Grupa Azoty Zakłady Azotowe Kędzierzyn S.A. completes energy projects worth over €14m in Kędzierzyn, Poland

Two projects have been completed at Grupa Azoty ZAK under the New Energy Concept, a key capital investment programme currently underway at the company. The projects will help increase production and improve the energy and raw material efficiency. The total value of the projects is PLN 65.6m (€14m)

Both projects were implemented on the site of the Ammonia Department, enabling increased ammonia production.

A key component of the first project comprising the upgrade of the partial combustion unit was the replacement of a burner in the partial combustion reactor. This will lower the steam-to-carbon ratio during hydrogen production. The partial combustion process will take place without soot being formed, extending the useful life of catalysts and reducing emissions.

The other project comprising the design and construction of the interior of the E-102 boiler and the E-117 steam superheater will increase the flexibility and safety of the process taking place in the boiler and steamsuperheater unit. This has been achieved by using heat-resistant materials in the equipment.

‘Further projects delivered under Grupa Azoty ZAK’s New Energy Concept demonstrate every one of our companies takes the energy efficiency improvement efforts very seriously. Importantly, in addition to the positive effect of lowering emissions, the completed projects will contribute to increasing ammonia production,’ said Tomasz Hinc, President of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty S.A.

‘We have completed two more projects under the New Energy Concept programme, a priority in our Capital Expenditure Plan. Implemented mostly on the site of the Ammonia Department, the completed projects will raise production volumes, take production processes to a new level and improve the plant’s overall energy efficiency,’ noted Filip Grzegorczyk, President of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty ZAK, Vice President of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty S.A.

The New Energy Concept is a portfolio of projects providing an alternative to implementing phase two of Grupa Azoty ZAK’s CHP plant. The concept is largely based on the use of process heat from the ammonia unit to produce electricity and other energy carriers. Two projects remain to be completed under the New Energy Concept: purchase and installation of a new oxygen compressor(in the Ammonia Department) and construction of a peak-load and reserve boiler house (in the Energy Business Unit).