Eveline de Klerk
WALVIS BY – A consignment of 42 000 tonnes of petroleum coke (petcoke) is currently being offloaded at the port of Walvis Bay. Petcoke is a final carbon-rich solid material that derives from oil refining, and is one type of the group of fuels referred to as cokes. Petcoke is the coke that, in particular, derives from a final cracking process – a thermo-based chemical engineering process that splits long-chain hydrocarbons of petroleum into shorter chains—which takes place in units termed coker units.
Petroleum coke is a material relatively low in cost and high in heat value and carbon content. It is an efficient and cost-effective fuel for producing metal, brick and related products. It is also a direct replacement for coal as a fuel.
Petroleum coke is a valuable and essential commercial product which is used directly in a wide range of applications, including aluminium manufacturing, fuels and numerous other products, including steel, glass, paint and fertilisers.
The consignment destined for Zambia was shipped from the United States of America on the Globe Brace vessel ,and will be used in a limestone factory. Namport executive for commercial services Elias Mwenyo indicated that the consignment will be discharged within the next three days, and then be transported via trucks to Zambia.
He said consignments such as these show that Namport has the capacity to handle any types of cargo. “This significant milestone speaks directly to the relentless work of marketing the ports authority’s capabilities and infrastructure to handle such volumes.
The first petcoke consignment arrived in February 2019, and served as a trial run. Mwenyo added that the trial run proved that Namport is suitable and capable in handling this commodity.
The next consignment is expected to be offloaded at the Port of Walvis Bay in April 2023.