Petrochemical Industry

Konecranes Americas is the leading provider of severe-duty coker cranes for the petrochemical industry.

Twin twenty-seven ton single-leg gantry cranes were the first to be designed with a traveling hopper integrated into the gantry. The location and structure of the hopper was designed to "hold and carry" a full load of coke to rail cars positioned past the pit, eliminating the need for expensive, maintenance-prone car-pullers while shortening cycle times. During initial performance tests, twenty-seven rail cars were successfully loaded in one shift.

Working with Fluor and Bechtel, Konecranes is supplying the crane for Tesoro Corporation's modification of its Golden Eagle Refinery in Martinez, California. The Golden Eagle coker modification project employs a delayed coking process developed and licensed by ConocoPhillips, who also designed the specifications for the crane. The 44 ton bridge crane spans 142 feet and operates a 25 cubic yard mechanical bucket with a 3,000 ton-per-day handling rate. The crane has a number of value engineering features that reflect the long relationship of Konecranes with ConocoPhillips—having built several coker cranes for them. Today's modern coker cranes include the proprietary DynA line of load control technologies by Konecranes, which manage a number of critical functions to reduce structural stress, increase efficiency, and prolong equipment life.

Konecranes will supply two single-leg gantry cranes with similar value-engineering control features for a major expansion of the world's largest refinery, Reliance Refinery in Jamnagar, India. Each of the cranes is rated at 35 metric tons, with 17 cubic-meter buckets. Each crane is designed to move 521 tons per hour.

Load Control Technologies by Konecranes:

• DynATrak steering software is an automatic steering system for the bridge which prevents skewing and lateral forces that are detrimental to the crane wheels, runway rails, and structure. By reducing stress on the runway, future maintenance issues can be reduced as well.
• DynAPilot load sway control minimizes load sway due to bridge and trolley motion, reducing collisions between the bucket and the pit walls or hopper which prevents damage. It also makes it easier to transfer a full bucket of material into the hopper without spillage. Sway control increases operator confidence, reduces training time, and allows operation of the crane to its full potential.
• DynAGrab controls the two hoisting machineries that handle the mechanical bucket. A semi-automation feature allows the operator to input designated destinations for the bucket. For example, if the operator presses the button for the hopper, the crane automatically follows. It also allows programmable destinations, which can be employed at any part of the production process, from clearing the coke pit to placing the finished product on the conveyor that transports it to a barge or rail car.
• DynAReg eliminates maintenance-intensive resistors, and recycles braking power for other crane functions.