Alewijnse has successfully upgraded the control system of a unique floating sand processing installation.
The upgrade of the complete control system on board the unique floating sand processing installation Kaliwaal 41 was part of a complete overhaul ordered by owner Van Nieuwpoort Groep.
“The installation dredges sand and gravel, which are separated at the beginning of the process. The next step is the transfer of the gravel to a vessel alongside,” said Richard Pols, commissioning engineer at Alewijnse.
”With the installation of two new conveyor belts, the gravel can be loaded to an additional vessel on the other side of the pontoon as soon as the hold of the first vessel is filled.
”The system [we installed] automatically switches between the conveyors without stopping the process.”
Project scope
Alewijnse was contracted for the upgrades to the automation applications and electrical installations at the same time as new conveyor belts, electric motors and a submersible dredge pump were being installed in order to increase the efficiency of sand production.
The systems integrator installed new hardware, adapted the wiring and updated the PLC program and SCADA to match the requirements of the new equipment.
Additional works included the expansion of the main switch board with an 800A power supply and the installation of a power cable for the new sand pump on the rear side of the production pontoon. The new pump dredges the finer sand fractions that are surplus to requirements and discharged through a conduit aft of the pontoon.
Kaliwaal 41 is a unique floating pontoon equipped with an industrial installation that is fed with material extracted from the riverbed, separates the sand from the gravel, and then uses vertical flow separation tanks to deliver up to 150 different grades of sand for use in concrete applications.
It is one of just a few floating separation installations in the Netherlands and is currently playing an important role in the Dutch Maaspark Well River widening project, which aims to create a safer living environment in the Maas valley between Well and Aijen.
Alewijnse and Van Nieuwpoort Group have been working together successfully for many years, ever since the original construction of the installation in 1998.
