European Chemical Industry News & Insights

Grupa Azoty Doubles Nitric Acid Capacity in Tarnów

At a glance
  • The new facility has a design output of 40,000 tonnes per year, doubling the existing capacity.
  • The total annual capacity for concentrated nitric acid at the Tarnów plant is now 80,000 tonnes.
  • Construction of the second production line, permitted in April 2020, took two and a half years.
  • The related capital expenditure amounted to PLN 57.1m.

New Facility Overview

Grupa Azoty has launched a new facility for the production of concentrated nitric acid in Tarnów, Poland. The new unit has a design output of 40,000 tonnes per year, effectively doubling the plant's existing capacity. This addition brings the total annual capacity for concentrated nitric acid at the Tarnów plant to 80,000 tonnes.

Project Details

The construction of the second production line was permitted in April 2020 and took two and a half years to complete. The related capital expenditure for this project amounted to PLN 57.1 million. The unit's test run, confirming the achievement of the design capacity, took place by mid-December last year.

Production Process and Applications

Concentrated nitric acid is produced by concentrating 60 percent nitric acid through an extractive rectification process. The main applications of concentrated nitric acid in the European market include the manufacture of polyurethane foams, dyes, crop protection products, fuel additives for reducing exhaust emissions, and other organic syntheses.