Chennai at the eastern coast of India.
The total investment for this strategic
project has been in the magnitude of
€100 million.
The NTECL project
At NTECL, domestic and imported
coal for the power plant is first
received at the Port of Ennore and
unloaded by means of gantry-type
grab unloaders. It is then conveyed to
the plant, which is 4.5 km away from
the port area.
In order to minimise the mooring
time of incoming vessels with a
capacity of up to capesize dimensions
and to match the power plant’s
demand of 13 400 tpd of coal, a
conveying capacity of 4000 tph was
requested by the customer.
The local environment in this region
is characterised by creeks, valuable
fishing habitants and backwaters, as
well as by an important railway
connection. Therefore, the protection of
the environment and a small footprint of
the conveying systemwere always in
the focus of all consideration of the best
means of trandsporting the coal from the
port to the crusher house of the new
power plant.
FLSmidth was the frontrunner in this
project, standing out against
international competition from
well‑known suppliers of both
conventional troughed belt conveyors
and pipe conveyors. FLSmidth’s
expertise and track record of more than
350 installed KOCH Pipe Conveyors
®
worldwide, including supply and
installation of one of the longest pipe
conveyors in the world in Lima, Peru,
combined with its excellent customer
service, contributed to NTECL’s decision
to award the order to FLSmidth.
Through FLSmidth’s innovative
thinking and close cooperation with the
client’s experts, challenges that had
been considered as technically
impossible only a couple of years ago
became reality when FLSmidth’s
KOCH Pipe Conveyor concept was
adapted to this demanding project. Due
to its small footprint, low
noise‑emission level and nearly
dust-free transport of the coal, this
system allows the lowest possible
environmental impact.
Engineering excellence
For the first time in history, a pipe
conveyor at a length of 4.5 km and a
belt speed of 6.2 m/sec. was designed
with a capacity of 4000 tph and a
diameter of 650 mm, which makes it the
world’s largest pipe conveyor. This new
pipe conveyor design sets a milestone
for the Indian power industry’s need
for environmentally friendly
infrastructure for its future
high‑efficiency power plants.
Every single component of the pipe
conveyor was critically examined based
on the specific application and was
sourced globally from market-leading
suppliers to ensure a reliable system at
the highest level of personnel and
operational safety.
Pipe conveyor safely crossing over the railway tracks.
Waterbody unaffected, while the pipe conveyor passes over.
36
|
World Coal
|
July 2015
