in us trial plants
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8/14/2019 In Us Trial Plants
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INDUSTRIAL PLANTS - April 2013
I
n Norilsk, Siberia we are dealing with a project of
enormous environmental relevance, for which an
innovative technological solution has been
developed which has never been used before. It
involves the construction of a plant which is able
to reduce by 95% the emissions of sulphur
dioxide into the atmosphere and which will require
millions of hours of work on site and in home office.
There will be a scheduled overall investment of billions
of dollars and hundreds of millions will be used for the
first phase of the project.
The client is the Russian company Norilsk Nickel, a
major global producers of nickel, copper and
palladium, with an annual turnover of more than 13
billion USD. The extraction and processing of these
metals in the Norilsk area leads to about two million
tonnes of sulphur dioxide being released into theatmosphere every year - 1% of global emissions of
this substance which is extremely harmful for the
environment and people’s health. This makes the city
in Northern Siberia one of
the most polluted in the
wor ld and the life
expectancy of its 135
thousand inhabitants is ten
years less than the Russian
average. In addition, the
negative effects of this
phenomenon have also
been for decades a cause
for concern for
neighbouring territories, like Canada, Alaska and
Scandinavia. Since 2004 Russia has adhered to the
Kyoto protocol, which envisages a 25% reduction of
CO2 and other harmful substances,
including sulphur dioxide, by 2020.
In addition, in Russia in recent years
the rising living standards and general
advancements in society have resulted
in a greater awareness for issues
linked to the quality of the environment.
The Russian government is therefore
making strides in this direction, through
tax breaks, political pressure and fines
for companies to ensure that they
renew and adapt their plants to the
more stringent regulations that are in force in the rest
of Europe. This scenario has certainly opened interest ing
opportunities for the EPC companies, both in terms of
the revamping of existing plants and in terms of new
The Norilsk Nickel Projectan Innovative Solution fora Major Environmental Challenge
Techint E&C is applying a new technology to capture 95% of the highlypolluting emissions of sulphur dioxide at the Norilsk Nickel plant in NorthernSiberia. It is a project which will be undertaken in extreme climatic conditions,
with temperatures as low as 50 degrees below zero.
Andrea Ferrera, Michele Genova, Paolo Fedeli - Techint E&C
The Norilsk Nickel
plant - Norilsk (Russia)
In Russia in recentyears the risingliving standards
and generaladvancementsin society have
resulted in a greaterawareness for issueslinked to the qualityof the environment
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INDUSTRIAL PLANTS - April 2013
constructions which aim to resolve environmental
issues. It is also for this reason that Techint E&C
opened an office in Moscow in 2011 and has begun
to submit proposals on the Russian market. In
particular, in April 2011, it took part in the international
Norilsk Nickel tender for the SO2 reduction plant
project, with a technologically innovative and advanced
solution.
In October 2011, following the completion of the
feasibility study, Techint E&C presented its definitive
offer, which led to the awarding of the contract in
January 2012 and its subsequent signing in June
2012. The project involves a first engineering phase
which will be completed in 2013 and an EPC phase
which will be completed in 2017 with the handover of
the plant.
The challenge facedby Techint E&C At the start the client was confident of finding proven
technologies on the market which could resolve its
problems in a straightforward and tested manner. In
fact, the most commonly used systems for the
reduction of sulphur dioxide are based on treatments
and chemical reactions, which produce calcium
sulphate or sulphuric acid. Both these solutions
turned out to be too difficult to implement in this
situation. The type of product obtained at the end of
the transformation is a key choice, since the plant is in
a truly remote area, 300 km to the north of the Arctic
Circle.
In addition, the volume of gases that needs to be
treated produces an enormous quantity
of derivatives. As such, the calcium
sulphate would be difficult to dispose of,
while the storage, transportation and
commercialisation of sulphuric acid
would involve significant technical and
logistical difficulties. In this situation,
Techint E&C proposed a solution which
had never before been put to the test,
but which turned out to be most suited
to the client’s requirements.
