A maintenance campaign at the ammonium nitrate production facility of the KChKhK branch has been completed.

      Each production unit was inspected; scheduled cleanings, rinsings, defect inspections and industrial safety assessments were carried out. All dynamic equipment and the workshop's electric motors underwent maintenance. Particular attention was paid to the scrubbers — units for cleaning gas‑air mixtures. A large amount of conveyor belting was replaced on the belt conveyors.

      On the first unit work was carried out to replace one of the main pieces of equipment in the process chain — the steam humidifier was renewed. Here the superheated steam is saturated as it passes through steam condensate, which is necessary for more efficient operation of the evaporator.

      The plant‑wide shutdown served as the interval between unit overhauls. During this time work was carried out on a production unit that cannot be stopped at other times — the evaporator unit for dilute solutions. An inspection and replacement of a large number of shut‑off and control valves was carried out there, as well as scheduled maintenance on the electrical equipment and the automated process control system.

      Andrey Odintsov, Chief Engineer of the “KChKhK” branch of JSC “OHK Uralchem”:

      — The work was carried out to a high standard and on time, for which great thanks go to the teams of the ammonium nitrate production shop and the repair units. Any major overhaul is not only about restoring current production but also about drawing up plans for the future: even now we understand which measures we need to carry out before the next overhaul.