REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, GRESIK -- Linde, a leading gases and engineering company, today announced that it has signed a contract with PT Smelting (PTS) to supply additional oxygen to support the expansion of PTS copper smelter operations at Gresik, East Java. Linde will invest over 15 million US dollars to establish a new oxygen plant and develop infrastructure at their existing production site.
The plant will utilize Linde’s Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption (VPSA) technology. The VPSA plant is a packaged, non-cryogenic production plant, producing oxygen using an adsorption process. The new plant is expected to be completed and onstream by October 2023.
Linde currently operates an integrated oxygen and power generation plant at Gresik, supplying over 1.000 tons per day of oxygen and around 35 MW of power to PTS. As part of this new contract, Linde will increase production capacity by almost 50 percent.
PT Smelting will increase production of their main product, copper cathode, to around 350.000 tons per year. Linde’s oxygen is used in the smelting of copper concentrate, one of the first steps in the PTS production process. Copper cathode is used as the raw material for many industries, including the manufacture of wire, cable and tubing.
"This new, long-term, contract demonstrates the trust developed between Linde Indonesia and PT Smelting, developed during our partnership of almost 25 years. Linde is delighted to further extend this relationship," said President Director of Linde Indonesia and Cluster Head for Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam, Vinayak Kembhavi, in a statement.
The implementation of Linde’s leading VPSA technology is designed to improve efficiency and reduce the energy required to produce oxygen by approximately 20 percent. The new plant will be integrated into Linde’s Remote Operating Centre (ROC). Through remote network access, employees at the ROC monitor, operate and control systems and equipment at over 100 Linde plants across ASEAN and South Pacific regions.
This approach will result in greater operational efficiency, optimization of resources and reduced downtime. By optimizing existing facilities Linde is also able to install the new VPSA plant, administration building and workshop without the need for additional land.