Name and Location
Air separation unit (ASU) project, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Client
African Oxygen (Afrox).

Project Description
The project involves the installation of a 150 t/d ASU in Zone 3 of the Coega industrial development zone (IDZ), near Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape.

The ASU will produce liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen and liquid argon.

The ASU will also have ten-day storage facilities on site.

The ASU will be operated from a global operations facility in the UK using the best modern technology to ensure optimal output and quality products.

The project is part of Afrox’s R1.5-billion programme to boost customer-service levels and support the group’s growth strategy in South Africa, while securing more business in sub-Saharan Africa.

Value
The project is valued at R300-million.

Duration
The aim is to complete the construction and commissioning of the unit in the third quarter of 2014. The first flow of gas is scheduled for October 2014.

Latest Developments
Afrox’s ASU is more than 75% complete.

Most of the civil work is nearing completion. It is anticipated that most of the mechanical work will be completed before the end of this year and the ASU will be on stream in the first quarter of 2015.

Meanwhile, the cold box for the ASU arrived at the Coega IDZ in August.

The 40-m-long, 100 t ASU “heart”, which will use proprietary technology to cryogenically separate ambient air into nitrogen, oxygen and argon, is being transported from the Port of Ngqura to the Afrox site within the Coega IDZ.

Afrox MD Brett Kimber commented in a statement that the final phase of the project had started, with mechanical completion expected before the end of 2014.

“We are confident that the new ASU will be operational early in the new year, [which is] record time, by any standards, for a project of this size,” he notes.

The cold box has been designed and manufactured by Germany-based industrial gas and engineering company Linde Group.

Afrox has significant market demand in the Eastern Cape and offers an extended product range to customers there. “We have long-standing relationships with industries and customers in the province. The investment in an ASU in the Port Elizabeth area was prompted by the need for additional capacity and to improve service delivery,” explains Kimber.

Previously, clients in the Eastern Cape received goods from Afrox’s Western Cape facilities.

“The Eastern Cape ASU will provide confidence in the security of supply of critical process components, namely oxygen, nitrogen and argon. The capacity of the plant will allow for growth, without having to transport products from other regions at high distribution costs,” Kimber asserts.

Kimber suggests that the R300-million investment could be the catalyst the Eastern Cape needs to realise the province’s aspirations of industrial development. “The ASU will support the development of opportunities and industrial growth, which will have a profound impact on the community,” he concludes.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Afrox, tel +27 11 821 3000 or fax +27 11 821 3066.