With a lifting capacity of 4,366 tons, Huajin AAMEC’s largest single piece of equipment was lifted into place

The Huajin Sino-Aramco Fine Chemicals and Raw Materials Project, with a total investment of 83.7 billion yuan, is a comprehensive strategic cooperation project between China and Saudi Arabia signed and promoted under the witness of the leaders of both countries. The new facilities include 32 production units such as one with an annual refining capacity of 15 million tons, one for ethylene with an annual capacity of 1.65 million tons, and one for PX with an annual capacity of 2 million tons, along with supporting infrastructure. 　　Since the on-site construction began in March 2024, Sinopec Guangzhou Engineering Co., Ltd. focused on the critical path for the manufacturing and installation of the raffinate tower. By planning ahead, working closely with the client and the manufacturing unit, organizing tasks scientifically, innovating construction methods, and working overtime, it managed to complete the manufacturing of the raffinate tower in 196 days starting from the material cutting stage, setting a new record for the shortest delivery time for towers of this type. On January 19 this year, after the tower arrived at the site, faced with a tight schedule and heavy tasks, over 300 construction workers worked together without taking a break during the Spring Festival, braving wind and snow to carry out the installation of pipelines attached to the tower, platform escalators, supports and hangers, as well as lighting fixtures. This laid a solid foundation for the successful lifting of the entire tower and for it to be operational once the lights were installed.

The raffinate tower is 118 meters tall and 15 meters in diameter, with a bare equipment weight of 3,500 tons. It is the tower of this type with the largest diameter, greatest height, and second-largest weight among chemical industry projects worldwide, and it is also the largest single piece of equipment in this project.

Since the residue liquid tower arrived at the construction site on the evening of January 17, the builders began immediately on the urgent task of equipping the equipment and assembling the gantry crane on the 18th. Due to the tight schedule and heavy workload, 300 construction workers put aside their personal interests for the sake of the project; they gave up the opportunity to reunite with their families and take time off during the Spring Festival. Overcoming the challenges posed by heavy snow and cold weather, they continued with the construction work. After nearly 40 days of hard work, they successfully completed the installation of pipelines attached to the tower, platform escalators, and external insulation layers, as well as the assembly of a 5,000-ton gantry crane, thereby enabling the equipment to be used for lifting tasks. “After being fitted with clothing and covers, the tower structure weighed 4,366 tons. The lifting was carried out using the world’s most advanced and largest lifting equipment available – 5,000-ton gantry cranes and 4,000-ton crawler cranes – and it took 2 days to position the structure accurately, thus successfully fulfilling the lifting objectives. This solved the biggest challenge associated with installing such large equipment during the project construction, and it was of great significance for accelerating the project’s progress and ensuring the timely completion of the mechanical installations.