Skip to main content

Sulphur 420 Sep-Oct 2025

19 September 2025

Aurubis completes major maintenance at Pirdop plant

BULGARIA

Aurubis completes major maintenance at Pirdop plant

Aurubis says that it has successfully completed scheduled maintenance at its Pirdop plant on time. The two-month operation marked the largest planned maintenance shutdown at the site in the past 30 years. With an investment of €115 million, Aurubis says the work ensures the long-term reliability and performance of the facility. Key upgrades included a full overhaul of the flash smelter, replacement of two electrostatic precipitators, and a major modernisation of the sulphuric acid production line. This modernisation involved installing a new converter and replacing six heat exchangers.

With the plant now fully back online, the improvements are expected to extend the interval between maintenance cycles from two to three years while also reducing the duration of future downtime. Sulphuric acid production at Pirdop is estimated at around 1.3 million t/a. It remains unclear whether these recent upgrades will result in a production increase at the site.

Latest in Europe

Completion of refinery upgrade

Maire Group subsidiary KTKinetics Technology says that it has completed work on the Rijeka Refinery Upgrade Project in Croatia, having completed the engineering, procurement and construction activities. The scope of work included a new delayed coking unit to process heavy residue and eliminate the production of fuel oil while increasing refinery efficiency capacity, the revamping of the process units and the utility network and the implementation of the latest solutions for coke handling and storage and sea jetty construction and shipping loading facilities.

Grupa Azoty adds new sulphur fertilizer to its range

Grupa Azoty has launched DuoS® , a new nitrogen–sulphur fertilizer. Its formulation is based on ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate and anhydrite and includes two forms of nitrogen – nitrate and ammonium; two sulphur sources – ammonium sulphate and anhydrite; and calcium to support crop resilience and the quality of produce. The new nitrogen–sulphur fertilizer with added calcium is designed to improve nutrient use efficiency and reduce leaching and other nutrient losses. It is recommended for pre-sowing and top dressing on winter and spring cereals, winter rapeseed, sugar beet, potatoes, legumes, grassland, as well as vegetables and fruit crops. Grupa Azoty says it is introducing DuoS® in the current season as part of a strategy to develop its fertilizer business and focus on specialty products.