For hundred years ahead
Metafrax has opened a unique eco-friendly production complex in the Perm Region.
Putting into operation of the AUM complex gives a significant environmental and social effect: carbon dioxide emissions from methanol production’s reforming furnaces into the atmosphere will be reduced by half, and Gubakha receives about 400 highly qualified jobs.
The Ammonia-Urea-Melamine (AUM) Complex was put into operation at the site of Metafrax Chemicals, JSC, in Gubakha, Perm Region. The solemn ceremony, dedicated to this event, was attended by representatives of government authorities, the banking sector, companies, involved in the realisation of the project, the media, employees of Metafrax Group and business partners of the holding.
With the opening of this new production complex, Metafrax Group completed the implementation of the largest investment project in the history of the holding, which was started in 2017. The Company has established a technologically interconnected production complex with a design capacity for urea - 500 thousand tons per year, ammonia - 298 thousand tons per year and melamine - 40 thousand tons.
The project was realized as a part of the Metafrax Chemicals' development Program until 2025. Thanks to the construction of the AUM complex, the range of products, manufactured by the enterprise, has been extended. Ammonia will become the raw material for the production of urea. Urea and melamine, in addition to sales on the domestic and foreign markets, are planned to be used as raw materials for the production of resins by the Metadynea Company, a part of Metafrax Group. In the frames of the project, about 400 new highly qualified jobs have been created at the enterprise. Metafrax Group has built in Gubakha six multi-storey residential buildings for the Company's employees.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Metafrax Group Mr. Armen Garslyan thanked everyone, who took part in the establishment of the AUM Complex, noting that the implementation of such a large-scale project became possible only thanks to a powerful team of like-minded people, support that was felt at all levels and stages of construction.
- We believed in ourselves. We believed that we are able to construct an unique industrial complex in a small town that is far from the center of our country. New jobs, multy-storied buildings, constructed in Gubakha, and urban infrastructure will serve people for decades. This is the foundation for the development of Gubakha for a hundred years. And this is what inspires us to move forward and implement new projects. And the most important thing is that our next generation is ready to lead confidently the Company into a new history and is aimed at new achievements," Mr. Armen Garslyan said.
During the construction of the Complex, the best available technologies were used. Thanks to the construction of a CO2 recovery unit, a significant environmental effect has been achieved. Direct emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere are reduced by half. It is planned that the AUM Complex will process about 400 thousand tons of carbon dioxide per year.
- Ammonia synthesis is carried out based on pure gases – nitrogen and hydrogen. We get hydrogen from the purge gas of methanol production, and carbon dioxide-from the flue gases of reforming furnaces. For the first time in the world, the production of urea operates based on this technology," explained Mr. Vladimir Daut, AKM Project Manager, a member of the Board of Directors of Metafrax Group.
The CO2 recovery unit is the only one in Russia and Europe and the second in the world in terms of productivity. The urea unit is presented as an integration of the production of prilled urea and a process chain, interconnected with the production of melamine. The waste gases of melamine production are returned to the urea plant, where they are again processed into the initial product – urea.
The AUM complex includes a new wastewater treatment unit, so that the effluents that are formed by the production, do not load the treatment facilities, operating at the enterprise. The volume of wastewater, processed by the new unit, is 6,333 cubic meters per day. The degree of purification is 99%. As a result, effective use of natural resources, reduction of harmful emissions into the atmosphere and reduction of water consumption by the AUM Complex are achieved.In May 2023, at the second Eurasian Economic Forum in Moscow, Metafrax Chemicals was recognized as the winner of the first international climate contest "Green Eurasia" in the nomination "Clean Industry" for the project of the CO2 recovery unit of the AUM Complex.
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The construction of the new production started on March 2, 2018, when the first cube of concrete was laid in the foundation of the AUM Complex. The area of the Complex is 34 hectares, 128 objects are constructed on its territory. Thehighest of them is the prilling tower with a height of 98 meters.
Ammonia is one of the most important products of the modern chemical industry. It is a raw material for the production of various chemical products, including urea.
Urea is used for the production of urea-formaldehyde concentrate, synthetic resins, melamine.
Melamine is a semi-product for the production of plastics. It is also used to produce melamine-formaldehyde resins.