The winning choice turned out to involve
dividing Norilsk Nickel’s main request into three
separate problems which could be resolved
individually, through well known and tested
technologies. This solution enables us to obtain at the
end up with sulphur in the solid state, which is
completely inert, easy to store, transport and easily
convertible to be sold in the market.
The challenge faced by Techint E&C was especiallythat of integrating and tuning the different phases of
the process, which had never before been used
together, or even used individually on such a scale. In
this sense, it was very important to have the support
and financial backing of the client in the necessary
experimentation and development phases. But,
above all, it was fundamental to have the support and
full collaboration of the two licensors, the American
company MECS and the French company Le Gaz
Integral, who provided all their technology and
experience in order to bring the processes to the
desired performance levels and to carry out the pilot
testing.
The three phases of the process The first phase of the procedure involves the
separation of the dust and other impurities from the
SO2, through the use of wet electrostatic precipitators.
This was already proven but in this case it requires the
use of huge devices. At the end of this treatment what
remain is wastewater, which is treated, and the clean
gas containing SO2. The second phase of the process consists firstly in
the absorption of the sulphur dioxide through physical
solvents, while the residual gases, which have been
cleaned, can be released into the atmosphere.
Subsequently, with a vapour-based stripping process,
the SO2 is desorbed from the solvent at a
concentration that is
close to 100%. In this
way, a gas with highly
concentrated sulphur
dioxide is obtained,
which is the starting
point of the last phase of
the process. The
American licensor,
MECS, which dealt with
the previous two
phases, modified one of
its pilot plants to verify
the effectiveness of this
special procedure and
conformity with the
parameters requested
by the client.
The third phase is spli t
into two specific steps.
In the first one the
concentrated flow of SO2 is mixed with a reducing
agent, that is hydrogen and carbon monoxide. In
this way, a part of the sulphur dioxide is transformed
into hydrosulphuric acid. These two substances,
H2S e SO2, are then fed into a system based on
the Claus process, the most commonly used
method for the conversion of hydrosulphuric acidinto pure sulphur and water. For the fine-tuning of
this phase, the French licensor Le Gaz Integral,
carried out two series of pilot tests.
In this situation,Techint E&C
proposed a solutionwhich had never
before been put tothe test, but whichturned out to be
most suited to theclient’s requirements
The challengefaced by Techint
E&C was especially
that of integratingand tuning thedifferent phasesof the process,
which had neverbefore been usedtogether, or even
used individually onsuch a scale. In thissense, it was very
important to have thesupport and financialbacking of the client
in the necessaryexperimentation anddevelopment phases
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INDUSTRIAL PLANTS - April 2013
Fig. 1 – Norilsk Nichel: typical block flow diagram model
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The f irst took place in a specia lised institute for the
sulphur chemistry, which was involved in the
ver ification of the effectiveness and safe ty of the
sulphur dioxide conversion intohydrosulphuric acid. The second test
was made in a refinery, where the
plants were specifically adapted to
ver ify if all of the reactions took place
wi th in the envisaged operat ing
parameters. This process was
tantamount to actual industrial
production, albeit on a reduced scale.
During three weeks of tests various
tonnes of sulphur were obtained, thus
confirming the validity of the process.
Thanks to this solution, the client will
have liquid sulphur which can easily
be solidified and stored, in a granular form or in
large blocks, for subsequent sale on the market,
with a product ion of more than 3,500 tonnes of
sulphur per day.
A solution for similar projects A crucial technological aspect for the construction
and operation of the plant all along its life is the choice
of the materials of construction for the various
equipment. We could not overlook the fact that in the
different phases of the process the fluids are highly
acidic, the temperature of the gases is very high and
other contaminants contained in the gas to be treated
can be the source of specific criticalities. For this
reason, with the collaboration of the licensors, a series
of tests are ongoing, at the client’s plant, in which we
are verifying the response of a selection of specific
materials at conditions which replicate as closely as
possible the true operating conditions.
