A fast and seamless turnaround

Major back-up compressed air solution secures continuity for a refinery in Singapore

2021年2月3日

The ethylene cracker complex located in Singapore is not only an important part of our customer’s operations but also a critical link in the entire petrochemicals cluster. Which is why guaranteeing uptime during a major turnaround of their plant and instrument air systems was absolutely essential. Our fully customized and integrated solution demonstrated once again that no project is too large or too complex for Atlas Copco Rental! 

Sheer volumes

Securing operational continuity in a full system would mean delivering serious flow rates. Up to 6500Nm³/h at 8 bar of gauge pressure. And that’s just to keep our customer’s instrumentation running during the 5-yearly maintenance of their compressor park. The plant itself still needed a further 1200Nm³/h. And to speed up the entire operation, both had to be supplied simultaneously, 24/7 for a period of up to 2 months. That’s a lot of compressed air! 

Purity please!

However, it’s not just quantity but also quality that counts! To prevent corrosion damage to the instrumentation and eliminate contamination of the plant’s other sensitive processes, the compressed air we delivered had to be 100% oil free but also extremely dry. And by dry we mean a pressure dew point of around -40°C. 

A fleet to match

Given the sheer volume and complexity of the project, Atlas Copco Rental’s large but also diverse fleet was a huge bonus. In order to propose a fully customized, meticulously calculated and precisely dimensioned solution. One that not only delivered the required quantity, quality and reliability but all that as part of a cost-efficient solution. In the end, we supplied a full package consisting of 3 x PTS 1600 and 2 x PTS 800 oil-free compressors along with 4 x CDE780R heatless desiccant dryers to dry the output air that powered the plant’s instrumentation. All of this was supplied and installed together with the necessary auxiliary fuel tanks, manifolds, and over 180m of hoses. An additional PTS 1600 unit was also rented as a backup for both instrument and plant air, though we’re pleased to report that it was not required at any point during the project.

Preferred partner for added value

This was by no means the first project Atlas Copco delivered for this customer. And our faultless track record was an important element in the equation for a company looking for the proven reliability of a trusted partner. Indeed, we were able to apply our experience with past and similar projects to come up with a precisely calculated solution. And the same goes for our technicians on the ground, who oversaw the complete commissioning and operation during the first week and who performed regular weekly checks of the installation on site.

Bottom line: our customer completed its turnaround maintenance well on schedule and, once again, we proved our ability to deliver largescale projects both efficiently and effectively. A win-win all round. 

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At Atlas Copco, we have been turning industrial ideas into business-critical benefits since 1873. By listening to our customers and knowing their needs, we deliver value and innovate with the future in mind. 

Great ideas reinforce sustainable development. At Atlas Copco Specialty Rental, we team up with our customers to set up state-of-the-art temporary air, flow, steam and nitrogen solutions. Our passionate experts have extensive application and equipment knowledge. We understand our customers' needs and can provide a total solution for any industry, no matter if it is for emergencies or planned projects. We are a division of the Power Technique business area, headquartered in Boom, Belgium and offer specialty rental solutions under several brands around the globe.