Sinopec makes heaviest lift on reconstruction project

CHINA: Oil giant Sinopec used a Manitowoc Model 21000 crawler crane for its largest lift. The job was part of reconstruction work at the Beijing Yansan Petrochemical Complex close to the city of Zhoukoudian. The crane positioned an 812 metric ton (895 US ton) hydrogenation cracking unit, a large refinery vessel used to process industrial oil.

Renovation work to expand the production capability at the petrochemical complex began in March this year. The Model 21000 arrived on site in May after traveling 700 kilometers (435 miles) from its base at the Sinopec 10 yard in Shandong to the refinery south of the Chinese capital. Since arriving on the job, the crane has served as the central lifting apparatus for all major material handling.

Sinopec made use of Manitowoc's capacity-enhancing MAX-ER attachment for the cracking unit lift, boosting the crane's maximum capacity to 907 metric tons (1,000 US tons). Main boom on the lift was 54 meters (177 feet). The whole process, from picking the vessel to final positioning, took less than 30 minutes.

The hydrogenation cracking unit, which measures 4.6 meters (15 feet) in diameter and 35 meters (115 feet) tall, processes industrial oil, turning it into gasoline and kerosene. It is capable of an output of some 10 million tons (11 million US tons) of fuel a year and its installation is the single most important element of the reconstruction work.