Photo:  газета "Нейтральный Туркменистан"

Turkmenabat chemical plant of the state concern "Turkmenhimiya" has increased production and since the beginning of the year has produced more than 134 thousand tons of phosphorous mineral fertilizers, the newspaper "Neutral Turkmenistan" reports.

The increase in fertilizer output is the result of the updated sulfuric acid plant, which was put into operation in 2016. More than a hundred people work here on automated modern equipment equipped with all necessary communications.

Lumpy sulfur obtained in the process of natural gas purification at two gas processing plants on the opposite right Bank of the Amu Darya serves as the main raw material for the enterprise. Its transportation was greatly facilitated after the launch of the modern Turkmenabat–Farab road bridge. Lumpy sulfur goes through all stages of processing to then turn into a valuable product: melting, and conversion under the influence of steam to a liquid state, cleaning in filters to remove mechanical impurities, burning in the furnace compartment at a temperature of 1100 degrees, lowering the gas temperature in the steam turbine generator to the necessary technical parameters, the oxidation process using a catalyst. At the end of the technological process, sulfuric acid is formed, which is transported in the form of a solution through pipes to the shop for the production of granular ammonium superphosphate. This much-needed mineral fertilizer for agriculture is obtained by decomposing sulfuric acid, phosphoric flour coming from Kazakhstan and neutralizing free acids with synthetic ammonia. Excess sulfuric acid in the form of a light oily liquid is transported to four tanks with a capacity of 5 thousand tons each.

The design capacity of the complex allows not only to fully satisfy the domestic market, but also to ship abroad on request. And with the arrival at the plant of two dozen specially manufactured wagons with a capacity of 65 tons, there is an opportunity for large export deliveries.

Sulfuric acid is necessary not only in the production of mineral fertilizers, but also for medicines, detergents, dyes, artificial fibers, used in the technology of refining petroleum products, as well as in metallurgy – for the decomposition of ore.