Formosa Ha Tinh’s coke oven gas holder has been rebuilt by CISDI and is meeting standards.

It comes hot on the heels of CISDI’s successful rebuild of the Vietnamese plant’s blast furnace gas holder, which recommenced operation in May.

Both gas holders were built by CISDI in 2015, went operational in 2016 and had remained strong and fault-free, even withstanding a number of super-typhoons over the years. But they needed inspections and rebuilds in 2022.

The pair hold the world’s largest gas volume for a steel plant - the BFG holder is 120m high and has a 300,000 cubic metre capacity and the 99m high COG holder has a capacity of 150,000 cubic metres.

CISDI’s POC-type gas holder has been applied to this holder group, to give greater stability and longer service life.

CISDI provided supplies and technical supervision during the COG holder’s rebuild. Construction was highly challenging, the team having to work in enclosed, confined spaces, on elevated platforms and temporary scaffolds and lift bulky equipment.

Working on-site alongside Vietnamese construction employees also meant there were language barriers and a number of operational and cultural differences to overcome.

But the highly-organised project management team overseeing construction procedures, safety and quality control were always at the forefront and responded swiftly to problems caused by storms, typhoons, high temperatures and humidity.

Their commitment ensured the project ran to schedule and outperformed HSE standards. The COG holder was taken over by FHS 11 days ahead of the contractual schedule. This early finish reduced gas bleeding losses during shutdown.

A FHS spokesperson commented: “We are so proud of both gas holders, refurbished by our Chinese partner. The units work very well, with all indicators meeting our standards.”

FHS Vietnam’s COG holder resumes operation after CISDI’s rebuild

CISDI’s project management staff at the gas holder rebuild site