British Coal build with steel

Birtley Engineering Limited of Chesterfield were the main contractors to British Coal for the design, construction and commissioning of the coal preparation plant, and were overall contract managers for the Woolley Westside surface installation, the second of three centralised washeries in the old Barnsley area. The washery has a design capacity of up to 1800 tonnes per hour. More than 2000 tonnes of structural steelwork was used in the construction of the washery, and Edward Bidgood & Co. Ltd., of Leeds, were commissioned to design and supply the steelwork because of their experience in the supply of many other coal preparation plant structures.

The plant features a unique 3 gravity dense medium system of coal washing, with extensive raw coal homogenisation and product blending facilities The plant 1s computer controlled and fully automated. The extensive variety of process plant and equipment within the washery, required considerable expertise in producing the most economical layout and it is in this aspect of construction where structural steelwork plays a very important and competitive role.

One of the largest plants of its type in the world, the Westside complex incorporates many concentrated areas of rotating and vibrating equipment positioned so as to allow natural flow of products and provide maximum maintenance accessibility Structural steelwork proved to be the most effective medium for supporting the complexity of equipment used.

Structural steelwork offers the client the advantages of flexibility, interchangeability, ease and rapidity of erection with the reliability of a factory pre-engineered product. A further advantage is its ability to accept late changes to specification at construction stage and the adaptability to accommodate future additions and modifications.

Steel is winning with British Coal.

Originally published in
BCSA NEWS September 1986