In March 2011,ThyssenKrupp Fo¨rdertechnik GmbH, Business Unit Material Handling has been contracted by Techint Compagnia Tecnica Internazionale S.p.A. of Italy to supply four back-stacking Portal Reclaimers to be operated at the Ruwais Sulphur Handling Terminal -2.
This new sulphur storing and ship loading facility is part of the capital investment of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. (ADNOC) for their Habshan and Shah Gas Development Projects and will be established on a green-field plot in the Ruwais (U.A.E.) port area, at approximately 165km west southwest of Abu Dhabi City.
The granulated sulphur will be transported via rail system from Shah and Habshan producers to the Sulphur Handling Terminal-2 in Ruwais where it will be unloaded and exported by ship.
The Sulphur Handling Terminal-2 in Ruwais is designed to receive 22,000 tonnes per day of granulated sulphur.
The four machines installed in two different storage buildings (two per building) represent the key equipment of the new plant as they will be capable of either stacking the sulphur coming from the railcar unloading station, either reclaiming the stored product or by-passing the stockyard to feed the downstream shiploaders.
The design of the back-stacking portal reclaimers represents an exciting technical challenge as, with a rail gauge of 71.25m, they are not only the largest full portal reclaimers ever built but also the most efficient with a stacking rate of 2,000tph (tonnes per hour) and a reclaiming rate of 4,000tph.
The portal reclaimer itself is equipped with four scraper booms i.e. two arrangements of main and auxiliary scraper booms mounted on either side of the portal structure and connected together by a knuckle arrangement. The scraper booms are not only capable of reclaiming the sulphur stored in the warehouse but also to stack-in respectively by-pass
sulphur coming from the railcar unloading station. For that purpose, the sulphur flow is fed by a dedicated belt conveyor to the tripper car towed by the main machine. Via a splitting/diverting chute arranged at the tripper car discharge the sulphur is by- passing the machine for direct feeding of the shiploaders or equally distributed in- between the scraper blades of the two main booms running in reverse direction and thus performing an upward motion of the product to build-up the stockpile.
As these machines shall run in a extremely explosive, atmosphere, the
sulphur dust laden, entire machine is classified in Zone 21 according to the ATEX directives for safe operation in a hazardous area. By an appropriate selection of certified components and supply of fresh air to the electrical house, this major safety requirement is fully met. Furthermore special care is taken to reduce the dust emission during stacking or reclaiming operations thanks to the on-board water/surfactant mixture spraying system. Safeguarding the machine from any accidental self-ignition of sulphur dust deposits is achieved through local temperature monitoring of the drive components (motors, gear reducers and bearings) as well as by an appropriate fire detection systems arranged along the on-board product handling routes which triggers a fire water deluge system to protect the machine components.The electrical cabinets inside the electrical house are protected too by a fire detection system which initiates an inert gas fire extinguishing system in case of fire occurrence.
ThyssenKrupp Fo¨rdertechnik GmbH numerous references of high capacity portal reclaimers and their excellent track records were deciding factors in the contract being awarded to TKF. With this prestigious and challenging contract, ThyssenKrupp Fo¨rdertechnik GmbH will set new standards for high capacity back stacking portal reclaimers and demonstrate once again his technological excellence.