July 20,2021 - The sulfuric acid shop at Shchekinoazot continues to work on improving its unique unit for the production of ultra-pure sulfuric acid. Young students from the Novomoskovsk Institute of the Russian University of Chemical Technology are interning here at an interesting, yet challenging time.  The main raw material for caprolactam production is sulfuric acid.  In November 2019, as a result of an investment project, sulfuric acid production began directly at the Shchekinoazot industrial site.  Today, over two years of installation work are up. The unit consistently puts out the planned product volumes.  A new project has been implemented inside the existing shop, as a new chemically-pure and ultra-pure acid plant with a unique process flow has been put into operation.  Everywhere else in the country, chemically-pure acid is made following the classical evaporation method. Here, however, sulfuric anhydride is produced from oleum. The original solution with a unique pattern seen nowhere else in Russia so far is a brainchild of the Moscow-based PromStroyEngineering institute. This method is simpler, safer and more economical than the classic one.  The actual refitting of the plant to meet the required quality level is the concern of the engineering minds at Shchekinoazot. Hopefully, replacing the evaporator tube bundle material will have the desired effect and the plant will operate reliably and stably, says shop manager Vitaliy Vershinskiy. This is now being checked, as tests are going on in the shop and the production engineers are closely monitoring the process.  All in all, it is an interesting but challenging time for third-year students from the Novomoskovsk Institute of the Russian University of Chemical Technology to take an internship at the sulfuric acid facility.  On the industrial site of Shchekinoazot, they saw an entire complex which in itself is essentially a small plant producing sulfuric acid.  It has a main production site, a raw materials and finished goods warehouse and a department for the preparation of ultra-pure acids. 

August 2, 2018 - The integrated sulfuric acid production facility with an annual capacity of 200 thousand tons, which is being built on the Schekinoazot JSC site, is actually a small plant, and it includes the following: the main production site, a warehouse for raw materials and finished products, and a section for the production of especially pure acids, which will also be produced here.  The integrated facility will generate its own electricity, which will completely cover the needs of the sulfuric acid production and partly cover the needs of the facility’s other shops.  The construction of the sulfuric acid production facility is nearing completion.  All the main equipment has been installed, including the following one:  a sulfur furnace, a waste heat boiler, circulation collectors and heat exchange equipment for the drying and absorption section, and a conversion section; equipment has been installed for water circulation cycles and a gas treatment system.  Absorption columns, a drying column and storage containers for liquid sulfur and finished products have been installed.  Process equipment piping, process pipelines, and electric cables have been installed.  All the works are being carried out with the participation of specialists from Jiangsu Qingfeng International Environment Engineering Co., LTD, the Chinese licensor.  They have fully prepared the basic and detailed designs, and the company is the supplier of the main process equipment for this unit.  Pipeline and appliance testing, and all ongoing commissioning works are being carried out together with them.  The partial installation of control and instrumentation is nearing completion. Commissioning, flushing, purging, and hydraulic testing of the pipelines has started. About 70 percent of the pipelines have already been successfully hydrotested and are ready to be tested with work fluids.  At the same time, our I&A specialists, together with specialists from  the Japanese company Yokogawa, the supplier of the automated control system, are loading the software.  The I&A team is studying the process control methods. The functional tests of all the control valves will soon begin.