Overhaul of acid plants of the Chuquicamata Smelter

Codelco, through the Vice Presidency of Projects (VP), developed the project for the Transformation of Acid Plants No. 3 and No. 4 to Double Contact/Double Absorption, for the Chuquicamata Smelter.

The project aimed to implement a change in technology that would reduce SO2 emissions into the atmosphere and thus comply with Chile’s environmental regulations. With the execution of this project, the Chuquicamata division was able to increase the conversion and absorption efficiency of gases from Smelting and thus comply with Decree No. 28 regarding sulfuric acid plants and the maximum concentration limit of 600 ppmv of gaseous sulphur dioxide (SO2).

In this context, the scope of the engineering developed included the improvement and repairs of the existing facilities and thus extend the useful life of the gas cleaning areas by an additional 15 years, from the start of operations of the new CAP3 and CAP4 acid plants.

Although the project was in the construction phase, with part of its detail engineering developed and completed, Pares & Alvarez had the mission of carrying out the complementary detail engineering of the engineering already developed by Codelco. Among the activities developed we can mention the temporary shutdown engineering of Contact Plants No. 2, 3 and 4, Engineering of the Cooling Water Filtration System, Reactive Power Study, among others. Projects developed in Smart plant 3D (SP3D) software.

During 2020, the Chuquicamata Smelter focused on consolidating its operations under the new environmental standards, after the implementation of investment projects. In terms of results, according to Codelco’s 2020 Report, the smelter achieved a capture of 97.2% of arsenic emissions and 97.7% of sulphur emissions, complying with the 95% required by the supreme decree.