Alkion Terminals, part of Koole Terminals Group, is committed to growing their expertise and expanding the services they offer their customers. As part of that continuous commitment, Alkion Terminal Lisbon has welcomed bitumen as a new product in their portfolio.
“We began offering bitumen storage services in April of this year, after one of our customers expressed interest in storing bitumen with us”, Terminal Manager Diogo Godinho explains. Bitumen is an important product, as it’s an essential material for road construction, repairs and civil works. The bitumen that is being stored at Alkion Terminal Lisbon is used across Portugal.
“Bitumen must be stored at a high temperature, otherwise it will turn solid inside of the tank. We keep the bitumen at a temperature of more or less 160 degrees”, Godinho continues. That means that bitumen storage requires specific infrastructure: “We invested in a new loading bay, thermal insulation of the tanks, heating equipment and new reception and expedition lines among other things.”
Alkion Terminal Lisbon are already looking into making their new bitumen storage location more sustainable: “We generate energy with solar panels at the terminal. We are currently looking into the option of powering our bitumen heaters, which currently run on propane, with electricity, meaning we could run them with the energy we generate ourselves. This would lower our CO2 emissions as well as being more cost effective, which adds value for our customers.”
Robust safety measures have been put into place to store the new product: “Any contact with bitumen must be avoided, especially with water.” The heat would cause the water to turn into steam, which adds dangerous pressure inside of the tank. “Because the product must be kept at such a high temperature, the operators that are loading the trucks are fully equipped with special protective gear. We’re proud to say we’ve had zero safety incidents with our bitumen storage ever since we began in April.”
Godinho concludes: “We’re very enthusiastic about bitumen becoming part of our portfolio, as a new product offers new ways of working and new developments. We always welcome new products and new challenges with open arms.”