Peddapalli: RFCL to begin urea production shortly
Carries out prill test successfully; project is in advance stage of commissioning
Peddapalli: The Ramagundam Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited (RFCL) successfully carried out prill test in the early hours on Sunday, paving way for revival of the much-awaited gas-based Urea manufacturing plant at Ramagundam with a capacity of 2,200 metric tonnes per day (MTPD) Ammonia unit and 3,850 MTPD Urea plant. As a part of the production procedure, the two units of the prilling section and prilling tower and the conveying systems to the silo as well as the bagging unit were tested successfully using technical grade urea (TGU).
The RFCL project is in the advance stage of commissioning and production of urea. The commercial production is expected to commence shortly in the days to come, said RFCL chief executive officer Nirlip Singh Roy.
Though the plant was scheduled to be completed a few months ago, the works are delayed due to the corona pandemic. Workers from Rajasthan and Odisha who were engaged in RFCL works went to their native places following the lockdown.
Out of annual consumption of 300 lakh tonnes urea in the country, around 240 lakh tonnes is being produced in the country and the remaining 60 lakh tonnes is being imported from other countries. In order to reduce the financial burden, the Union government decided to reopen five defunct urea manufacturing units in the country including RFCL to produce urea under the brand of ‘Kisan Urea’.
The coal-based urea production unit, Fertiliser Corporation of India at Ramagundam, was closed in 1991 due to debts. In 2014, the Union government decided to reopen the unit under a partnership of both Central and State governments to cater to the fertiliser needs of South India. RFCL was constituted on February 17, 2015 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for the project on August 7, 2016. While both National Fertilisers Limited and Engineers India Limited have a of 26 percent share, Fertiliser Corporation of India Limited and Telangnaa government has 11 percent share each. Gas Authority of India Limited, which is supplying gas to the plant, holds 14.3 percent and the remaining 11.7 percent share is owned by a Denmark-based company Haldor Topsoe.
Aimed to produce 3,850 tonnes of urea and 2,200 tonnes of ammonia per day, RFCL has been established in 560 acres of land with an estimated cost of Rs 5,920 crore. Every year, 12.7 lakh tonnes fertiliser would be produced.
Gas is being supplied from the Krishna-Godavari basin, 363.65 km away. For this purpose, 15 control points have been developed in different places. The last point is established at Gummunur near Manthani, from where gas is being supplied to the plant. Around 0.55 tmc water required for the unit will be supplied from the Sripada Yellampalli project.
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