Mumbai, Mar 19: Larsen & Toubro (L&T) will shortly commission the world's largest fluidised catalytic converter (FCC) regenerator built at an estimated cost of around Rs 40.35 crore.The regenerator, weighing 1200 tonnes, was built at the manufacturing facility of L&T's engineering and construction group at Hazira near Surat, Gujarat. It will be delivered to Reliance Petroleum's (RPL) 15-million tonne grassroots oil refinery at Jamnagar.
During a cracking reaction in an oil refinery, carbon particles are released which form a coating over the catalyst, thereby, reducing its activity. The regenerator is used to burn this carbon to reactivate the catalyst.
According to company vice-president Hazira works PM Mehta the FCC regenerator has been completed at a record time of 10 months. The regenerators's original design was prepared by the US-based UOP, while Bechtel of the UK was hired as the project-management consultants.
The entire mechanical designing for the regenerator was done by L&T itself. Around70 per cent of the regenerator's raw material requirement was imported and will be transported on a barge to Jamnagar this weekend.
"Building a regenerator of this size was a challenging job," Mehta said while describing some instances during the manufacturing process. One such challenge was the hydro test wherein around 6,800 kilo litres of water was filled in the regenerator within 42 hours by employing 40 trailers.L&T's Hazira unit has bagged other orders also including constructing a process platform for ONGC and a cyclemax catalytic regenerator (CCR) for RPL.
The platform costing around $74.07 million is for ONGC's Heera phase III development plan and is designed to handle 30,000 BOPD (barrels of oil per day), 20,000 BWPD (barrels of water per day) and 1.50 MMSCMD gas.
The offshore completion of the platform weighing around 4930 mt will be in June 1998. L&T was awarded the contract in September 1996.
The platform include four-legged jackets, a 20-man living quarters, compressor modules, a HRC-HRGbridge and modification of existing platforms HRG, HRA, WIH and HA at Bombay High.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
