| CLIENT | OWA |
| LOCATION | Former Mazeppa Gas Plant, Alberta |
| SERVICES | Removal of Elemental Sulphur From a Pit and Demolition of Pit |
| SCHEDULE | Start Date: July 2023 End Date: September 2023 |
PROJECT PROFILE
The Mazeppa Gas plant is located near the Hamlet of Mazeppa Alberta approximately 40 km south of Calgary. The Gas plant began operation in 1986 and was originally set up to have sour gas fed into the plant, hydrogen Sulfide was extracted from the sour gas and was made into a liquid form which is where the sulfur in the pit came from. The Sulphur at the time the plant was operation was in molten form which was loaded onto rail cars and transported from site. When the Plant was shut Down in 2008 the Sulphur was left in the pit to harden.
SCOPE OF WORK
The Sulphur pit was the last remaining piece of the former plant that was to be removed from site, this includes the removal of the Sulphur from the pit and demolition of the concrete lids and concrete pit itself. The Sulphur was removed from the pit and was mixed on site with Phosphorus rock to be made into a natural fertilizer to eliminate the material from being transported to landfill. Concrete from the lids and pit was broken up on site and transported to a concrete recycler for reuse in aggregate. Metal rebar and wire that was extracted from the concrete was also transported to metal recyclers for reuse.
The goal was to minimize the amount of material transported for disposal.
PROJECT CHALLENGES
The challenges of the project involved the amount of water in the Sulphur pit. Once the KBL crew removed the lids and began to excavate out the Sulphur from the pit it was discovered that over the years water had gotten into the pit and was sitting in with the Sulphur. This water, when combined with the sulfur was acidic and had to be removed and disposed of at an approved facility. With elemental Sulphur there is a significant risk of fire as well and can be easily ignited even with just friction of metal sliding along it. With the right measures in place and training with the crew on site, risks were minimized.
PROJECT SUCCESS
Successes included diverting approximately 4800 t of elemental Sulphur from landfill to utilized as an additive for natural fertilizer, approximately 2500 t of concrete from landfill as well as recycling metal materials.
