Elessent awarded two sulfuric acid technology contracts
Elessent Clean Technologies has been awarded contracts for the development of sulfuric acid plants in Brazil and Indonesia. One is with PT Amman Mineral Industri in Indonesia, and the other is with Brazilian chemical maker Unigel RI.
Indonesia contract. Indonesian mining company, PT Amman Mineral Industri (AMIN), has partnered with Elessent Clean Technologies (Elessent) for the provision of a new smelter off-gas MECS® sulfuric acid plant equipped with MECS® DynaWave® wet gas scrubbing technology. The new plant will be constructed in Sumbawa, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia with anticipated startup in 2024.
Over the last few years, Indonesia has become a critical region for the battery metal marketplace. As the EV revolution sweeps the globe, consumers are procuring more vehicles to support energy transition. Battery metals are essential for the production of electric vehicles, as well as numerous other electronics, and producers are turning to Indonesian mining operations for access to materials. Elessent’s MECS® sulfuric acid plant technology provides sulfuric acid used in HPAL (high-pressure acid leaching) extraction of battery raw materials with the most stringent control of emissions. With a new office in Jakarta, Elessent’s subsidiary, PT MECS MandR Solution, will be a local provider of technical services to customers throughout the country.
“AMIN chose Elessent for their reputation in meeting environmental regulations and the high reliability of their technologies. Using MECS® acid plant design and its incorporated technologies, our new plant will expectedly meet site-specific environmental, cost and operational goals, as well as environmental requirements.” said Mr. Anil Upadhyay, Copper Smelter Project Director, AMIN.
The MECS® sulfuric acid process design for AMIN incorporates state of the art technology including both MECS® pre-conversion technology, which offers a novel approach for processing gas streams with elevated sulfur dioxide concentrations, and MECS® DynaWave® wet gas scrubbing technology. DynaWave® scrubbers clean and condition the off gas from the copper smelter furnaces upstream of the sulfuric acid plant and are the gold standard for gas cleaning applications. Licensed and marketed by Elessent Clean Technologies, MECS® DynaWave® scrubbing technology has been successfully used at more than 400 sites worldwide.
The new sulfuric acid plant will enable AMIN to provide high quality sulfuric acid to the local Indonesian market, as well as benefiting the country and region by tightly controlling air emissions from the smelter.
Brazilian contract. Brazilian chemical maker Unigel RI (Unigel) – one of Latin America's largest chemical companies and Brazil's top manufacturer of nitrogen fertilizers – has contracted with MECS, Inc. (MECS), a subsidiary of Elessent Clean Technologies, for the construction of a new sulfur burning sulfuric acid plant to displace the import of sulfuric acid for their downstream chemical processes. The new plant will be constructed in the coastal state of Bahia. With sustainability as a core value, Unigel’s new plant will also be used to generate utility steam that will provide reliable and carbon-free power throughout their industrial complex.
“The design and construction of this new sulfuric acid plant, the first for Unigel and the first for Brazil in over 15 years, is an integral step to enabling more streamlined operations and positioning Unigel as a key player in the widespread distribution of sulfuric acid to consumers. Unigel operates on four major pillars: sustainability, quality, safety and reliability; and we knew we needed the market leader for this project. The MECS® technology, products and equipment used in the plant’s design are world class and will ensure our commitment to our customers while ESG practices are met.” said Unigel CEO, Roberto Noronha Santos.
The project also contributes to the challenges of decarbonizing the production chain, since the steam produced in the new sulfuric acid plant will be free from the burning of fossil fuels thereby reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is in addition to other environmental initiatives promoted by Unigel, including Brazil's first green hydrogen plant which Unigel is pioneering. “Unigel focuses on investments that enable the company to decarbonize its operations while also providing solutions for the industry,” said Noronha.
The MECS® sulfuric acid process design for Unigel incorporates state of the art products and technologies, such as MECS® GEAR® catalyst for ultra-low emissions and high conversion, Brink® AutoDrain™ technology for operational efficiency, as well as UniFlo® distributors, acid coolers and acid piping. The addition of the new plant will also facilitate increased capacity for Unigel to better serve their clients, as well as benefiting the region by contributing to a more competitive sulfuric acid supply chain. “We are excited to have the opportunity to work with Unigel to supply the MECS® sulfuric acid technology at the Camacari, Bahia facility. The plant is essential to Unigel’s operations at the complex as it brings them greater energy and raw material independence. We have worked closely with Unigel over the last few years to generate the optimized solution for the plant, while ensuring maximum efficiency so Unigel can remain a reliable supplier into the future,” said Eli Ben-Shoshan, CEO, Elessent Clean Technologies.
Startup of the new sulfuric acid plant at the Bahia, Brazil site is expected to take place in the first half of 2023.
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