Complex projects with over 1.6 million work hours, successfully reduces site emissions by over 80%.
PT Inco's nickel processing plant at Sorowako in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, was built in the 1970s. As production increased over the years, PT Inco embarked on a site-wide plan to reduce emissions, leading to three projects called the Furnace OffGas Cleaning Projects.
The challenge was to cool the offgas sufficiently so it could be directed to a baghouse containing 5000 teflon-coated filter bags. Fine dust particles emerge from each furnace at 900-1000oC, and the offgas needed to be cooled to around 200oC.
Beca (formerly Beca AMEC) undertook the project and construction management of these projects, providing a site-based team to manage the procurement, fabrication, construction and final commissioning of the systems.
The construction schedule was tightly co-ordinated to coincide with delivery of the equipment procured from overseas. A tower crane was deployed to construct heavy structures, equipment and refractory lined ducting, located directly above the operating smelter. The construction work also included the piled foundations, erection of the new baghouses, 60m high stacks, large fans, interconnecting ducting and all the associated electrical and control systems required for operation. With construction being carried out alongside operational plant and equipment, safety and logistics were a high priority.
A 14-day, 24 hr/day shutdown of each furnace was scheduled to complete the tie-in of the new OffGas Cleaning systems. These complex projects were an outstanding success for PT Inco. 1.6 million work hours saw their completion ahead of schedule and with a reduction in total site particulate emissions of over 80%.