Acron Group, Moscow, said it has commissioned the second of two new nitric acid units at in its Veliky Novgorod production site in northwest Russia. Each unit has a capacity of 135,000 mt/y. The first unit began operations in March (GM March 8, p. 25), and when both units are fully operational, Veliky Novgorod’s aggregate nitric acid capacity will increase to 1.8 million mt/y.
Acron said it plans to launch to a third 135,000 mt/y nitric acid unit at the site in late 2019, and will raise an additional $11 million for the project, bringing total investments in the three nitric acid units to $50 million.
Production of nitric acid has been a bottleneck at the site, Acron said, and the additional supply will allow it to increase output of key products – ammonium nitrate and UAN. It also plans to build a 100,000 mt/y CAN unit at Veliky Novgorod, a first for the site – and for the group (GM June 14, p. 28).
With the launch of the new nitric acid units, the group said it will also reduce its ammonia consumption at Veliky Novgorod to the lowest rate among similar facilities in the CIS.