DGC’S Engineering Services Division recently successfully completed an upgrade project for a refractory manufacturer’s coal conveyance, rotary kiln burner and flue gas systems.
The project was executed in 3 phases:
1. Pre-shutdown work;
2. Main shutdown work and
3. Optimisation work.
All 3 phases were completed in a total of 25908 man-hours.
A major highlight of the project was the timely completion of each phase without any reportable HSE incidents. This was largely attributed to the active participation of the vested project and safety teams who were assigned to the project.
The pre-shutdown phase involved a considerable amount of local, offsite fabrication work undertaken from DGC’s facilities. Specialised equipment was imported through DGC’s network of strategic partners with global operations from France, Germany and India.
The main shutdown phase of the project proved to be particularly challenging due to the large number of shutdown tasks that were executed concurrently. This was further exacerbated by the extent of complex lifting that had to be done within the constraints of the existing surrounding structures. As such, thorough planning, scheduling and execution was adhered to throughout the project.
Some of the major components of the upgrade are highlighted below:
CLASSIFIER UPGRADE
To improve efficiency and lower power consumption of the coal mill system, a third Generation FCB TSV™ Classifier was installed. This high efficiency classifier replaced an entire, less efficient screening floor.
BURNER UPGRADE
The existing burner was replaced with a Pillard Rotaflam® burner, so as to improve the plant’s throughputs, lower NOx emissions, lower fuel consumption and to allow for the use of heterogeneous alternative fuels. The upgrade also involved the installation of a new bag filter system to clean the exhaust excess air from the system.
OTHER UPGRADE WORKS
For the above new state of the art equipment to be fully integrated to the existing system and ensure optimal functioning, further modifications were necessary which included:
Dismantling and removing the existing building roof;
Removing all equipment and components of the building including pipes, fans etc.;
Extension of the existing building by four floors (11m) to accommodate the new systems;
Installation of platforms for new fans;
Equipping, ducting and piping;
Attachment of refurbished roof; and
Balancing of fans.
OPTIMIZATION SHUTDOWN
Once the upgrades were completed, the plant was fully commissioned and left to run for a period of three months. Thereafter, an optimisation shutdown was scheduled to address any challenges.
BENEFITS
Following the project, the client observed significant improvements in their plant performance as follows:
Record breaking outputs, which exceeded initial expectations;
improved plant availability; and
Record low level emissions, avoiding penalties archiving internal targets.
