The unit had been manufactured vertically to enable testing and other checks of the manufacturing process to take place in normal operating conditions. However, for the purposes of transportation, it needed to be moved horizontally.
Project manager Andrew Wormald explained that the usual practice for ALS when faced with such a move is to use two cranes, a 1,000t model and a 500t model. In fact, this had been the case for two similar lifts carried out for unit manufacturer CiTECH Energy Recovery Systems Ltd previous to this move.
“The problem with using a 1,000t crane is that it takes around 16 hours to rig in and is more expensive than a 500t model,” said Wormald. “Using three cranes reduced this rigging in time and made the job less costly. 500t cranes can be rigged in three hours, which meant we were able to get on and off the site in one day.
“With a 1,000t crane you have to bring it on site the day before to rig it up and de-rig it the day after, meaning you’re on site for three days,” he said.
ALS used two Liebherr LTM 1500-8.1s equipped with 105t counterweights and a 350t Demag AC350 with 122t counterweight.
The two Liebherrs were attached at either side of the top of the unit, while the Demag was hooked to the bottom end.
The placement of the Liebherrs’ hooks was an important part of ensuring safety during the lift process, said Wormald. “With that configuration there was less chance of wind affecting the lift. With a traditional tandem lift, the top end is lifted at one point meaning it can spin in the wind, but with two at the top it is held on both sides meaning it can’t spin.”
The unit has been moved from East Yorkshire in the UK, where it was manufactured by CiTECH, to Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, India where it will be used for gas processing at the landfill site from the Krishna-Godavari gas field in the Bay of Bengal.
