One of our recent highlights abroad was a catalyst replacement service at the BASF plant in Ludwigshafen (Germany).
The removal of the catalyst required a total of 60 workers who worked for 14 days and in 24-hour shifts to remove the 500 tonnes of catalyst.
How is the product extracted?
The reactor is a 30m high reactor in which 2 operators work simultaneously inside, as the construction of the reactor makes it possible to carry out the work safely.
Inside the reactor, there is a limited working space (80 cm from the centre to the casing) and a product column of 30 m. The material inside the reactor produces a reaction of the reactor. The material inside the reactor produces a chemical reaction when in contact with water, producing toxic substances. For this reason, work inside the reactor must be carried out with suitable protective suits and the LSS system is used to monitor the personnel, as well as panic helmets at the express request of the client.
The main limitations found inside the reactor are the extreme hardness of the catalyst after use due to the conditions suffered during the production process, which means that the catalyst must be chopped beforehand in order to decompact the catalyst and extract it.
To extract the catalyst, 4 suction units are used in parallel to carry out the work with high productivity and minimising downtime. Finally, all the unloaded product is collected in big bags with traceability for subsequent management.
The work was a complete success and the client (BASF) thanked us in a letter for providing the service.
At Lagupres we are increasingly committed to the internationalisation of our services. In 2018, we created a synergy with the German Lobbe Group (specialist in industrial cleaning) which allows us to increase our scope of application in other countries and continents.
