Aurubis reported that its copper smelting plant in Hamburg has resumed operations after an extensive maintenance period, the longest in its history, which began on May 7. Since July 11, the facility has been operational, culminating a technical shutdown that lasted 60 days and cost 95 million euros.
Maintenance of Aurubis plant successfully completed
This maintenance included a “complete overhaul of the flash smelter”, as well as the installation of new heat exchangers in the contact acid plant and improvements in safety measures, including a new casting retention system and a tamping machine for the copper slag casting. In addition, anode furnaces prepared to operate with hydrogen were incorporated.
On the other hand, it is expected that the completion of maintenance and the resumption of maintenance and the resumption of activities at the plant are expected to alleviate the current shortage of sulfuric acid in Europe of activities at the plant are expected to alleviate the current shortage of sulfuric acid in Europe, which was exacerbated by the interruption of production during the shutdown. The lack of molten sulfur in the region has contributed to this situation, forcing consumers to look for alternatives such as smelter acid, thus increasing market demand.
In addition, Aurubis has invested in the automation of its processes to increase plant efficiency. These improvements will extend the periods between scheduled maintenance from 2 to 3 years, thus optimizing operations and production.
The company reported production of 1.19 million tons of sulfuric acid in the first six months of fiscal 2023-24, an increase of 1% compared to the same period last year. In addition, the Hamburg smelter increased its production by 11% to 512,000 tons, while the Pirdop smelter in Bulgaria saw a 6% reduction, with 679,000 tons produced. Between January and March, acid production in Hamburg was 258,000 tons, keeping the figure stable compared to the same quarter of the previous fiscal year, despite the decrease at the Pirdop plant.
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Source and photo: Aurubis
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