Method of transporting an assembly formed of an enclosure with at least one panel and enclosure to be transported using this method

Abstract

A method of transporting at least one panel intended to form part of a distillation apparatus in which a first, possibly partial, enclosure is built to contain an element of a distillation apparatus that is to operate at a temperature other than ambient temperature, at least one panel is attached to the first enclosure, the first enclosure attached to the at least one panel is transported to an erection site, the at least one panel is detached from the first enclosure and used to finish building the first or to build the second enclosure or to build a completely different element of the plant.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method for transporting and erecting a cold box assembly at a second location distal from a first location, the method comprising the steps of:
 providing the cold box assembly at the first location, wherein the cold box assembly comprises a first enclosure defined by a set of walls, wherein the cold box assembly further includes a set of panels removably attached to an outer periphery of the set of walls and a distillation element disposed within the first enclosure;   transporting the cold box assembly in a horizontal position;   erecting the cold box assembly from the horizontal position to a vertical position at the second location and then removing the set of panels from the outer periphery of the set of walls while in the vertical position;   forming a second enclosure using the set of panels;   installing a second distillation element within the second enclosure while at the second location; and   installing insulation within the volume of the first enclosure and the second enclosure   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the first location is a fabrication shop and the second location is an installation site. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the set of panels are made of a different material than the set of walls, wherein the total mass of the set of panels is less than the total mass of the set of the walls. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the set of walls are configured to provide structural support for the first enclosure in both the horizontal position and the vertical position. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein the set of panels are configured to provide structural support for the second enclosure only in the vertical position, wherein the set of walls are configured to provide structural support for the set of panels in the horizontal position. 
     
     
         6 . A method for transporting an assembly formed of an enclosure with at least one panel, the assembly configured to form part of a distillation apparatus in which a first enclosure is built to contain an element of a distillation apparatus that is to operate at a temperature other than ambient temperature, at least one panel, which may be a panel of a second insulated enclosure intended to form part of the apparatus or a panel of another part of the first enclosure, is attached to the first enclosure, the first enclosure attached to the at least one panel is transported to an erection site, the at least one panel is completely detached from the first enclosure, or even all the panels are completely detached from the first enclosure, and used to finish building the first or to build the second enclosure or to build a completely different element of the plant. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 6 , in which the first enclosure is transported containing at least one element of the apparatus selected from the group consisting of a distillation column, a scrubbing column, a heat exchanger, a storage facility, a collection of pipes, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 7 , in which the first enclosure is transported with a temporary face closing the enclosure during transport and the rest of the first enclosure is built on site using at least one panel transported attached to the first enclosure during transport. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 8 , in which at least one panel transported by the first enclosure has the same length and the same width as the wall of the first enclosure to which it is attached. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 6 , in which the first enclosure is a partial enclosure during transport and the rest of the walls of the enclosure are made up of at least one panel, or even three panels, transported attached to the first enclosure during transport. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 6 , in which several panels are assembled with one another, one edge of one panel being contiguous with one edge of another panel, so that a right angle is formed between two panels, to form an assembly and the assembly is attached to the first enclosure, the first enclosure attached to the assembly of at least two walls is transported to an erection site, the assembly is detached from the first enclosure and used to finish building the first or to build the second enclosure or to build a completely different element of the plant. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11 , in which the assembly is dimensioned so that each panel of the assembly is attached against the first enclosure. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 6 , in which no part of the at least one panel remains is attached to the first enclosure by a hinge. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 6 , in which at least two panels are transported on the first enclosure and the at least two panels are attached to one another after having been detached from the first enclosure to finish building the first or to build the second enclosure or to build a completely different element of the plant. 
     
     
         15 . An enclosure for an element of a distillation apparatus intended to operate at a temperature other than ambient temperature, designed to be transported according to the method of  claim 1 , comprising a framework in the form of a parallelepiped, at least six faces of which are covered with metal sheeting completely or partially covering each face and comprising at least one enclosure panel attached temporarily against at least one piece of metal sheeting. 
     
     
         16 . The enclosure according to  claim 15  comprising at least one element of the apparatus that may be at least a distillation or scrubbing column and/or at least a heat exchanger and/or at least a storage facility and/or at least a collection of pipes. 
     
     
         17 . The enclosure according to  claim 15  containing insulation around the at least one element. 
     
     
         18 . The enclosure according to  claim 15  having at least one wall attached against the metal sheeting of a face of the enclosure and at least one wall attached against the metal sheeting of another face of the enclosure. 
     
     
         19 . The enclosure according to  claim 18 , in which the panels are attached to one another to form an assembly of panels which is attached against at least two faces of the enclosure. 
     
     
         20 . The enclosure according to  claim 15 , in which the at least one enclosure panel is not attached to the enclosure by a hinge.