Grain Terminal, Ukraine 36,000 tons
Design Project: GSCor, 2002
Storage Capacity: 136,000 tons
Annual Turnover: 2 million tons
Handled crops: wheat, barley, corn, and oat
Steel Storage: 12 tanks
Receipt from trucks: 600 TPH
Receipt from rail cars: 600 TPH
Grain cleaning: 600 TPH
Grain Drying: 150 TPH
Ship Loading: 1,200 TPH
The terminal is located in the industrial zone of the city
of Nikolaev on the riverbank.
Grain terminal is a universal port elevator and is intended to handle all the
grain and oilseed crops manufactured in Ukraine for export purposes. Annual
turnover of the grain terminal is 2 million tons. The grain can be received
from trucks and railcars. The unloading may be done to all the transport means
including direct ship loading without silos loading. There are also facilities
for cleaning and drying of inbound grain.
All the technological processes are automated and independent from each other.
So, it is possible to perform simultaneously receipt from trucks and railcars,
ship loading, drying and cleaning of grain crops. Besides, all the lines are
parallel and interchangeable. The storage tanks are adjacent to the berth that
is long and deep enough to give access for vessels of DWT 30,000.
The equipment was chosen on the basis of marketing analysis of commercial offers
from manufacturing companies and suppliers from USA and Germany. CHIEF Industries,
USA and HiRoller, USA were chosen as main suppliers of basic equipment for grain
storage and transportation. The equipment optimally meets requirements applicable
for such sort of equipment including energy-saving and ecological safety, price,
quality and specifications.
Total storage capacity makes 136,000 tons (for wheat).
All the inbound grain is weighed at truck scales ensuring commercial accuracy
of weighting. The scales are reliable and easy to operate. 15-years warranty
is provided. No special shed is required. The scales can be installed and adjusted
within 3 days.
To speed up the truck receiving grading operation, automatic truck probe with
long extendable boom, long-range sample delivery unit and excess return system
is installed. Booms can now be extended out to over 5 m, which provides for
an effective 10 m sampling arc. The truck probe can be located several hundred
feet from the sample collection point by using a long-range delivery unit to
deliver the sample to the inspection room. Once the sample has been graded,
excess grain can be returned automatically via an excess return system. All
of this offers the benefits of a much faster inbound sampling process because
there is less movement of the truck; less manual handling of the grain and it
takes less time to perform the proper sampling procedure.
The optimal solution for truck unloading is truck tipper U15-URAG that is intended
to unload trucks and truck tractors with semi trailers (with total mass up to
35 tons and length between outer diameter of wheels up to 11700 mm) through
an open back board. Two unloading lines enable to receive two various crops
simultaneously.
The grain can be cleaned at the cleaning station.
After receipt the grain is accumulated in hoppers to ensure continuous operation
of truck tipper and to avoid truck downtime for unloading. Drying station consists
of storage tanks, transporting system of bucket elevators and conveyors and
the tower dryer, capacity 150 TPH. Rail Car Unloading Station includes 4 unloading
lines where each line is intended for unloading 4 cars. Thus, 10 cars can be
unloaded per hour. Each unloading line is equipped with chain conveyor with
discharge outlets to match standard grain car.
The grain can be cleaned at the cleaning station.
After receipt the grain is accumulated in hoppers to ensure continuous operation
of truck tipper and to avoid truck downtime for unloading. Drying station consists
of storage tank, transporting system of bucket elevators and conveyors and the
tower dryer, capacity 150 TPH. Rail Car Unloading Station includes 4 unloading
lines where each line is intended for unloading 4 cars. Thus, 10 cars can be
unloaded per hour. Each unloading line is equipped with chain conveyor with
discharge outlets to match standard grain car.
Twelve steel tanks are arranged in two rows of six silos in each. Steel tanks,
capacity 11,300 tons each are supplied by "CHIEF Industries". These
storage systems provide an optimal holding capacity/overall dimensions ratio.
The tanks are manufactured from heavy galvanized steel and thickness of the
wall sheet varies depending on the type of application. In this project the
maximum thickness of galvanized sheets are applied as the elevator is intended
for operation in the port. The storage tanks are equipped with temperature monitoring
systems and level indicators.
As the elevator has an extensive turnover the grain is not intended to be stored
for more than one month in one storage tank. So, there is no need to equip all
the silos with aeration system. Only four tanks of 12 silos are equipped with
perforated floor and four centrifugal fans.
The silos are unloaded with application of HiRoller belt conveyors. These conveyors
are capable of transporting commodities for long distances, totally enclosed,
easy to operate and maintain. Horizontal belt conveyors, bucket elevator and
bulk scales, capacity 1,200 transport the grain to the ship loader.
All the processes are automated and are controlled from single control point.
Sensor system installed at each equipment unit permits to control all the processes
of grain transporting all over the elevator and immediately eliminate all the
defaults.
Inventory system enables monitoring of inbound and outbound grain, obtaining
accurate data on quantity of handled grain. Thus, the elevator can be called
a modern elevator that will ensure storage and export of grain crops for several
tens of years.
