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The new bulk storage terminal that Ultra-Brag AG operates in the Rhine port of Kleinhüningen is an impressive structure, with overall height of 83 meters, it clearly dominates the Basel port skyline. This height required a number of special measures: The structure has to be earthquake-proof, it must be resilient enough to absorb wind loads, and its immense weight must be reliably supported by its relatively small footprint of 27 by 40 meters. The concrete structure, which was built by the slip-forming method in three stages, therefore stands on a large number of piles with a thickness of up to 1.2 meters and a length of 28 meters. The bulk storage section houses 32 round storage bins plus 15 interstice bins, which hold more than 40,000 cubic meters of material. Most of the Buhler supplied equipment is installed in the headhouse of the elevator building. The core systems of the entire installation are the two 87-meter-tall belt-and-bucket elevator legs which elevate the material from the ship or rail receiving sections to the top of the terminal.
Some of the storage bins are vertically split in order to increase the total number of bins. An active explosion protection system and explosion pressure relief through the bin ceilings are part of an overall ATEX explosion control concept.” The bulk storage technology applied reflects the state of the art. Numerous chain conveyors and elevator legs move the bulk commodities from the ship unloading point to the storage bins. Special receiving and cleaning systems ensure proper cleaning of the grain prior to storage. The bulk material bins are exhausted through centralized as well as decentralized dust collection filters. Buhler also installed the equipment required for loading road and rail vehicles for onward transportation. The fully automated materials handling systems are capable of handling as much as 600 cubic meters of material per hour.