen fertiliser production. With an additional 500 tpd of ammonia, we will ramp up our output, expand our product portfolio and boost our profitability’.
Veliky Novgorod-based Acron operates three ammonia units. It completed the overhaul of the Ammonia-4 unit in 2024 and is currently upgrading the equipment at the Ammonia-2 unit. These projects will increase its total ammonia output by approximately 500,000 tpa.