Modernising operations for sulphuric acid production is an essential pillar of Spolana’s strategic development plan. These operations will undergo a gradual change in the coming three years. The project’s main benefits include increased field reliability and security and reduced electricity and natural gas consumption.
“The modernisation will be performed on a step-by-step basis because it can take place only during planned production shutdowns. That is why we have split the project over three years,” explains Piotr Kearney, an authorised executive for Spolana. He adds: “The crucial project parts include migrating steam production needed for the entire manufacturing process to the sulphuric acid unit and installing more modern and thus more energy-efficient production equipment.”
The project alone, whose planned investment amounts almost to one billion korunas, will be implemented by Nuberg Industries Limited. The Nuberg Group is an engineering and technology driven industrial conglomerate based in India.
The contract signing for the project was held between Spolana represented by Mr. Piotr Kearney an authorised executive and Nuberg Industries Limited represented by Mr. Sandip Kumar, Business Head European Region, in Neratovice in Czech Republic.
On being awarded the project, Mr. A. K. Tyagi, CMD, Nuberg Industries Limited, commented: “This project serves as an example of Nuberg’s global project execution expertise to fulfil the project requirements through very quality and cost effective based EPC or Turnkey solutions. This latest project will strengthen our strategic position in Czech Republic. We are excited to partner with Spolana and looking forward to strengthen our relationship even further”.
Nuberg has already implemented projects of building sulphuric acid production units in Africa, Asia, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Turkey, India, and Bangladesh. In addition, the company had one of the most recent projects in Sweden. “When selecting the contractor, we also considered references related to the construction of sodium hydroxide units,” adds Jaroslav Hacko, Spolana’s Investment Director.
The work will start in September 2023, and the project completion is scheduled within the next three years. Due to the modernisation project, the operational shutdowns in the coming period will be longer than usual. The new equipment will be gradually replaced and connected to the existing facility.
Liquid sulphur is used to make sulphuric acid and for other technical purposes. It is delivered in rail tank vehicles with thermal-insulating protection equipment that does not burn easily and valves that open automatically. Applicable laws and regulations must be observed when transporting, handling, and storing liquid sulphur.
It can also be used in mining and processing some ores and minerals, manufacturing batteries or treating some surfaces with etching. It is also used in industrial cleaning and, of course, as a laboratory chemical in laboratories. For instance, Spolana sells liquid sulphur to car battery producers. Concentrated sulphuric acid is also used to manufacture caprolactam, which is used in the production of nylon and Perlon and subsequently in the textile and clothing industry. Its flexibility makes it an ideal element in producing sports clothing and other sporting goods for water sports, winter sports, trekking, and mountaineering.
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SPOLANA s.r.o. is one of the largest chemical manufacturing companies in the Czech Republic. The only manufacturer of PVC and caprolactam also produces ammonium sulphate and sulphuric acid. It currently employs over 700 people. Spolana has been owned by the ORLEN Unipetrol Group since 2016. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group is the largest refining and petrochemical company in the Czech Republic. It focuses on crude oil processing and production, distributing and selling fuels and petrochemical products – mainly plastics and fertilisers. It is one of the major players in the Czech and Central European markets in all these areas. The ORLEN Unipetrol Group includes refineries and production plants in Litvínov and Kralupy nad Vltavou, Paramo in Pardubice, Spolana in Neratovice, REMAQ in Otrokovice and two research centres in Litvínov and Brno. ORLEN Unipetrol also includes the ORLEN Benzina network in the Czech Republic and ORLEN in Slovakia and Hungary. ORLEN Unipetrol is one of the largest companies in the Czech Republic in terms of turnover. It employs nearly 6,000 people. In addition to its business development, ORLEN Unipetrol is proud to be a socially responsible corporation. Therefore, it pays equal attention to initiatives focusing on cultivating and supporting sustainable development, education, local communities, and the environment. In 2005, ORLEN Unipetrol became part of the PKN Orlen Group, the largest oil processor in Central Europe.
Contact details: Pavel Kaidl, spokesperson, telephone: +420 736 502 520, email: pavel.kaidl@orlenunipetrol.cz
About Nuberg Industries Ltd. (www.nubergepc.com)
Nuberg EPC is a global EPC and turnkey project management company. Nuberg offer single point responsibility solutions and services for engineering and construction of industrial plants, from concept to commissioning. Nuberg has delivered over 60 turnkey projects across 32+ countries in past 25 years. Nuberg solutions, technology & engineering services are known to deliver projects with best in class quality, on-time and within budget. Nuberg provides turnkey project solutions with basic engineering and process know-how either from its own intellectual property or licensed from global technology suppliers. As one of the fastest growing EPC companies in chlor alkali / caustic soda, hydrogen peroxide, sulfuric acid and calcium chloride, Nuberg serve in the chemicals & fertilizers, energy & infrastructure, steel and nuclear & defense industries worldwide.
Contact details: Arun Tyagi, spokesperson, telephone: +91-9711003832, email: aruntyagi@nuberg.in, website: www.nubergepc.com