TAIM WESER supplies a full conveying circuit for the TIFERT phosphoric acid plant in Skhira (Tunisia)

TAIM WESER designs and supplies a dual phosphate conveying circuit for the TIFERT (Tunisian Indian Fertilizers) phosphoric acid production plant located in Skhira, in Southern Tunisia.
For this turn-key project
TAIM WESER leads a joint venture together with the firm Socomenin, a top-level Tunisian company which is specialized in industrial engineering and construction and has been in charge of manufacturing the local structures, assembly and commissioning, always under TAIM WESER’s supervision. On the other hand, TAIM WESER has been responsible for designing and supplying the commercial elements and key components as well as for supervising all the processes. Assembly has already been completed, and testing is to take place in the near future; the no-load tests in the first place, and then the appropriate load tests.

TIFERT is the first company constituted by two Tunisian state enterprises and two Indian companies. This plant will permit to transform the mineral and to directly export the fertilizer instead of the raw material. This will generate a significant added value, boosting the Tunisian industry's competitiveness and encouraging the inflow of capital and the creation of jobs.

The phosphate conveying process step by step
The process starts in the goods-wagon unloading station, measuring 3,007m in length, which is equipped with a hopper capable of unloading up to two 20-wagon trains. 117 pneumatically actuated gates have been installed at the bottom of the hopper, whose opening/closing and opening degree can be controlled from a computer programme installed on a PLC. The extraction capacity of the conveyor belt underneath the seals can be thereby controlled. Said control programme has been integrally developed at TAIM WESER.

Next, the phosphate is dropped onto the extractor belt, which is installed in a 10m-deep concrete tunnel, and is then transferred to another conveyor that takes it to the surface. From there, the material goes through a vibrating screen in order to remove possible foreign material that might have accidentally entered the product, and is subsequently carried by 2 circuits: the first one leads to the plant, and the second goes to an intermediate buffer yard where it is stored. This yard has a 60,000-tonne capacity and is made up by a 100m belt that circles through drums. The material at the yard is collected by means of power loaders that feed 2 hoppers which discharge onto a circuit belt.

Finally, before entering the production process proper, there is another 500m³ concrete silo which is fed through the top by a moving belt, which is reversible so as to increase the silo’s loading capacity. Beneath it there are installed 2 rotating extractors, the purpose of which is to preserve the integrity and properties of the material. Lastly, these extractors dump onto 2 belts that take the phosphate inside the plant in order for it to be transformed.

The circuit with all its components.
On designing the phosphate conveying system for the La Skhira plant, TAIM WESER took into account both the material to be conveyed (wet phosphate, phosphogypsum and neutralizing salt) and the moisture thereof – around 15% – and the desert climate of the area. Based on this, the company has supplied the components needed to build the circuit, which includes: the unloading station with 117 gates, including an opening, closing and flow-control pneumatic and electronic control system as well as its (2, 110kW) compressors, tanks, piping, valves and the PLC. In addition, 2 rotary extractors, 12 conveyor belts of different lengths – 2 of which to convey two process by-products (neutralizing salt and phosphogypsum), 7 transfer towers, 1 screen, 1 radial stacker to make up the buffer yard, 2 loading hoppers, 1 moving silo-loading belt, 1 magnetic separator, and 10 block and tackles.

As mentioned above, the assembly of the circuit was affected by the events that took place in Tunisia at the beginning of 2011, which paralyzed the country’s activity for over a month. This standstill especially affected industrial activity and, in particular, the progress of the onsite assembly works, so much so that normal work rate did not resume until four month later. All in all, the plant is expected to come into operation halfway through 2012.
TAIM WESER is a Spanish group operating on a worldwide scale, specializing in high-technology turnkey projects. With installations in 59 countries and over one hundred years of experience, TAIM WESER provides solutions oriented towards streamlining industrial processes in a sustainable, environmentally friendly approach in the following sectors: bulk materials handling, lifting, waste treatment and renewable energy.
The company’s corporate headquarters are located in Zaragoza (Spain), where the facilities occupy a surface area of 64,000m², 23,500 of which are covered and assigned to production processes. In Germany, the group has an office in Bad Oeynhausen and in Brazil, a plant in Curitiba (PR).

Thanks to its proprietary technology and patents, the TAIM WESER group has become an international reference, present in all leading world markets, where it is noted for its excellent management resources. TAIM WESER is committed to innovation and technology; to people, total quality and competitiveness. These values, along with the extensive experience acquired, afford the company a perfect understanding of the sectors in which it operates, preparing it to meet all of its customers’ needs.