Jamalco

Jamalco Phase One

Alcoa and the Government of Jamaica

|

Jamaica

|

2006–2007

1.27 Mtpa to 1.47 Mtpa

increase in production

70%

staffed by local residents

150,000 tpa

expansion of refinery capacity

2 million

work-hours by 1,000 people with 0 LTIs

Challenges

  • The Unit 3 expansion project consisted of the balance of plant (BOP) and early works program (EWP). Both projects proceeded in parallel
  • The EWP objective was to increase the alumina-refinery production from 1.27 to 1.47 Mtpa
  • Phase Two of the Unit 3 expansion was slated to add approximately 1.35 Mtpa to the refinery's production capacity
  • This extra production was contingent on agreements to bring liquefied natural gas to Jamaica and the refinery, providing cleaner and less expensive power

Solutions

  • Provide custom-process engineering, construction-related engineering design, and play a critical role on the commissioning team
  • The design was executed in a 3D environment that expedited the design-review process and identified interferences so they could be eliminated prior to fabrication and construction in the field
  • Other process and support facilities were upgraded, including the bauxite slurry-feed to the existing digester S2 pump motor; the addition of spent slaked-lime to the existing scrubbers in one area; and increased water slaked-lime to high-efficiency causticization
  • More than 70% of the craft workers, operators, and tradespeople on the project were local Clarendon, Jamaica residents

Highlights

  • Material take-offs, valve, and instrument lists were extracted from the project’s intelligent databases, providing detailed and accurate requirements to enable early procurement and shipping of materials and equipment to the field
  • During 19 months of construction and more than two-million work-hours performed by the 1,000 people on the construction team, there were no serious injuries on site.

"The best of the five recent Alcoa expansion projects."

Alan Cransberg | President, Alcoa Primary Metals North America

“This project was completed with an outstanding safety performance, with no serious injuries in over 2 million work hours during 19 months of construction. That is outstanding when you consider we had an additional 1,000 persons on site during peak construction.”

Mr.Alberto Fabrini | Managing Director, Jamalco

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