“Novomoscovsky Azot” (“New Moscow Nitrogen”) was the plant where during the war one type of Molotov cocktail was developed. It is romoured to be abandoned but it is not. Th huge plant is still functioning and is ready to welcome us on its territory.

The plant has so many various pipes!

It’s the control panel where they monitor different technological processes.

They started to build the plant in 1929 when the Soviet authorities started to realize the industrialization of the country. The first products were already made in 1933. By the beginning of the war the plant became one of the world centers of chemical industry and gave dozens of tons of ammonia, nitrate, nitric acid and other substances. However the war changed this all. For the Germans the city was one of the strategic sites. Already in the first months of the war the plant started to be bombed. Some production was evacuated to the east, what remained was exploded.

But already by the end of 1942 the plant continued to work on the same place. Here is when they started production of Molotov cocktails.

The plant is still considered one of the largest companies of Russia. They produce a great part of all Russian chemicals.

So it turned out that the plant is not abandoned and is even developing. A new shop was built in 2008. It gives 4350 tons of produce every day. Now it is the largest urea producer in Europe!

Urea (nitrogen fertilizer) is formed during the reaction of ammonia and carbon dioxide at high temperature (about 200 C degrees (392 F)).

More and more new technologies are appearing at the plant.

The plant is incredibly large. Some equipment even scares at first glance.

Why was the plant built here? Because there is a reservoir with coal reserves nearby. It used to be the biggest one.

And ammonia was obtained from products of coking coal – ammonia water.

The region is also rich in gypsum and clay.

And there are many rivers here.

Urea reaches the storage to be sorted, loaded and shipped to customers.

Everything is covered with urea.

Though it looks like snow.

This is heat and cooling equipment.

In these two towers ammonium nitrate is made.

They connect ammonia and nitric acid for this. Acid reacts with ammonia fumes to form nitrate crystals.

From here production is controlled.

However some part of the production is old and is being slowly repaired.

But on the photos it looks even better.

Natural gas is combined with water vapor. When fuel is burnt the temperature rises to 1400 C (2552 F). Methane releases hydrogen, the air from the atmosphere is filtrated and supplied to the technical air compressors.

Various gas reactions happen here.

The plant provides 1,700 tons of nitrogen per day.

They resemble fingers of a giant hand.

It doesn’t look hospitable.

It’s nice to see the old plant which is still functioning and developing.

via cr2