Newcastle Coldbox Lift
The 4,4 by 5,5 by 58 metre fractional distillation column weighing 160 tons and costing R30-million was finally lifted into place on Sunday September 14 by two Target cranes. A 750 ton lattice crane with a 28 metre radius was built up to lift the top-end by 58 metres, while a 440 ton extended boom, tail-end crane was used to hold the base off the ground while it was slid across and rotated into place. The whole process took three hours.
Published on September 22, 2008 in Company News |
Cold Box Arrival in Newcastle
The Cold Box arrived in Newcastle on Tuesday the 19th August 08.
Published on August 22, 2008 in Air Products News |
The Cold Box Has Landed
At 17.05 on July 31, 2008, Air Products brand new 54.7 long distillation column gently touched the load beds of two ultra-heavy duty Nicolas trailers parked. The distillation column, or cold box, was being offloaded from the ship Pantanal moored at Berth 58 in Richards Bay harbour. An hour later the cold box was resting firmly on the trailers, ready for the final leg of the journey to Air Products facility in Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal.
The lowering on to the trailers was a milestone in a process, which started in April 2006. The initial demand for the new cold box dates back some three years, when ArcelorMittal and Air Products South Africa went into consultation to map the expansion path for the Newcastle steelmaker. The corresponding expansion needed to Air Products Newcastle facility is set at a figure of over R280-million, and is scheduled for completion early in 2009.
The steel-makers requirement, in turn, needed a substantially increased oxygen supply to ArcelorMittal blast furnace No 5. An order was placed with Air Products in the UK, specifically with its specialist engineering facility in Wales, for the new cold box.
The world-wide shortage of technical skills meant that it was prudent to build a complete distillation column in Wales, rather than ship out the components for local assembly. The components of the column are enclosed in a robust steel box, which is 54.7 metres long, 5.5 metres wide and 4.4 metres high.
While this new piece of equipment will produce oxygen, it will simultaneously produce nitrogen and argon.
The journey that this massive 168-ton piece of equipment had to undertake is not without complexity. From the factory in Wales, it had to be trucked to the port and loaded on to the specialist heavy-lift ship Pantanal. This ship is based in the Ukraine, and is staffed by a skilled crew, which includes riggers and other heavy-lift specialists.
The shipping agents Safcor Panalpina are overseeing the passage of the cold box from the UK to the point where it will be placed on trestles in the yard of Air Products Newcastle. These shipping agents have had the complex task of chartering the special ship and sorting out a small mountain of paperwork.
In addition, en route to Richards Bay, the Pantanal had to dock in Cape Town, Here, under the supervision of Safcor Panalpina, the cold box had to be offloaded to access other cargo in the holds below.
At Richards Bay, the skill of the Pantanal crew was put to the test in the offloading procedure. The heavy lift vessel has two onboard heavy duty cranes mounted on its port side. The cold box had to be lifted slowly off the ship, and then rotated through 25. In this position, the box could be threaded through the gap between the two onboard cranes and lowered onto the trailers on the quay.
Safcor Panalpina has engaged ALE Heavy Lifting, who in turn sub-contracted heavy freight transporters, Mammoet, to oversee the loading onto the massive steerable Nicolas trailers. These are being propelled by two 700 hp MAN horses, one towing and the other pushing the rear of the trailer train. The box has two feet welded to the underside. These rest on two swivels on each of the trailers. This will allow the trailer train to negotiate the many bends on the route to Newcastle.
The roads that the cold box will travel have already been surveyed by Mammoet engineers, to ensure there are no insurmountable obstacles. However, progress will be slow as the train will travel at 20 km/hr on the open road and a 10km/hr over bridges and through towns. The lead driver needs to have clear visibility of 300 metres ahead at all times, so darkness, rain or mist may delay the progress of the cold box. However, it is anticipated that the box will reach Newcastle at the beginning of the second week in August.
Published on August 3, 2008 in Air Products News |