Intercontinental collaboration at the highest level
Three companies within the BMA Group are the key partners in this project: BMA Germany, BMA MENA Industries and BMA Automation. Each of them has provided a team of experienced engineers to cover all the services required for such a large-scale project. Based at their home sites in Tunis and Braunschweig respectively, the three teams are nevertheless working together very closely, relying on standard software tools and regular meetings for efficient communication and good coordination. BMA are also in regular contact with the responsible engineers from Etihad. Any fine tuning of the teamwork is done during personal meetings in Braunschweig or Iraq.
Three companies for joint success
As the EPCM contractor, BMA MENA Industries are responsible not simply for supplying a range of equipment, but also for general engineering services and for managing the entire refinery project. Engineering services concern different process stations, such as raw sugar storage and handling, refined sugar conditioning and packaging, milk-of-lime storage and preparation, and CO2 production. The piping engineering work is carried out jointly by BMA MENA Industries and BMA Germany.
BMA Germany are supplying the complete process engineering and the key equipment for the main process stations. Etihad Food Industries opted for state-of-the-art equipment, including the newly developed K3300 continuous centrifugal, the E1810 batch-type centrifugal, and the VKT continuous crystallisation system. BMA Germany are also supplying the equipment for the areas affination, melting, carbonation, filtration, decolouration, sugar drying and cooling, and condensation.
BMA Automation have designed the complete automation system based on a highly developed and tried-and-tested DCS concept, as well as supplying the instrumentation and the MCCs and accessories for the main process.
Project on schedule
The first project phase, with basic and detailed engineering work and the project management on site at the customer’s started back in November 2012. Manufacture of the main equipment began in early 2013. Since then, Etihad have visited Germany on several occasions to monitor the work progress and have expressed their delight with the manufacturing quality and the progress, which is on schedule. The first items were shipped to Iraq in late December 2013, the last shipments are expected for mid-2014.
The underground infrastructure for the plant has been completed and assembly of the boilers started in October 2013. Civil engineering work and the steel work on buildings outside the main process and other facilities are in full swing and nearing completion.
Benefits of BMA process technology
The plant will have a processing capacity of 3,000 t/d and Etihad will enjoy the following benefits thanks to BMA’s enhanced process technology including a VKT:
- The VKT is a self-supporting tower that can be erected outdoors, saving both material and time. With its 5.6 m diameter, it has a very small footprint compared to batch pans positioned side by side.
- The calandria pressure is low, so it can operate on 1st vapour, thus improving the overall steam economy.
- Producing refinery massecuite in a continuous pan reduces the number of batch pans, thus minimising the cyclic pressure fluctuations in the exhaust steam and the central vacuum system.
- The oversizing of plants is tantamount to wasting capital and suffering quality losses. With the BMA system, a fifth cell can be added to the VKT later. This is more cost effective than installing a potentially oversized pan and thus the best solution for future growth.
- Having independent cells means that different calandria pressures can be applied. In addition, the calandria steam can be sourced from different origins if necessary.
An optimistic outlook
With this project, Etihad and BMA have laid the groundwork for a long-term strategic partnership. Thanks to the liquor clarification station designed by BMA, Etihad can produce sugar of a higher quality than is possible with traditional methods, which will give them a competitive advantage. The company are already considering an upgrade of the sugar refinery to a total capacity of 6,000 t/d by adding another process line; the infrastructure for such an extension has been included in the engineering work.
Dr Mohsen Makina, Abdelhafidh Boukhari
BMA MENA Industries
info@bma-mena.com