KOPPERS PIPELINE AND GANTRY
PROJECT PROFILE
CLIENT
Koppers Carbon Materials and Chemicals Pty Ltd
LOCATION
Mayfield, NSW
INDUSTRY
Chemicals
DURATION
April 19 – July 19
SERVICE
Industrial Demolition & Deconstruction; and Remediation
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Major Projects Group removed almost a kilometre of suspended and on grade pipework and associated raised gantry structure from the Koppers Chemical plant in Mayfield, NSW. The site is one of 7 Australian facilities operated by the global chemical and materials company Koppers. The raised gantry sat 11.8 metres off the ground for decades, along with an 18.6-metre-tall transfer tower. The structures were marked for removal from the site to make way for new commercial developments.
In addition to the difficulty of safely collapsing raised structures, the pipes within the gantry contained remnants of coal-tar pitch. This meant that additional controls needed to be conducted on site both during and after the demolition work itself.
SCOPE OF WORK
The works on site included demolition and the removal of suspended and on grade pipework, associated gantry structure and transfer tower, as well as the removal and reinstatement of soil surrounding the structure’s foundations. The works took place over the course of three months at Berth 6, Mayfield, NSW.
UNIQUE CHALLENGES
Coal-tar pitch build up in pipes;
A significant portion of the structure was raised;
Soil remediation surrounding foundations; and
Proximity to Warf
CUSTOMIZED SOLUTIONS
With measures put in place to prevent any environmental impact from the remaining contents of the pipes, work then began on ground level pipes using Major Projects Groups’ LH-30 excavator. Once the raised pipes were disconnected, a large 300 tonne crane was used to lift key sections of gantry onto the ground.
With the transfer tower itself disconnected from the rest of the gantry, it could be brought down. The induced collapse of the tower involved cutting the legs in strategic places and pulling the structure with an excavator. The tower shifted to the north, but remained facing upright to minimise damage to the upper part of the structure and impact to the surrounding area.
The final stage of the demolition process involved falling the remaining raised gantry onto the ground. The remaining scrap steel was then loaded into trucks and removed from the site to be recycled. Before the end of June, all structures and material had been removed.
During the month of July, Major Projects Group completed all remediation works. Using hammer/ripper attachments on excavators, operators hammered out foundations to 400mm below existing surface level and filled the void with slag subgrade and crushed concrete and topped it up with a two-coat seal.
RESULTS
The project was completed with zero injuries, no major incidents and nil MTI, LTI or environmental recordable incidents.
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