PETROLEUM COKE

WHAT IS PETROLEUM COKE

Petroleum Coke or Petcoke as is often called is a derivative of the refining process.  Residual oils from the refining process are treated with high temperature and pressure, which results in the formation of petcoke.    Pet Coke is most often used as a fuel and is used to generate power, in the cement process and in steel mills.

HANDLING PETCOKE

After pet coke is formed in the coker drum it is then water cut and allowed to fall in a pit.  From there it needs to be moved from the pit so that the coke process can continue.  There are several ways coke is moved from the pit, front end loader, hydraulic clams on material handlers and gantry cranes operating clamshell bucket.

WHY 4 ROPE CLAMSHELL COKE BUCKETS

4 Rope Coke Buckets are the popular means of handling pet coke.  This is because capacity of 4 rope coke buckets are typically much larger than a hydraulic clamshell bucket or a front end loader.  A 4 rope bucket usually runs between 10 cubic yards to over 25 cubic yards.  This allows for fast efficient handling of the coke.

PETCOKE BUCKET FEATURES

Cable wear is a major factor in any rope operated bucket.  The cable is expensive and labor intensive to change.  These features help reduce cable wear in four rope buckets.

1. CLUSTER SHEAVES
   • Cluster sheaves sit at the top of grapple where the cable enters the grapple from the crane.  Cluster sheave creates a round opening, as opposed to a square opening on a roller design.  This round opening greatly reduces the stresses on the cable as the bucket list and can increase the cable life by over 4 times.
2. SHEAVE SHEAVES
   • Anvils standard cable to sheave size is 30 to 1, meaning if you use a 1-inch cable, your sheaves will 30 inches in diameter. This decreases the degree of cable bend around the sheaves and increases cable life.  As you decrease this ratio, the cable will have a greater bend and the wear on the cable becomes greater.

• Anvil has close guarding of the cable to prevent coke from getting into the sheave housing

• Anvil locates the cable dead ends on the lower block for easy access.
• Grease lines are run to the upper extremities and accessed via a central manifold

• Anvil features corner rim bar wear pads and bottom wear runners to protect the bucket in the cement pit