Energas Technologies was commissioned by DRA Global to design a High Fuel Oil (HFO) storage facility for the Elandsfontein phosphate mining project in the Western Cape. Elandsfontein is home to the biggest known sedimentary phosphate deposit in South Africa. Currently, South Africa imports roughly 60% of its fertiliser requirements, which makes access to phosphate vitally important for the future of food security in the country.
Kropz – explorer, mine developer and miner of fertiliser feed minerals – is the majority shareholder and key funder for the development of the project. Kropz is investing R1,35 billion to develop the Elandsfontein project and, upon completion, a mine rehabilitation process will see the affected area returned to a functional ecological state that can be included as part of the Elandsfontein Nature Reserve. In association with Heritage Western Cape, the Elandsfontein Dune Fields have been declared a Provincial Heritage fossil site.
Eriez Flotation Division (EFD), a world leader in advanced flotation technology, was appointed to supply a variety of proprietary process equipment to the project. The equipment comprised crossflow separators for size classification, a rotary slurry powered distributor for stream splitting and ten flotation columns. The equipment was commissioned in 2016.
Design of HFO storage facility by Energas
The scope of the Elandsfontein phosphate project called for the design of a HFO storage facility covering the process, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation. This involved fabrication, inspection, testing, coating, preparation for transportation and delivery to the Elandsfontein site. Also included in the project specification were two 80 m3 tanks manufactured by Petrotank SA, an offloading pump skid and a pump and heating skid. The skids were manufactured by ERD Fabricators in Sasolburg.
Energas’ involvement in the project entailed the offloading of HFO from the tanks via a dry-disconnect coupler. The HFO is pumped into the storage tanks. A separate pump skid then pumps some of the HFO to an inline heater and the remaining part is recirculated through the tanks to prevent an oil buildup.
If the oil in the tanks experiences a drop in temperature, the control system responds by recirculating the hot oil back into the tanks until the temperature is at the required level.
Breathing vents also known as pressure-vacuum vents are installed on the tank and this allows the tank to operate at atmospheric pressure. The hot oil is then be used to fuel the burners, while the burners are used to dewater/dry the phosphate before it is conveyed to product handling. This is the last phase before it is loaded onto the trucks. Energas Technologies’ project engineer, M. Lourens comments, “Energas has overseen the design, manufacture, assembly, testing, commissioning and on-time delivery to various projects in the oil and gas industry. The closest project to this one was a heater skid and heat exchanger for Sasol Oil’s HFO Depot in Pretoria West.” Commissioned work in the Elandsfontein phosphate project was delivered by the contractual delivery date and within budget. The value of Energas’ contribution to the project is approximately R10 million and commissioning is scheduled to commence in mid-February 2017.
“We believe that Energas secured the project through our capability to deliver on the entire scope of the project and our access to experienced consultants and reputable suppliers,” adds Lourens. “The success of the Elandsfontein phosphate project will definitely highlight our reputation for providing excellent service and on-time delivery, more so since this is our first project for DRA Global. It also allowed us to gain more exposure to HFO applications and we would like to do more projects in this field,” she concludes.
Mining at the site is expected to commence in March of this year. Approximately 1100 people were employed during the project’s construction phase, with almost 50% local employment, and more than 450 people will be employed as part of the Elandsfontein operational workforce.
For more information contact Laetitia Botha, Energas Technologies, +27 (0)11 397 6809, [email protected], www.energas.co.za
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