Ludwigshafen · chemicals on the Rhine

A ship in port (riding along, key F)

1. 01

   waiting at anchor

2. 02

   coming in

3. 03

   at the quay: being unloaded and loaded

4. 04

   leaving

What is shown – why – for whom

Facilities and areas in the model

• Tanker berths

  Tankers load chemicals and bring raw materials; about 22 ship loads a day pass through the Rhine ports (site figure). At low water they sail half loaded.

• Container quay

  Containers and tank containers by Rhine barge to Rotterdam and Antwerp.

• Friesenheimer Insel tank farm

  Tank farm for oil and oil products on the Mannheim bank. Fill level follows the node’s stock (model).

• Works railway with tank wagons

  About 450 rail wagons are loaded or unloaded every day, plus about 1,750 trucks (site figures, older numbers).

• Plants and flares

  Here raw materials become feedstock for many industries; the smoke follows the node’s throughput (model).

Processes in the model

How a chemical site can use the model

• Operations and planning

  In the model, water carries 65 % of the volume. Low water, flood and a Rhine closure show when rail and road have to take over – and where they reach their limit.

  For whomWorks logistics, port operations, planning

• Onboarding and training

  Ride along with key F: a tanker to its berth, a train on the works railway, a truck from the gate to the loading point. One line says what is happening.

  For whomNew staff, logistics and production trainees

• Local authorities and economic development

  Tank farm in Mannheim, plants in Ludwigshafen, containers to Rotterdam and Antwerp: the model shows the site as a node on both banks of the Rhine.

  For whomCities, economic development, chambers

• Schools, universities, museums

  How does a chemical product get from the plant to Rotterdam? Plant, pipe bridge, tank wagon, loading arm and tanker stand in one sequence – also as a demo without anyone at the controls.

  For whomSchools, universities, museums and exhibitions

• Public communication

  The ‘Dry summer’ scenario brings low water on the Rhine: tankers sail half loaded and more trips are needed. Four times the speed shows how it develops, and one tap brings back today.

  For whomPublic relations, associations

What you can change

What the model gives a chemical site

• 01

  One site, three routes

  Tanker, works railway and truck run at the same time, and pipe bridges link the plants. You see how chemicals leave the site.

• 02

  The water level as a risk

  In low water the tankers sail half loaded; with the Rhine closed they stop. The model shows it at the berth, not in a table.

• 03

  Load made visible

  Smoke from the stacks follows throughput, the tank farm follows stock – the same figures as on the Germany map.

• 04

  Industry as a lever

  The industrial output control acts on 61 % of the volume here. You see how the site responds to weaker industry.

• 05

  For visits and big screens

  Runs in the browser and on large projections; the site profile shows every part with live values.

• 

  Duisburg-Schwelgern · works harbour and blast furnaces

  A raw-material chain as a walkable model: push convoys with ore and coal from Rotterdam, grab unloaders, ore and coal stockyards, conveyor belts and the Schwelgern 1 and 2 blast furnaces.

• 

  Duisburg · logport I (Rheinhausen)

  A trimodal inland port on the Rhine as a walkable model: Rhine barges with sea containers from Rotterdam, gantries and yard, trains to the south, Eastern Europe and Asia, trucks into the region.

• 

  Wilhelmshaven · JadeWeserPort and LNG terminal

  Germany’s only deep-water port as a walkable model: the container quay on the Jade with straddle carriers and rail, plus the floating LNG terminal, a tank farm and the crude-oil pipeline to the refineries.

• 

  Dortmund · canal port and Westfalenhütte

  The canal port at the end of the Dortmund-Ems Canal as a walkable model: canal barges with two tiers of containers, three container gantries, four tracks and the route to the Westfalenhütte plant.

• 

  Germany · freight flows and nodes

  All of Germany as a map of blocks: 27 nodes, 55 freight flows as bands of light, eleven bottlenecks with traffic lights. Controls, seasons, disruptions and ten scenarios change every flow at once, compared with today.

• 

  Hamburg · Container Terminal Altenwerder

  An automated container terminal as a walkable model: up to 14 container gantries, driverless transport vehicles, the block yard, a rail station for trains up to 740 m and the truck gate.

• 

  Bremerhaven · car terminal and river quay

  Bremerhaven as a walkable model: almost five kilometres of river quay for the largest container ships, straddle carriers, car trains and parking for about 95,000 vehicles at the mouth of the Weser.

• 

  Frankfurt interchange (A3/A5)

  One of Europe’s busiest motorway interchanges as a walkable model: the A3 and A5 cross, the weaving section becomes the bottleneck, and the tailback grows with freight, holidays or snow.