Aurecon was appointed to upgrade the superphosphate manufacturing plant at Awatoto, Napier. Project objectives included the reduction of fugitive emissions from the plant to improve the working environment, increasing plant efficiency, simplifying operations to reduce downtime, and improving product quality and consistency through a new recipe-based control system.

Aurecon provided the following services for this project:

• Construction supervision
• Front end option analysis and concept development
• Plant commissioning
• Project cost estimation
• Process, mechanical, electrical and automation design
• Project and contract management.

Aurecon’s innovative solution involved restructuring the two existing 49 tph manufacturing lines into a single 80 tph line and redeploying the existing hygiene scrubber on the updated line. This improved scrubbing efficiency, reduced fugitive emissions from the plant, and simplified manufacture by reducing the number of unit operations.

The new recipe-based control system incorporated standard values and allowable limits on key operator parameters to provide consistency in the manufacture process and reports to monitor quality and performance.

The project was completed as part of a fast-track programme with outcomes that included:

• Reduced fugitive plant emissions and an improved working environment in the manufacturing area
• A high-quality, easy to use and reliable control system
• A larger than expected reduction in maintenance costs.