KBR, Inc. (Houston; www.kbr.com) announced that its subsidiary Plinke GmbH has been awarded a contract by Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited (GNFC) of India to build a Concentrated Nitric Acid plant (CNA) at Bharuch, Gujarat.
Under the terms of the contract, Plinke will provide the license and engineering as well as supply the proprietary equipment for the new plant that will produce 98.5% CNA mainly for the Indian market. CNA is processed by the chemical industry into essential intermediate products used in the production of polyurethane, fibers, lacquers and other base and specialty chemicals.
The plant, which is designed for a throughput capacity of 150 metric tons per day of Concentrated Nitric Acid, is due to come on stream in 2021 and is the fourth such unit licensed and supplied by Plinke to GNFC in the last 2 decades.
The CNA plant will be based on Plinke’s MAGNAC process in which a high concentration of nitric acid is achieved by extractive rectification using a magnesium nitrate solution. In addition to achieving purities of more than 98.5 wt%, the MAGNAC® process is also outstanding in its high yield and availability, low CAPEX and OPEX and no effluent design.
“We are proud that GNFC has once again chosen Plinke’s MAGNAC® process for its new CNA facility in Bharuch,” said John Derbyshire, President, KBR Technology. “This award demonstrates that our clients have a high level of trust and satisfaction with the high quality and reliability of the Plinke technology, design and delivery.”