When a massive gas scrubber weighing 117 metric tons and measuring 27.3 meters (89.6 feet) arrived at the ENAP Aconcagua Refinery in Chile, two companies were faced with the challenge of handling the installation process. DSV Global Transport and Logistics (DSV) needed to transport the scrubber to the refinery but was unsure of how to offload it from their vehicle and place it in storage. Meanwhile, the general contractor, Echeverria Izquierdo Montajes Industriales, needed to move the scrubber from storage to its permanent location inside the refinery.
Both companies turned to Engineered Rigging’s Santiago office for a solution. Engineered Rigging identified the Enerpac SBL500 hydraulic gantry system, equipped with the SSU300 hydraulic side shift units, as the ideal equipment for the job.
In late November, Engineered Rigging’s heavy lifting experts mobilized the SBL500 from their Santiago yard and assembled the gantry with an octagonal boom for added strength and increased lifting capacity. Using the gantry’s Intelli-Lift wireless control system, a remote operator hoisted the scrubber from DSV’s specialized transport system and lowered it onto static storage stands. The Engineered Rigging team then disassembled the gantry and returned to Santiago, completing the offload in just four days.
For the final portion of the project, Echeverria Izquierdo chose Engineered Rigging to move the scrubber from storage to its permanent location inside the refinery. The team assembled and tested the SBL500 hydraulic gantry and a Goldhofer self-propelled modular transporter system (SPMT) provided by ER’s South American partner, Tecnogruas. The Engineered Rigging team hoisted the scrubber from storage and lowered it onto two Goldhofer PST/SL-E six-axle SPMTs, each powered by Goldhofer’s PFV490 power units.
In a single day, the Engineered Rigging heavy lifting team transported the 117-metric ton scrubber nearly 1 kilometer (.62 miles) within the refinery, including a delicate 90-degree turn that required each SPMT and power pack unit to operate independently of the other. This type of turn was only possible with the nimble SPMT which can move forward, backwards and sideways. Our equipment technicians then used the repositioned SBL500 hydraulic gantries to offload the scrubber from the SPMTs.
Engineered Rigging’s safe and efficient transport of the scrubber helped the refinery keep fuel flowing as it processed up to 104,000 barrels per day of crude oil. The company provided the engineering lift plan, equipment operators, and the rental of two SBL500 hydraulic gantries with side shift units and two SPMTs for the Aconcagua Refinery project. The mammoth gas scrubber was moved safely, on budget, and in only five days.