As well as wear and corrosion, which are linked
specifically to the process conditions, we certainly
also have to consider the extreme climate of the area
where the plant has to be erected. During winter the
temperatures plummet to 50°C below zero and the
winds reach speeds of up to 120 km per hour. This
situation requires the erection of some large buildings
where the plant will be located, both during the
construction phases and during itsnormal operating life. This is a solution
which will increase the complexity and
the time necessary for construction. The
buildings must guarantee an internal
temperature of at least 10 degrees,
regardless of the external temperature,
with a huge air condit ioning and
ventilation systems. They will also require
very high safety standards to prevent
and manage accidental emissions or
leakages in the closed environment.
The scale of the Norilsk project and the
efficiency of the solution that has been
identified have already attracted the attention of other
companies who need to resolve similar problems. In
this regard, discussions are ongoing for another very
similar project in Russia. This technological and
construction challenge therefore represents a very
important benchmark and it allows us to reach out to
the international market of environmental plants with
an experience and capacity for identifying innovative
solutions which can certainly be of interest to various
clients throughout the world.
The scale of theNorilsk project andthe efficiency of the
solution that hasbeen identified havealready attracted the
attention of othercompanies who need
to resolve similar
problems
The Norilsk Nickel
plant - Norilsk (Russia)
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INDUSTRIAL PLANTS - April 2013
Andrea Ferrera
Andrea Ferrera graduated in Chemical Engineering at
the Politecnico di Milano in 1985. Ferrera has 26 years’
experience in chemical plants production and
engineering, the last 13 spent in coordination and
planning of activities for numerous and large world
scale projects in engineering companies. In his initial
experience Ferrera was process engineer in a
production company, becoming familiar with plant
operations, start up and troubleshooting.
Afterwards he worked as process manager in an
engineering company, and became Head of the
Process Department. His responsibility was later
expanded from Process engineering to Commissioning
and Design HSE. From 2010 Ferrera is Manager of the
Process, Mechanical and Technology Department with
Techint E&C, Milano, looking after the coordination of
the Process & Technology, Commissioning, Design
HSE, Static and Rotating Equipment design activities.
Ferrera’s experience ranges from feasibility studies and
processes techno / economical evaluation, to process
engineering basic and detailed design, relationship
with licensors, knowledge of commissioning,
mechanical and design HSE activities, planning and
coordination of team or department activities, including
liaison with remote engineering centers and
construction sites.
Michele Genova
Paolo Fedeli
Michele Genova is a Sulphur Technology Manager for
Techint E&C in Milan, Italy. He has over 30 years of
experience in process design, basic and detailed
engineering in the field of petroleum refinery,
petrochemical and oil & gas. He previously worked for
Siirtec-Nigi SpA, leading company operating in the field
of gas treatment plant.
He has a MS degree in Chemical Engineer from the
University of Naples and he is a registered professional
engineer in Milan. He is a member of EFCE (European
Federation of Chemical Engineer), GPA (Gas
Processors Association), HTRI (Heat Transfer Research
Institute) and ASRL (Alberta Sulphur Research Ltd).
Paolo Fedeli is Senior Vice President Business
Development & Commercial at Techint Engineering &
Construction. He holds a degree in Chemical
Engineering from Rome’s “La Sapienza” University and
is registered as a professional engineer in the province
of Rome. He began his career in 1997 as a Process
Engineer with ELF Aquitaine (now Total). Later, until
2003, he held a number of technical posts in the
Technip group: Process Engineer, Commissioning and
Start-up Manager and Process Design Manager, in
both the Turnkey and the Licensing areas.
From 2003 to 2005, he was Sales Executive and
Proposal Manager with the Technip group. In 2006 he
joined the Tecnicas Reunidas Group (Spain), holding
both executive and commercial posts: Project
Manager, Proposal Manager, Business Development
Manager & Proposal Director. His last position in the TR
Group was Major Projects Director, Managing Director
of UTE Khabarovsk (Unione Temporal de Empresa), a
temporary grouping formed by Tecnicas Reunidas S.A.
and Initec Plantas Industriales SAU, and head of the
Russian Branches of Tecnicas Reunidas SA.
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