The five-year, $500-million Clairton C Battery project at North America's largest coke-making facility in Clairton, Pa., delivered a new 960,000-ton-capacity coke battery that improves U.S. Steel's overall environmental performance.
Since the site of the newly installed C Battery and other rehabilitated batteries was constrained and the work ergonomically challenging, the team devised a plan to complete the project safely and on schedule: The new plant machinery would be fully assembled before being lifted and set into place.
In the interest of worker safety and cost-effectiveness, a customized, 1,500-ton-capacity crane was designed and built. With little margin for error, several 500-ton lifts were made to move machinery to the newly installed rail from barges on the Monongahela River. Crane operators had to swing loads in tight quarters over existing plant structures.
The placement of more than two million individual units of refractory brick called for management of up to 600 bricklayers and laborers at the project's peak.
A new foul-gas collection technology was used for the first time in the U.S. on the C Battery. The new system is designed to dramatically improve oven process controls while reducing harmful emissions.
The project was delivered under budget and more than two months ahead of schedule.
Clairton C Battery Project, Clairton, Pa.
Key Players
Owner United States Steel Corp.
Design Firm Hatch Associates Consultants
General Contractor Graycor Industrial
Technology Provider UHDE Corp. of America
