Gas products and services company Africa Oxygen (Afrox) on Wednesday launched its new R200-million, 200 t/d Pretoria West air separation unit (ASU) plant.
The investment formed part of a three-year R1.5-billion investment programme by Afrox and its parent company Linde Group and was aimed at boosting customer service levels, as well as supporting the company’s growth strategy in South Africa and emerging sub-Saharan African markets.
The ASU atmospheric gases plant produces high-purity oxygen, nitrogen and argon to service the merchant and medical markets in the bulk business area, as well as in neighbouring countries.
Linde Group’s engineering division was responsible for the design, supply and construction of the ASU, importing modern technologies to the South African industry.
The ASU is remotely controlled from a global operations facility in the UK, ensuring optimal outputs.
This also included integrating an existing nitrogen liquefier unit into the new ASU at the site and linked production from the ASU to existing cluster storage tanks.
The cooling water system, the electrical supply and instrumentation were upgraded. Three cold boxes, an air compressor, coolers, pump skids and PPU skids were shipped from Germany to Durban and transported to Pretoria by road on a flatbed.
“The main cold box is 48 m long, which made it a challenge to transport as an abnormal load and to lift into position on site. For the road transport, cargo permits were required for each district, as well as a police escort all the way from Durban to Pretoria,” explained Afrox MD Brett Kimber.