ACRON GROUP, a global Russian mineral fertilizer producer, has increased output at its Veliky Novgorod facility’s Ammonia-4 unit to 2500 tpd, 21% above its design capacity, bringing the unit’s capacity to 900 000 tpy. With these changes, total ammonia output at the Veliky Novgorod facility has reached 2.2 million tpy. Investments in the project totalled US$34 million. Commissioned in 2016 to the tune of US$500 million, the Ammonia-4 unit was upgraded during the first major overhaul, with several departments modified and modern process and compressor equipment commissioned. Repairs were implemented by the company’s own specialists and outside contractors. Critical work was supervised by experts from Haldor Topsoe, Mitsubishi, and Acron Engineering research and development centre. Chairman of Acron Group’s Board of Directors, Alexander Popov, explained that the Ammonia-4 upgrades are an important part of the group’s investment programme: “This increase in output will help [to] significantly expand nitrogen and complex fertilizer output at Acron’s facility in Veliky Novgorod.”
KOCH FERTILIZER has announced that it will invest an estimated US$90 million at its Beatrice nitrogen plant in Nebraska, US, to further improve its reliability and environmental and safety performance, and to increase urea and ammonium nitrate (UAN) production by 75 000 tpy. The investment builds on recent enhancements, which improved the plant’s ammonia loadout capabilities and its environmental performance, resulting in being awarded the EPA’s 2019 ENERGY STAR® award for energy performance. The Beatrice team is working on the latest improvements with startup expected in fall 2021. While substantially increasing UAN production, the Beatrice facility will continue to supply ammonia for local demand. “This investment will improve the efficiency and reliability of our operations and add greater production flexibility at Beatrice to meet the demand of both our ammonia and UAN customers,” Scott McGinn, Executive Vice President of Koch Fertilizer, commented.
OSTARA NUTRIENT RECOVERY TECHNOLOGIES Inc. (Ostara) and BRUCE OAKLEY Inc. (Oakley) have announced that they have entered into a letter of intent (LOI) providing for the acquisition by Ostara of Oakley’s fertilizer granulation facility and certain related assets located on the Mississippi river at Oakley’s warehousing and logistics terminal in St. Louis, Missouri, US. The acquisition and certain related transactions are intended to further support the production scale-up of Ostara’s Crystal Green® brand of sustainable phosphorus-based, continuous-release fertilizer products. Pursuant to the LOI, Oakley will also provide long-term, full-service terminal support for Ostara, including bulk storage, inbound and outbound logistics services via truck, rail and barge, and raw materials supply. Completion of the acquisition and related transactions is subject to final negotiation and execution of definitive agreements, currently anticipated to occur in December 2020.
