Fourth Largest Coal-Fired Power Station in the World
Upon completion, the Kusile power station, located in the Mpumalanga district of South Africa, will become the fourth largest coal-fired power plant in the world.
This station, with a total capacity of 4,800MW, is part of the Eskom group (South African public electric utility) and will be the first power station in South Africa to install flue-gas desulphurisation (FGC) to remove sulphur oxides (SOx) from exhaust flue gases. The search for the most environmentally-friendly solutions not only included the production of electricity itself (once the electricity will be running through the high voltage lines), but was also a concern long before the opening of the power station. Massive tanks are currently being built in Doha, Qatar. They each have a capacity of 150,000 m3 and will later supply the pre-planned town of Lusail with valuable potable water. To protect the poured concrete foundation which is at risk of corrosion from saline groundwater, special focus is placed on the sealant system. To this end, a special protective layer made of PE is inserted. On the side filled with concrete, nubs ensure that the protective layer is optimally anchored.
A customized automated machine has been developed The difficulty when connecting the individual sheets in the protective liner is welding them rationally. Leister Technologies AG has developed a special automatic welder for this. The tried and tested hot wedge welder ASTRO was retrofitted so it runs smoothly between the nubs and can weld the overlapping sheets. The ASTRO CPL (Concrete Protection Liner) runs at 1.5 to 2 meters per minute over the 3 mm thick PE sheets. It connects the stiff PE material with its maximum contact pressure of 1500 N securely and without problems. Leister equipment is “good as gold” in Mongolia installation
In October 2013, two companies based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Bayan Airag Exploration LLC (a mineral exploration and development company), and Usny Erchim Co., Ltd (Leister Technologies’ official sales partner), found themselves at the Northwestern region of Mongolia collaborating on the Golden Hills Heap Leach Project.
Heap leaching is an industrial mining technique used when extracting precious metals―like copper, uranium, gold, and other compounds—from ore via a series of chemical reactions. The ore is first crushed and then “heaped” into large piles on plastic sheets which protect the soil against contamination. Once the solvent (typically cyanide) seeps through the piles of material, and bonds with the metal contained therein, the solution is then collected at the bottom of leach tanks as an enriched solution and pumped to a mill where more chemicals are used to separate the cyanide from the valuable metals. Therefore, it is of extreme importance that those plastic layers are absolutely leak-proof. The island of Saadiyat off the coast of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates is expanding to become a cultural center for locals and tourists. The „Louvre Abu Dhabi“, the first of several museums, will be constructed by 2015. The ambitious project from the French star architect Jean Nouvel will have a large white dome with a diameter of 180 meters that covers the building like a canopy of foliage. Since the entire complex will be in the water, the sealing system in the subsoil will be of significant importance.
Sophisticated system design The Abu Dhabi Louvre will be surrounded by water. The grounds will not be flooded until after the completion of the construction. Therefore, protecting the cement foundation is the highest priority. To ensure water-tightness, a two-layered system was selected. A 1.6 mm thick Sikaplan on a TPO basis will be used as the lower geomembrane. The two meter-wide geomembrane is connected with the TWINNY S welder from Leister. This machine welds a double seam with its special nozzle. This way, after the welding process, the water-tightness can be tested in the groove created between the seams using a testing needle and compressed air. The Niayesh tunnel project is the largest ongoing civil engineering project in Iran. Tehran›s urban tunnel, 10,252 m long, is the second longest tunnel in Asia for auto traffic, after the Baotashan urban tunnel in China which is 10,480 m long.
Built in the shortest time Two main traffic arteries on multiple levels including ramps and loops were built in Tehran. When the entire project is finished, the traffic situation in the Niayesh section of the city should be decongested and the primary traffic route along the east-west axis transferred. There is also the promise of «a positive change in the city and an improvement in the standard of living» (project text). The tunneling rate was 18.5 m per day and the entire volume an impressive one million m3 ! At times, 5000 people were at work on the project. For the main Niayesh tunnel, 245,000 m2 of geomembrane were built in, of those, 195,000 m2 were single layer PVC sheeting and 50,000 m2 HDPE geomembrane, both 2 mm thick. The entire geomembrane work here lasted only around six months. Working around the clock
On the 13th of July 2001, Peijing was selected by the IOC to host the Olympic Games 2008. Thereby Peking prevailed against the contenders Paris, Toronto, Osaka and Istanbul. Within less than a year, on August 8th 2008 the competitions start, and which are being awaited with great suspense. Huge construction sites still dominate the picture at the future scenes. There is intense activity everywhere. 30 000 workers are working day and night so that the planned Olympic locations will be finished according to schedule. In spite of the great time pressure, the responsible people are confident that all construction work will be completed by the end of this year. The sheikdom on the Persian Gulf is developing into the Pearl of the Orient. More than anything, tourism is expected to have a long-term beneficial impact on its economic future. The goal is to entice 15 million tourists a year to this balmy world on the Gulf by 2015. That is triple the number of tourists that visit the Gulf today. Vast numbers of mega-projects are being worked on with unbridled enthusiasm. Evidence of the building boom is everywhere. One sixth of all the cranes being used in the world today, are currently in use in Dubai. We have seen pictures of them already, the architectural giants in Dubai: the three «Palms» and «The World», giant island worlds built in the ocean, which have been developed at an unprecedented expense. Or the «Burj al Arab», the one and only seven-star hotel in the world. Or the «Burj Dubai», which, when completed, will be the tallest building in the world at 818 metres high. In this small desert state, another extremely ambitious site is being built, «The Lagoons».
Guangzhou is a thriving big city in the south of China. Around 10 million people live around the Pearl River delta. Due to its proximity to Hong Kong, it played a decisive role during the economic opening up of China and is still an important gateway to the West today. As well the world’s highest television tower (610 m), currently under construction, the well-organized public transport is also exemplary. The vibrant metropolis has adapted to its millions of commuters and built an impressive transport network. A large part of the crowds travels underground. Four lines are already operational, a fifth is under construction. Since August 2004, builders have been working on the line traversing the west and east of the city around the clock. The 43km long line with 29 stops is supposed to be put into operation as quickly as possible and provide additional relief for overground traffic.
The hole in the ozone layer that is growing ever larger, and the global warming that accompanies it, are both consequences of the rise in greenhouse gases. The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 has regulated their emission. But the targets set have not been achieved thus far. Climate change is being caused, particularly in the industrialized countries, by the combustion of fossil fuels. Agriculture is also making its own contribution worldwide. Here the main cause, alongside the forest clearances, is the intensive management of livestock. The slurry and manure of farm animals produce a vast quantity of methane (CH4).
The alps can be considered as the "moated castle" of Europe. Nowhere is the force of water used more intensively then here. The construction of new reservoirs is no longer possible. For this reason, the existing reservoirs are being extended to increase their storage capacity. Or they are being renovated in order to ensure long-term use. One of these projects is on the Austrian side of the border with Switzerland, at the Silvretta reservoir. Here the water-side faces of two of the three aged retaining walls, the main wall and the side wall, are being renovated.
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