Pellet plant, SGOK (Russia)

Upgrade project boosted the production capacity from 6 to 8 million t/year

The SGOK Pellet Plant, located in Stary Oskol, Russia, was originally developed under a contract signed in 2011. The scope of the contract included engineering and procurement for the entire pellet plant, as well as technical assistance during construction and start-up. The plant features an induration furnace with a grate area of 768 m² and was designed for a nominal annual production capacity of 6 million metric tons of iron ore pellets based on magnetite. The facility was equipped with advanced pelletizing technology to ensure high product quality, operational reliability, and compliance with environmental standards.

Following several years of successful operation, SGOK initiated a capacity increase project to further enhance pellet production. The upgrade focused on the pelletizing section, specifically the induration furnace and associated process systems. SMS provided engineering solutions and key equipment upgrades to optimize the thermal process, improve air and gas flow management, and enhance automation and control systems. These improvements enabled the plant to safely and efficiently increase its annual pellet output from 6 million to 8 million metric tons, standing now as the largest and most advanced pelletizing facilities in Europe.

The capacity increase was achieved through process optimization and targeted equipment modifications, without the need for major structural changes to the induration furnace. The timely and smooth implementation of these modifications was further supported by the deployment of our proprietary process optimizer Optimus and comprehensive operator training using our Training simulator.

The project demonstrated the effectiveness of Outotec’s pelletizing technology and project management capabilities. The successful ramp-up to the new design capacity confirmed the robustness of the plant’s original design and the value of the implemented upgrades.