Cargill’s new plant in Ghent will contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of the maritime and road transport sector by producing up to 115,000 metric tons of biodiesel
These facilities, inaugurated in 2022, are the most important in Europe in the processing of used oils and other wastes for the manufacture of cleaner fuels.
Sarens works together with Cargill in the maintenance of these facilities, providing the necessary machinery and technical advice to maximize biodiesel production and reduce downtimes.
Sarens, world leader in heavy lifting, engineered transport and crane rental, has been working with Cargill since June 2021 to facilitate the maintenance and repair of its infrastructure at Ghent. Their new biodiesel processing plant in that location is consolidating, since its start-up in June 2022, the European reference in processing recycled oils and fats, including cooking oils, tallow and edible oil production residues, to produce biodiesel and thus contribute to the reduction of the carbon footprint in the maritime and road transport sectors.
In the case of the Ghent plant, Sarens has recently carried out various tasks to remove one of the motors in which the transesterification process of fats -a chemical reaction used for the conversion of fats contained in oils into usable biodiesel- takes place in order to proceed with the disassembly and overhaul of its engine and drive shaft.
In order to access the motor, located in one of the plant’s ATEX-zones and in a very small space, Sarens used an LTM1150 crane, with a maximum load capacity of 150 tons, to lift the concrete panel located on top of the unit. Once this panel is removed, the technical team can proceed to disassemble the motor and attach it to the crane, so that it can be removed to work on the mechanical overhaul more comfortably.
Once these operations were completed, for which it was necessary to circumvent all types of cable trays and piping, the technical team returned the unit to its original location and the concrete panel back on top.
According to Karel Storm, Sarens Depot Manager in Ghent, “The success of this project is due to the fact that our team always finds all the necessary cooperation from Cargill. As this is a recurring task and because we have the right machinery, both teams work perfectly together to reduce the downtime of each unit as much as possible, thus optimizing production”.
Sarens has extensive international experience in the hydrocarbon processing sector. It has recently collaborated in the construction of Corpus Christi Polymers’ new oil derivatives processing plant in Texas (SA), in the renovation of IRPC’s DCC cyclone reactor in Thailand, or in the upgrades of PT Pertamina’s refinery in Balikpapan (Indonesia), among others.