CUSTOMER VOICE

Customer Voice Jülch GmbH

Unmatched performancefor tough recycling

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Jülch GmbH / Customer Voice03

Customer Voice / Jülch GmbHPowerful
environmental protection
at the refinery
To make shipping more eco-friendly, marine regulations have begun toprohibit the burning of crude oil residues in ship engines. This leaves it torefineries to recycle the residues, which is best done in a closed process where
the petroleum coke first has to be crushed. Jülch GmbH has worked with
Bosch Rexroth to devise a reliable solution for this demanding task.

Sometimes protecting the environment requires
a special effort. For instance, when it comes tocrushing chunks of petroleum coke up to one
meter in size at a refinery, so that they can betransported for further processing and thenmade available to end customers. Jülch GmbH,a mechanical engineering company based nearKarlsruhe, Germany, specializes in this crushingprocess and has carved out a market niche foritself with technological support and Hägglunds
hydraulic drive systems from Bosch Rexroth.
KEEPING HARMFUL SUBSTANCES OUT 		
OF THE AIRPetroleum coke is a waste product resulting
from the thermal cracking of crude oil. Thecrushers from Jülch GmbH must always be readyfor use, as the tough, black mass hardens withina few hours. Once this happens, it can no longer
be cut by water jet. The rollers inside the crushers break up the large chunks at a maximum of
70 revolutions per minute, after which the watercoke mixture is pumped into a container where

the water is extracted. The finished, dry petroleum coke can then be loaded directly foronward transport.
Since the coke handling process is closed,even the last residues are returned to the value
chain – rather than being burned in ship engines,
as was the practice in the past. As a result,fewer toxins and greenhouse gases are released
into the environment. Moreover, the eco-friendly
process means no more harmful fine dusts arereleased at the refinery, which enhances thehealth protection for staff.
HYDRAULIC DRIVES PEERLESS
Jülch’s expertise lies in reliably crushing thepetroleum coke under the prevailing environmental conditions. “We can only achieve thisusing highly robust hydraulic drives that deliver
extremely high forces, especially when startingup,” explains Managing Director Felix Jülch.
“Moreover, it is essential that the rollers process
the batch completely. The petroleum coke would
dry out otherwise and become as hard as con-Complete hydraulic system for Ex Zone 2: the Jülch petroleum coke crusher with Hägglunds tandem motor,power unit and control system, including Condition Monitoring. (Image source: Jülch GmbH)crete. That would mean it could no longer be cut
and the refinery process would be brought to astandstill. Of course, this must not happen
under any circumstances.”
The fact that a hydraulic drive is the only
feasible option has been clear to Jülch GmbHever since an initial attempt at a solution using
electric motors failed on account of the highloads and the dusty operating environment. The
enormous energies require a drive that is every
bit as durable as the machine itself, as shown by
the findings from the early development phases.
The robust construction of the crushers is exemplified by their walls, which are up to 80 mm
thick, as well as by a total weight in excess of
60 metric tons – the rollers alone weighing in at
10 metric tons each.
JOINT DEVELOPMENT WITH BOSCHREXROTH USING HÄGGLUNDS DRIVESFor Felix Jülch, the reason for choosing BoschRexroth as the company’s partner for the drives isobvious. “Our partner’s Hägglunds radial piston

motors offer us unmatched performance characteristics,” he says. “Working in combination with
Bosch Rexroth’s distinctive solution expertise
when it comes to heavy hydraulics, we were able
to implement our machines while maintaining
high quality and meet stringent demands withregard to the reliability of the system.”
TANDEM MOTOR WITH HIGH STARTINGTORQUE
Each crusher has two pairs of rollers, poweredby a tandem drive that combines a Hägglunds
CA radial piston motor in a nominal 210 sizewith a second one in a nominal 70 size. Thesmaller motor is switched on solely for starting,which increases the starting torque by over 40
percent. This allows the chunks of coke to bebroken up safely, even if they become wedged
after falling into the crusher.
Bosch Rexroth is the single source for theentire drive solution– including the controlsystem, pumps and hydraulic supply. Because
the machine operates in Ex Zone 2, all system

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Customer Voice / Jülch GmbH

components are designed to be ATEX-compliant.
In addition, Bosch Rexroth has provided support
with the necessary documentation.
PREPARED TO RUN SMOOTHLY FOR AT
LEAST 20 YEARSJülch GmbH’s petroleum coke crushers aredesigned for a service life of at least 20 years.
The first plant built in Germany has already beenrunning for some time. There have been nostoppages, apart from the planned replacementof wear parts or the revolving exchange of individual motors for overhaul.
According to Felix Jülch, customers who havesubsequently bought the machines for international refineries are also very pleased. The factthat each site has its own unique environmental
conditions, such as very low temperatures in
winter, is taken into account for each individual
customer when designing the crusher. “We havebeen able to ensure smooth operation for every
machine, thanks to the great support received
from Bosch Rexroth and the good configurabilityof the Hägglunds control system.” The machinebuilder has always been able to count on worldwide support during commissioning, too.
HIGH UPTIME THANKS TO CONDITIONMONITORING
In order to avoid unplanned crusher downtime,
the roller drive and power unit are monitored.
Sensor data collected in the machine for speed,
oil level, pressure and temperature are sent tothe control room via an interface. If certain limit

Hägglunds is a brand of Rexroth, a leading global
supplier of drive and control technologies. Hägglunds
solutions enrich a comprehensive Rexroth portfolio.

values are exceeded, the Condition Monitoring
software triggers an alarm.
“If a motor has to be switched off – which
has not happened to date – the system isdimensioned in such a way that the running
batch can be finished with a single roller,”
explains Felix Jülch.
FIRM BASIS FOR PIONEERING PROJECTSThe petroleum coke crushers developed with
Bosch Rexroth enable refinery operators worldwide to meet their environmental requirements
more easily, making an active contribution tokeep harmful substances out of the air. Interestin these systems – with their reliable Hägglunds
drives – is correspondingly high.
Besides the technical solution, Felix Jülch saysthat the constructive cooperation at eye level
and the Rexroth team’s short response times arealso crucial to the project’s success. “We can relyon the commitment of our hydraulics partner,
just as we can rely on the robustness of thehydraulics,” he concludes. “Both form a solid
foundation for further development.”