Fertilizer Processing Facility

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2 years

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Background

Concentric was retained to complete a study of feasible storage infrastructure and equipment processing options for a fertilizer distribution centre. The proposed facility was to have a 35,000 metric tonne storage capacity that included rail and truck receiving with an output capability of 300 tonnes/hour. Once all feasible options were investigated and the required information to compare and contrast these options on the basis of performance and cost was collected, Concentric presented its recommendation of the option that best met the Client’s stated needs. Immediately following the completion of this study, the client hired Concentric to design and provide construction services for the proposed facility. A tender package was created and contractor submissions were reviewed and evaluated by Concentric. The design included all special requirements as specified by the owner and utilized both Concentric’s recommendations and the Client’s standard of practice.

Approach & Methodology

To ensure that the feasibility study captured information relevant to the Client, Concentric conducted site reviews across both Canada and the United States and evaluated existing building systems for durability, functionality, and lifetime ownership costs. Existing fertilizer blending systems were also evaluated for durability, functionality, and lifetime of ownership costs. Information requests were then issued to prospective suppliers in three categories: turnkey solutions, building suppliers, and equipment suppliers. Finally, the equipment and building types were evaluated in a qualitative and quantitative manner. This information was then brought forth to the client and the best option was evaluated by Concentric’s experienced and knowledgeable team of engineers. Taking the obtained information from the feasibility study, Concentric designed the new fertilizer processing and distribution facility. This included creating a conceptual design with a complete and detailed drawing package, providing equipment specifications, a topographical site survey, and performing the necessary timing studies for shipping and receiving. Concentric optimized the design for additional cost savings to the Client by utilizing existing resources. Geotechnical and earthwork inspections were done to support the proposed design and the facility capacity was expanded to 40,000 metric tonnes. An environmental assessment, as required by Saskatchewan, is also being performed by Concentric. Following client approval of the facility design, pre-construction arrangements were made and Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) and equipment commissioning onsite is currently being managed by Concentric.

Key Challenges

Requests for information were not completed by all equipment and building manufacturers, negatively affecting the robustness of the quantitative analysis. In addition, unique requirements for the environmental assessment, as designated by Saskatchewan, created additional cost and time commitments.

Key Personnel

Project Director: Russ Parker, P.Eng.
Sr. Technical Advisor: Allan Murray, P.Eng.
Analyst: Patrick Sheldon, EIT

 

Construction Design Feasibility Study

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