Puerto Ventanas (PVSA), a subsidiary of the Sigdo Koppers group, inaugurated a new warehouse for the storage and dispatch of sodium carbonate for its client Cristal Chile and Portland.
The facility is located on route F-30, in the commune of Puchuncaví, and has a usable area of 6,000 square meters, a static storage capacity of 25,000 tons of sodium carbonate, and is composed of a material handling system and high-tech equipment for cargo manipulation.
Additionally, in line with PVSA’s energy efficiency and sustainable operation plan, the facility has translucent panels that allow the use of natural light, automatic doors with side seals, and a particulate matter control system during its storage, handling, and dispatch.
The construction process and the facilities (structural, electrical, among others) are governed by approximately 50 national and international regulations of various kinds that comply with standards of energy efficiency, water management, environmental management, materiality, and construction.
The sodium carbonate reception process is carried out at berth No. 3 of the dock, using the ship’s cranes, with sealed grabs specially designed for this type of cargo, each with a loading capacity of 14 cubic meters. Through two ecological hoppers equipped with high-standard dust collection systems for receiving solid bulk, the cargo is distributed into sealed etelvina-type trucks, designed exclusively for its transport.
For its dispatch from the warehouse, loading is done onto a silo-type truck using a telescopic system with a retractable sleeve that automatically adjusts to the truck’s hatch. During the feeding process, a hermetic seal is generated that ensures safe and sustainable operation. Once finished, prior to the truck leaving the terminal, wheel washing is carried out by a custom-fitted system.
Meanwhile, the bulk carrier Ansac Reverance will arrive at Puerto Ventanas during the day of Sunday, May 10, with 12,500 tons of sodium carbonate to carry out the first discharge of this product at berth No. 3 of the port facility.
