Heavy lift and transport engineering provider Mammoet has completed its scope at the UPM Biochemicals biorefinery in Leuna, Germany.
The refinery will produce wood-based biochemicals, which can be fully recycled, and Mammoet’s role in the project involved meticulous planning and execution of transport, lifting, and installation tasks.
The team utilised its proprietary lift planning technology Move 3D technology to plan the movement of heavy components such as columns, evaporators, reactors, tanks, and chromators. This allowed a significant portion of the engineering work to be completed prior to arriving onsite.
As the general contractor, Mammoet installed 10 columns weighing between 5-170 tonnes. To prevent swinging over stored components, the columns were arranged in installation order on a narrow pre-assembly area.
As construction progressed, the construction site became increasingly confined, so all work had to be carefully planned and coordinated with the other trades onsite. For example, the main boom of the crawler crane had to be shortened and the dredging mats repositioned before the largest column, which measured 65 m, could be before being moved to the installation site.
Furthermore, Mammoet conducted detailed transport studies to identify the optimal routes for transporting 20 GPI tanks, each weighing 21 tonnes and standing at a height of 23 m.
In addition, lifting two silo roofs, each with a diameter of 30 m and weighing 58 tonnes, posed a challenge due to the risk of material deformation. Mammoet addressed these concerns by implementing a rigging scheme with 18 anchor points set at a 70-degree angle, ensuring an even distribution of the load. These operations required near wind-free conditions for safety. After lowering the first roof onto the silo, the rigging was removed, and the second roof was lifted using the same method. To maintain efficiency, the mobile crane was relocated within the predetermined schedule between the two lifts, minimising disruptions to the project timeline.
Jonas Bartzschke, branch manager at Mammoet in Leuna, Germany said, “We not only successfully contributed to the construction of the biorefinery with our crane, transport and installation solutions. We were also able to use our experience to help manage the complexity, optimize the critical path and increase the efficiency of the construction. Above all, we are proud to be part of this ground-breaking project that will pave the way for a more sustainable chemical industry.”
