Dorogobuzh Increases Daily Ammonia Output to 2,250 Tonnes

Following a major overhaul of its ammonia unit, Dorogobuzh (a member of Acron Group located in Smolensk region) has increased a daily output to 2,250 tonnes, while reducing gas consumption by 20 m3 per tonne of ammonia. After the overhaul, the unit will produce up to 800,000 tonnes of ammonia per year. The Company invested a total of RUB1.2 billion in the project.

The overhaul of the ammonia unit involved 542 specialist and seven heavy machines. The main technical measures in the conversion unit included replacement of reformer tubes, catalyst, and part of the lining in the primary reformer furnace, a support layer and catalyst in the secondary reformer furnace, catalyst in the low temperature conversion reactor, absorber in the hydrogenation reactor, waste heat recovery boiler, as well as diagnostics and repair of the tube side of the heat exchanger.

Pavel Simakov, Dorogobuzh’s Deputy Executive Director and Chief Engineer, said: ‘We have re-equipped the treatment plant for the first time. Professional contractors installed two new units – an evaporator and a demineralised water heater – and replaced the existing boilers with more efficient heat exchangers. The work was supervised by the Company’s capital construction department. Now that the project is complete, we are seeing a great improvement in the treatment process and can expand production capacity’.

Dorogobuzh upgraded its syngas compressor for the first time, replacing a section of piping and four return valves with higher capacity equipment. This significantly improved compressor performance and helped increase ammonia output. In addition, rotating equipment was repaired, shut-off and control valves and instrumentation, automation and electrical equipment were inspected, and oils were changed.

Dorogobuzh’s ammonia unit was commissioned in 1979. In 2019, the Company completed a major project to upgrade its ammonia production facilities. This was the first post-Soviet project implemented using Toyo Engineering Corp. technology to increase a daily output from 1,740 to 2,100 tonnes.