Milford chronicle., 1955-12-30
Construction At States
Refinery Is on
Schedule
lContinued from flrgt 40

CONTINUED from first page)
our drainage system are completed. 2
/ A start has been made on seven
of the IL major processing units
7 which will comprise the heart of
the refinsry's operation.
Construction is furtherest ad-
vanced on the orthofoW fluid cata-
lytic cracker'N converter column,
which now towers about $50 feet.
When completed, it viii reach a
height Of about 220 feet, as high as
a 25-stOry Office building. Already
it dominates the skyline at the re-
fnery site.
Work also is well advanced on
three other units-the vapcr re-
cOvery gas plant and the fluid cox
er and crude units. In addition,
/ foundations have been laid and
concrete structures raised for the
pOlymerizatiOn and the sulfur re-
covery plants and the catalytic de-
sulfurizer unit.
The 275-fOot concrete stack for
the crude unit is now about two
thirds completed and stacks are
also rising for the sulfur and cOker
plants.
twenty-five huge storage tanks
have been finished and Is more of
the total are well under way in
the refnery's tank farm, which
when completed will have total
storage capacity Of about 7,000,
600 barrels.
Also beginning to take shape is
the refinery city's business sec
ton" This will consist of eight
permanent buildings facing the
plants entrance on Wrangle Hill
Road. Among them will be admin
istrative headquarters, laboratories,
fire houses and maintenance center.
The steel frameworks for three
Of these buildings have been start
ed, and the foundations for four
others have been laid. The eighth,
"a large maintenance center and
warehouse, is nearly complete.
Some CT the most Understanding
phases Of the refinery construction
are not visible to the casual observ-
er. A major job, for instance, was
the clearing and leveling of the
45O-acre main process area. In this
operation, now virtually complete,
2,500,O00 cubic yards Of earth were
moved.
Another major phase Of the con-
struction has been almost wholly
underground. The big sub-surface
mains for the refinery storm drain
age and water-cooling systems are
about 80 per cent complete. The
underground electrical distribution
system, including concrete cOndu-
its, manhole stations and wiring,
is about 25 percent complete. Work
is also progressing on the ESQ miles
Of pipelines which will interlace
the refinery.
A total of $4,000 cubic yards of
concrete have been poured so far
into underground installations and
abOve-ground foundations. That is
enough concrete, engineers esti-
mate, to lay a highway 20-feet wide
and 25 miles long-a distance from
Wilmington to the outskirts of
Philadelphia.
Another guage Of the construc-
tiOn pace is the incoming flow Of
parts and materials.
Since the start Of construction
nine months ago a total of 1,200
freight carloads; $4,000 trucklOads,
including 5000 of concrete alone,
and Is barge cargOes have been re-
ceived. Before the job is finished.
the freight carloads will total
about 5000 and trucklOads will
reach an estimated $4,000.
Down near the Delaware River
front. about mile from the refin-
cry process area, work also is NOV
ing ahead on the river channels
and piers to serve Tide Water tank
ers. To date about 100000 cubic
yards Of bottom silt have been
dredged from the creeks and the
river.
Before the dredging is finished,
an estimated 100000 cubic yards
will be removed and pumped into
nearby marshland, which viii be
converted into commercially useful
property.