Polish chemicals company Grupa Azoty Group has signed a contract with Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions AG of Germany for the grant of a licence for a nitric acid production technology, including the delivery of process documentation and key equipment, and for the supervision over plant installation and start-up.
The construction of the new nitric acid production unit, located at Pulawy (Poland), is a key element of Grupa Azoty’s project to develop fertiliser production, which also covers the construction of new neutralisation and fertiliser production units. In addition, the existing four nitric acid production lines will be modernised, which will increase the production capacity and improve the consumption rates of the main production feedstocks and energy carriers. The unit’s environmental impact will be substantially reduced. The total value of the project is PLN 695 million (about $ 180 million).
“It is currently the largest investment project underway in the Grupa Azoty Group’s fertiliser segment and the Pulawy plant’s largest one in more than a decade. The fertiliser segment is particularly important for the entire Grupa Azoty Group as it generates about 60 percent of its revenue. The steps that Grupa Azoty Pulawy is taking are to prepare a base for the manufacture of modern fertilisers, thus filling the gap in our offering,” says Jacek Janiszek, president of Grupa Azoty Pulawy.
In addition to significantly enhancing the nitric acid production scale and efficiency, the project will largely contribute to improving the efficiency of nitric acid-based fertiliser production. A part of the output of the new (fifth) nitric acid unit will be processed on a new line for the production of speciality liquid and solid fertilisers: magnesium nitrate, calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate, with a target capacity of 600 tonnes per day.
“We plan to invest more than PLN 1 billion ($ 259 million) in the nitrate fertilisers area by 2021. In addition to the new nitric acid unit, we will also build two nitrate mechanical granulation lines. These investments will allow us to market new products, awaited by farmers. In the next four years, Grupa Azoty Pulawy will expand its product range by six new fertilisers,” added Andrzej Skwarek, member of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty Pulawy.
The new fertilisers will serve as the base for blended fertilisers manufactured at the Dobre Miasto plant based on fertilisers produced in other Grupa Azoty Group’s plants.
 "Grupa Azoty & Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions officials")