Connect pipeline
The Connect-Pipeline is an approximately 4-kilometer-long pipeline that connects the Wesseling and Godorf parts of the Rhineland refinery . The pipeline consists of a bundle of four pipes in total. These serve to exchange products between the two locations. The pipeline started operating in July 2013.
The commissioning of the line enables, among other things, a more efficient use of the desulphurisation technology at both locations. This is necessary for the production of low-sulfur heating oil , which is required to operate oil heating systems with modern condensing technology. According to DIN 51603 Part 1, EL heating oil may contain a maximum sulfur content of 1,000 mg / kg since January 1, 2008, and EL low-sulfur heating oil a maximum of 50 mg / kg.
history
Since 2002 the former DEA refinery (DEA = Deutsche Erdöl-AG, the predecessor company of RWE Dea ) in Wesseling has been gradually merged with the Godorf refinery of Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH. Shortly afterwards, at the Rhineland Refinery, which resulted from the merger of the two plants, considerations were started as to how the two plants could be linked with one another through product pipelines to utilize synergies and secure the economic future.
Due to objections from citizens, municipalities, environmental protection organizations and authorities, the originally planned open construction method for the crossing of the Rhine ( culvert ) was replaced by a closed construction method. As a result, protected areas in the area of Cologne-Zündorf are bypassed or tunneled under at a depth of up to 20 meters.
The regional planning procedure was initiated in December 2007 and completed in June 2008.
The spatial planning procedure was followed in autumn 2009 by the plan approval procedure, in which the details of the route and construction were clarified. The regional government of Cologne handed over the planning approval decision to Shell on June 1, 2011.
Construction of the 3.8 kilometer pipeline section started on July 18, 2011. After the planning approval decision was published by the district government, no objections to the project were raised within the legally prescribed period of four weeks.
On March 13, 2012, the drilling of the first Rhine tunnel ended with the successful emergence of the drill head in the target pit; nine days later the second tunnel boring machine came to the surface again.
The pipe construction work was completed at the end of 2012. On July 23, 2013, the pipeline was officially commissioned.
The statutory construction supervision of the pipeline work was carried out by TÜV Rheinland .
Route
In the regional planning procedure , the district government favored the relocation of the bundle of lines in the area of the retention area on the right bank of the Rhine between Porz-Langel and Niederkassel-Lülsdorf with two crossings under the Rhine to connect the refineries on the left bank of the Rhine. The total length of the route was 3.8 kilometers.
The course of the line in the north
- tunnel under the FFH area (fauna-flora-habitat area),
- bypasses the water protection area,
- bypasses the nature reserve Godorfer Hafen ,
- bypasses the conservation area Auenwald and
- avoids windowing the old dike.
In the south, the borehole leads from the retention area over a length of almost 1200 meters across the Rhine directly into the Wesselingen refinery. At the suggestion of the city of Niederkassel, the starting point of the tunneling was moved deeper into the retention area from the vicinity of the inlet structure on the new dike.
Technical details
The pipeline consists of a bundle of four pipes. These are used to exchange products between the Godorf and Wesseling plants. In addition, fiber optic cables are carried along the course of the pipeline to set up a communication structure.
Transported products
No typical chemical raw materials are transported in the pipelines of the Connect Pipeline. Instead, they are exclusively hydrocarbon compounds that are produced in the processing of crude oil . They are largely used as raw materials for the production of diesel and heating oil as well as gasoline. The operation of the tube bundle includes the transport of the following components:
- Gas oils as raw materials for the production of extra light heating oil and diesel fuel .
- Propane / butane , liquefied gases, which are used for different purposes, e.g. B. can be used as fuel gas in gas lighters and camping stoves or as propellant gas in spray cans. For the energy supply of single and multi-family houses, it is stored - mostly as a mixture with propane - in gas tanks above or below ground.
- Components of motor gasoline , these are created during the processing of petroleum.
- Hydrowax , a hydrogenated vacuum distillate made from petroleum. It is used as a feed product in a steam cracker .
Rhine crossing
The pipe was laid under the Rhine using the jacking method . Temporary intermediate jacking stations were installed at regular intervals during the drilling process in order to increase the driving force. The drilling began in the so-called starting pit. After the tunneling was completed in March 2012, the drill head in the target pit was removed. Then the tube bundle with the product lines was pulled into the cladding tube and this was filled with lightweight concrete. After the starting pits were dismantled, the landscape of the arable land on the right bank of the Rhine was restored.
Land relocation
In the area on the right bank of the Rhine, the pipeline was laid using the cut-and-cover method. For this purpose, a pipe trench was dug in the relevant arable land. The four pipes were laid side by side. In the immediate vicinity, three fiber optic cables were laid, which are used for communication purposes. After backfilling the trench with sand and the original excavation, the pipes lay under a soil covering of two meters (above the apex of the pipes). After completion of the construction work, the areas could be used for agriculture as before. Just a few sign posts remind of the course of the line. Including the temporary construction road, the width of the working strip during the laying phase in the land area was a maximum of 38 meters.
Security aspects
The tunneling technology for crossing the Rhine enables the pipeline to be secured three times. The actual product pipes are made of L360NB pipeline steel with a wall thickness of 7.1 to 10 mm. The product pipes, in turn, are laid in a jacket pipe with an inside diameter of around two meters. After the pipelines have been inserted into the casing pipe, it is filled with concrete. This gives the product pipes a fixation that prevents the cables from moving in the tunnel. In addition, no condensation can form inside the pipe due to the filling.
The lines are protected against corrosion by cathodic corrosion protection. The third protective cover is the jacket pipe itself.
The monitoring and maintenance of the pipeline is based on the "Technical Rule of Pipelines" ( TRFL ). This means that the integrity of the pipelines or the pipeline route is continuously monitored during operation. These measures include:
- Route inspections or overflies,
- Quantity comparison measurements; these measurements also serve to detect creeping leaks,
- Continuous pressure measurements for leakage detection (in the event of an unexpected pressure drop, the line inlet switches off automatically and prevents any further leakage),
- Regular implementation of wall thickness measurements by using so-called 'intelligent pigs'.
Awards
The Ministry of Economics, Energy, Industry, SMEs and Crafts of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia included the Connect project as one of four best practice examples in its “Toolbox for Dialogue and Participation” presented in November 2012.
Web links
- Resolution proposal for the plan approval procedure according to Section 20 UVPG on the CONNECT project , information and documents from the City of Cologne
- Project website of Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Shell gives Bayer pipeline tuition
- ↑ a b Shell Deutschland Oil: Rheinland Raffinerie officially puts 'Connect' into operation ( Memento of the original from April 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Accessed October 16, 2013
- ^ "District President Lindlar hands over spatial planning assessment to Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH"; Press release 040/2008 of the Cologne district government
- ^ Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH, press release of May 31, 2011
- ↑ Press release from Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH, Rheinland Raffinerie from July 18, 2011
- ↑ Minutes of the meeting of the Environment, Transport and Planning Committee of the City of Niederkassel on June 7, 2011 , including the statement on the planning approval decision; Retrieved July 19, 2011
- ↑ When two cultures merge in: SHELL WORLD EXTRA 02/2012, page 2 (June 2012)
- ↑ a b Project information from Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH ( Memento of the original from April 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Retrieved July 19, 2011
- ↑ NRW Ministry for Economic Affairs, Energy, Industry, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Crafts: Toolbox for Dialogue and Participation ( Memento of the original from March 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , PDF document; Accessed October 16, 2013
Coordinates: 50 ° 50 ′ 22.8 " N , 6 ° 59 ′ 29.2" E