News
Operational Announcements
Akim of the region launched furnace heating at Aktobe ferroalloys plant
Specialists of TNC Kazchrome JSC carried out a unique overhaul, thanks to which the productivity of the furnace at Aktobe ferroalloy plant will be increased. Akim of the region Ondasyn Urazalin during his visit to the enterprise started the furnace heating process.
During the state of emergency in Kazakhstan, Kazchrome specialists, on their own and in record time, completed a complicated scheduled overhaul of furnace No. 43 of smelting shop No. 4, thanks to which it could reach its design capacity and increase ferrochrome production of the plant. Initially, a significant project was to be carried out by contractor’s specialists from South Africa and Russia. However, the contractor stated that its employees would not be able to start working on the issue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Earlier, similar work was not performed at the Aktobe ferroalloy plant on their own,” commented Arman Yessenzhulov, president of TNK Kazchrome JSC. – But, under the current state of emergency in the country, we were forced to accept such challenge. Initially, no one believed in the deadlines we set. To carry out the work, we brought in repair service specialists from our branch in Aksu, who already had similar experience. Thanks to the assistance of the region’s leadership, they helped us organize a “green corridor” for the passage of specialists through checkpoints to Aktobe. It allowed us to implement the project on time.
For dismantling and installation of the furnace, 138 people were involved from Aktobe and Aksu ferroalloy plants’ repair services, specialists from Asia Ogneupor LLP were involved in the furnace lining. As a result, the repair work was completed in 54 days instead of 65 days. The project cost amounted to more than 7 billion tenge. Thanks to repair time optimization, an additional 2 thousand tons of ferrochrome will be produced.
- This repair can be named as historical for the company. Firstly, we were able to do all stages of work on our own in record time, and secondly, we used an unusual technology. In the world practice, dismantling begins from above, releasing the lining from top to bottom. On the No. 43-furnace, specialists decided to use the dual method and conduct work from above and below in parallel. For this, a special suspension platform for excavators was used. This equipment was also relocated from Aksu to Aktobe. During installation, lining of the furnace arch and lining of the casing walls were carried out in parallel. Specialists from Asia Ogneupor LLP helped us to implement this approach. All work was carried out in accordance with the requirements of industrial safety,”- said Konstantin Semerenko, Kazchrome’s acting Head of the Maintenance and Repair.
Today, the plant has begun the next phase of work - heating of the furnace, which will be carried out by the American company Hotwork. Specialists arrived in Aktobe by special permission, having passed all the necessary procedures related to the current quarantine. According to the plan, the heating will take 28 days.
“Today, in the difficult situation associated with the pandemic, our company continues to work stably and implement significant projects,” says Zhalgasbay Mussabekov, the Director of the plant. Repair of the furnace No. 43 will result in a gradual output growth to design values. A large-scale and important project for the whole company was implemented thanks to the experience of our specialists, continuous increasing of the processes efficiency and, of course, teamwork.
For reference: No. 43 is a DC arc furnace. Power capacity of the furnace unit: 72 MW. Commissioning: January 2015. Product: high-carbon ferrochrome. Oven production volumes (and average annual power capacity): 2019 - 69,156 tons (40.7 MW), 2020 - 71,979 tons (53.1 MW)
During the state of emergency in Kazakhstan, Kazchrome specialists, on their own and in record time, completed a complicated scheduled overhaul of furnace No. 43 of smelting shop No. 4, thanks to which it could reach its design capacity and increase ferrochrome production of the plant. Initially, a significant project was to be carried out by contractor’s specialists from South Africa and Russia. However, the contractor stated that its employees would not be able to start working on the issue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Earlier, similar work was not performed at the Aktobe ferroalloy plant on their own,” commented Arman Yessenzhulov, president of TNK Kazchrome JSC. – But, under the current state of emergency in the country, we were forced to accept such challenge. Initially, no one believed in the deadlines we set. To carry out the work, we brought in repair service specialists from our branch in Aksu, who already had similar experience. Thanks to the assistance of the region’s leadership, they helped us organize a “green corridor” for the passage of specialists through checkpoints to Aktobe. It allowed us to implement the project on time.
For dismantling and installation of the furnace, 138 people were involved from Aktobe and Aksu ferroalloy plants’ repair services, specialists from Asia Ogneupor LLP were involved in the furnace lining. As a result, the repair work was completed in 54 days instead of 65 days. The project cost amounted to more than 7 billion tenge. Thanks to repair time optimization, an additional 2 thousand tons of ferrochrome will be produced.
- This repair can be named as historical for the company. Firstly, we were able to do all stages of work on our own in record time, and secondly, we used an unusual technology. In the world practice, dismantling begins from above, releasing the lining from top to bottom. On the No. 43-furnace, specialists decided to use the dual method and conduct work from above and below in parallel. For this, a special suspension platform for excavators was used. This equipment was also relocated from Aksu to Aktobe. During installation, lining of the furnace arch and lining of the casing walls were carried out in parallel. Specialists from Asia Ogneupor LLP helped us to implement this approach. All work was carried out in accordance with the requirements of industrial safety,”- said Konstantin Semerenko, Kazchrome’s acting Head of the Maintenance and Repair.
Today, the plant has begun the next phase of work - heating of the furnace, which will be carried out by the American company Hotwork. Specialists arrived in Aktobe by special permission, having passed all the necessary procedures related to the current quarantine. According to the plan, the heating will take 28 days.
“Today, in the difficult situation associated with the pandemic, our company continues to work stably and implement significant projects,” says Zhalgasbay Mussabekov, the Director of the plant. Repair of the furnace No. 43 will result in a gradual output growth to design values. A large-scale and important project for the whole company was implemented thanks to the experience of our specialists, continuous increasing of the processes efficiency and, of course, teamwork.
For reference: No. 43 is a DC arc furnace. Power capacity of the furnace unit: 72 MW. Commissioning: January 2015. Product: high-carbon ferrochrome. Oven production volumes (and average annual power capacity): 2019 - 69,156 tons (40.7 MW), 2020 - 71,979 tons (53.1 MW)