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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




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




Fig. 1 – Norilsk Nichel: typical block flow diagram model




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)




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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