Kametstal completes overhaul of main air separation unit

Kametstal has successfully completed one of the largest overhauls of 2024 – the overhaul of the main air separation unit AKAR-40/35. After the scheduled work and all the necessary pre-commissioning operations, the unit was put back into operation at the end of December, the company said in a press release.

As part of the repairs, the adsorbent was replaced: 68 tons of zeolite and 33.6 tons of aluminum oxide were loaded, which ensure effective air purification from moisture and carbon dioxide. The air pre-cooling systems were also cleaned and repaired, shut-off valves and switching valves were replaced, and the performance of turboexpander units, pumping equipment, pipelines and heat exchangers was restored.

On December 26, 2024, the plant supplied the first oxygen to the reservoir. According to Vyacheslav Grevtsev, Head of the Oxygen Compressor Shop, the unit tests conducted on December 28 confirmed its passport capacity: 40 thousand cubic meters per hour of nitrogen and 35 thousand cubic meters per hour of oxygen.

“The unit is now operating in the prescribed mode, steadily supplying air separation products to the steelmaking process. The unit’s load varies according to the needs of the production process. Thanks to the well-established cooperation between the CCC specialists and their colleagues from the blast furnace and converter shops, we determine the optimal production mode on a daily basis without unproductive losses of oxygen produced, which allows us to increase the efficiency of the repaired unit and the shop as a whole,” he summarizes.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Kametstal is improving the reliability of power supply to coke oven battery No. 5. Under last year’s investment program, the coke shop modernized distribution substation No. 55. As part of the investment project, the outdated contact equipment was completely replaced with modern automatic equipment made in Germany. New circuit breakers with current and thermal protection were also installed, as well as new electromagnetic starters instead of contactors.