Suche
Mein Konto
Power outage stops Grupa Azoty: Polypropylene plant before overhaul!
Grupa Azoty in Poland stops PP plant after power outage; Repairs delay the start of production at the new petrochemical plant.
Power outage stops Grupa Azoty: Polypropylene plant before overhaul!
Grupa Azoty has commissioned a new polypropylene production plant in Police, Poland, but it is currently at a standstill. The reason for this is a recent power outage that disabled the propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and the connected polypropylene plant. According to information from PlasticWeb The repairs have not yet been completed, so a return to operation is not expected until the beginning of next week at the earliest. Surprisingly, no force majeure was declared for the PP facility, further complicating the situation.
The affected facility was only put into operation in mid-2023 after a fire occurred in July 2022. Since this incident, Grupa Azoty has struggled to maintain stable operations. This initial misfortune and current complications cast a shadow over the great potential of the project, which was conceived simultaneously to meet increasing market demand for polypropylene in Poland and Europe.
Ambitious project in the petrochemical sector
The “Polimery Police” project is one of the largest investments in the Polish and European petrochemical sector. It involves the construction of an integrated petrochemical complex, which, in addition to the propylene production plant, also includes a polypropylene production plant. This information provides wgospodarce.pl.
The complex's production capacity is up to 437,000 tons of polypropylene per year, supported by modern technologies that allow both high production flexibility and a wide range of polypropylene types. Additionally, a Gazoport will be integrated into the complex to facilitate the procurement of raw materials by sea. These measures are a direct response to the increasing demand for polypropylene in Poland, where the country has been a net importer of this plastic for years.
Market and sustainability
Polypropylene plays a crucial role in various industries including food, automotive, construction and medicine. The concept developed for this system not only pursues an economic aspect, but also supports the principles of the circular economy, as the plastic is completely recyclable. The project cost is a significant USD 1.8 billion and the work is taking place in a “design and build” model. A contract was signed with Hyundai Engineering Company back in May 2019, and the progress by August 2022 was 96%. Integrity testing is expected to be completed by the end of August 2023, coinciding with the final operational readiness of the facilities.
Overall, Grupa Azoty Polyolefins faces a very dynamic environment that offers both challenges and great opportunities. The coming weeks will be crucial to observe whether the company can overcome the current difficulties and ensure stable production.