port headland bitumen plant hydrocarbon … · bitumen plant hydrocarbon remediation. location port...
TRANSCRIPT
PORT HEADLAND BITUMEN PLANT HYDROCARBON REMEDIATION.Locat ionP o r t H e a d l a n d , WA
Cl ientVi v a E n e r g y
Durat ion1 m o n t h
Project overviewLiberty Industrial was engaged by Viva energy to demolish a bitumen plant in Port
Hedland, Western Australia. The facility consisted of a 14m tall bitumen tank and
associated administration buildings, tanks and pipelines. Two major challenges
were overcome by Liberty Industrial during the project. These challenges were
disposing of bitumen and working around Aboriginal heritage areas.
The bitumen was in highly viscous, tar-like liquid state. Due to liquid state of the
bitumen, no landfill site would accept the waste. Also, the high viscosity and the
adhesive nature of the bitumen made it difficult handle. Firstly an opening was cut
in the side of the bitumen tank so that the excavator could reach in and dig out the
bitumen using a bucket attachment. The bitumen was then placed into lined skip
bins. To prevent the bitumen from sticking to the bucket, various solvents were
sprayed onto the buckets before making contact with the bitumen. This ensured
that the bitumen smoothly slid out of the excavator bucket into the skip bins.
The bins of bitumen were then transported off-site for treatment and disposal.
Another key challenge of the project was that one of the diesel pipelines traversed
through a Aboriginal Heritage area. There were many rock carvings within the area
and a significant rock carving was positioned directly underneath a pipeline. Due
to the significance of the heritage values, Liberty devised methods that did not
impact the area. Firstly, the Liberty team attended a cultural awareness session
run by a local Aboriginal Elder, helping the team to understand the significance
of the site. Liberty then engaged the traditional owners of the site and a heritage
specialist from Pilbara Port Authority to oversee the work. Liberty did not use any
heavy machinery into the area. Instead, Liberty used a franna crane to secure
the pipes. The pipes were then manually oxy-cut and lifted out with the franna
crane. Machinery only moved around site under the supervision of the traditional
owners. Additionally Liberty placed rubber matting over the rock carving that was
positioned directly underneath the pipeline. This ensured that in the unlikely event
that the pipe was to drop down, the rock carving would still be protected. After
the successful completion of the scope of works, the traditional owners expressed
their satisfaction at how Liberty conducted work around the site.
C L I C K T O WAT C Ho r v i s i t v i m e o . c o m / l i b e r t y i n d u s t r i a l