Schade machines conveying sulphur prills in Russia

Herne, Germany -- In October 2003, the Canadian Enersul company, a specialist in the processing of sulphur, received the so far largest order for a project at the Russian Astrakhangazprom.

Presently, the handling of the project is in full swing, and Schade Lagertechnik GmbH (Herne), a member of the Aumund Group got a chance when it came to erecting two stockyards with a capacity of 2 times 150,000 tons of sulphur prills:

Both combined portal scraper reclaimers will be used in Astrakhan for stacking and reclaiming sulphur prills. With a rail track of 65m each, the combined stacker/portal scraper reclaimers are two of the largest machines which Schade ever supplied to a customer in the petrochemical industry.

The natural gas field in the Astrakhan region in the South of Russia contains more than 3,700 billion cubic meters of gas which are sold and used for further processing by the daughter company of worldwide largest natural gas producer Gazprom. The field in Astrakhan counts as one of the ten biggest gasfield reserves in the world.

The two machines with a stacking capacity of 300 t/h and a reclaiming capacity of 600 t/h ensure the smooth material handling on both stockyards. The stackers take over the sulphur prills produced from the natural gas and stack them on the corresponding pile. The reclaimer is used to load rail wagons with the fertilizer.

Normally, a bulk material stockyard is operated in such a way that simultaneous stacking and reclaiming is possible. Usually, this involves two separate machines such as a belt stacker for building up the pile and a portal scraper reclaimer for removing material from the pile. As the stacking and reclaiming processes on the stockyards in Astrakhan do not need to be carried out simultaneously, their combination in one machine is possible.

This combined machine results in considerable savings not only as regards the investment cost but also the operating cost. Originally, the combined machine had been developed and patented by Schade in 1973 for the installation in a German coking plant. The system comprises a portal structure travelling on rails which supports the scraper reclaimer boom and the boom conveyor. In contrast, longitudinal stockyards which require simultaneous stacking and reclaiming of material have to be equipped with separate machines.

Source: http://www.schade-lagertechnik.com/

Malvern : New Cement Solutions Brochure

Malvern, UK -- Launched this month, a new brochure from Malvern Instruments, gives a complete overview of the company’s comprehensive range of particle size analyzers for the cement industry.

Using advanced laser diffraction technology, Malvern’s complete solution packages are now standard in most particulate processing industries, including over 400 cement plants across the globe. The range of analyzers includes options for off-, at- and on-line cement measurement, providing ideal solutions for both conventional and fully automated laboratories, and the process environment.

Increasingly, the industry is replacing Blaine analysis with particle size measurement to gain better control of cement performance. Laser diffraction offers a highly robust, consistent method of characterizing the complete cement size distribution, enabling accurate measurement and control of the cement fineness. This can significantly reduce the product inconsistencies observed when using Blaine analysis, from 6-7% to less than 1% RSD.

As world leaders in particle characterization, Malvern has pioneered the use of both laboratory and real-time, on-line particle size analysis in powder processing for more than 40 years. The ‘turnkey’ packages summarized within the new Cement Plant Solutions brochure can not only increase the quality and consistency of a finished product, but also substantially reduce production costs, giving an excellent return on investment.

Source: http://www.malvern.com/

Safe and Efficient Grinding with Liquid Nitrogen

Newtown, PA -- Retsch's new CryoMill is designed specifically for cryogenic grinding with its integrated liquid nitrogen cooling system. The grinding chamber is continuously cooled before, during and in between grinding cycles at a constant -196 °C.

Unlike other cryogenic mills where the user is fully exposed to a bath of LN2, the CryoMill is completely enclosed, ensuring the safety of the user. With its Autofill system, liquid nitrogen is drawn into the CryoMill quickly and safely, at no risk to the user.

With its high frequency up to 25 Hz, the CryoMill offers a grind down to 5 µm, much faster than competing mills! The CryoMill contains one grinding station with the option of a 25 ml, 35 ml or 50 ml jar for a variety of sample sizes. An adapter which holds four 5 ml jars is also available.

Adapters to hold eppendorf vials will be available later in 2009, allowing for very small and high-throughput samples. Ideal for samples such as: plastics, temperature-sensitive materials, cells and tissue, hair, chemicals, bones and more!

From the preparation of a representative sample in compliance with relative standards, the contamination-free comminution process to exact and reproducible sieve analyses – Retsch instruments are essential tools for preparing samples for laboratory analysis. They stand for reliability, precision and durability. These three decisive criteria, in addition to over 90 years’ experience in this sector, have made us the market leader in the manufacture of instruments and supply of solutions.

Source: http://www.retsch.com/

Virtual Design Delivery for Coal Processing Plant

Queensland, Australia -- Global engineering, project delivery and sciences firm, Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM), recently completed the design of the new Coal Processing Plant (CPP), for the Clermont Joint Venture mine.

While it is the first new coal plant in Australia to use paste thickening technology, the delivery of the design is of particular interest – being done by a team whose members were located throughout SKM offices in Australia and Asia.

The Clermont Joint Venture mine is a thermal coal production open pit mine located in the Bowen Basin, Queensland. The new greenfields mine which is owned by Rio Tinto, Mitsubishi Development, JPower Australia and JCD Australia and managed by Rio Tinto Coal Australia will produce up to 12.2 mtpa of high quality thermal coal when it reaches full capacity. It is expected to have a life of about 17 years at this production rate.

SKM has been involved in the project since 2004 when it was asked to undertake a Feasibility Study for the new mine, including the design of a dedicated CPP. SKM was appointed as EPCM contractor in 2007.

SKM’s Chief Mechanical Engineer, Peter Stringfellow, said that to effectively resource the engineering design process, SKM sought to draw upon leading skills from across SKM’s network of Australian and Asian offices. Components of the work were ultimately carried out in Brisbane, Newcastle, Darwin, Perth, Manila and Yangzhou.

“The initial layouts, detailed design and process configuration were undertaken in Brisbane and Newcastle,” Stringfellow said. “In tandem with this work, the review process was conducted by experienced engineers independent of the project, and led by SKM’s Mineral Processing Practice Leader, based in Perth. This allowed for an unbiased assessment of the design, and provided additional ideas that improved the overall finished product.”

The shop detailing was then carried out by teams based in Darwin, Manila, Yangzhou, Perth and Brisbane.

“The benefits of working in a virtual team using team members linked by technology rather than being physically together in the same location, allowed SKM to realize cost efficiencies and productivity gains by working off-shore, being able to maintain a 24 hour work schedule and more effectively manage quality standards, schedules and budgets by keeping the project in-house,” Stringfellow said.

The virtual team was able to work on a single 3D model utilizing information sharing tools, a central repository for information, and a variety of communication channels, including videoconferencing, and web-based methods.

The incorporation of design practices which focused on concepts of sustainability, and in particular design elements aimed at reducing greenhouse gases and water usage, was a particularly strong feature of SKM’s approach.

Quoting SKM’s CEO Paul Douglas, Stringfellow noted: “In the midst of a global financial crisis, sustainability has never been more relevant. There are of course three pillars of Sustainability: the economic, social and environmental. Never before have each of these elements come together to produce the ‘perfect storm’ that is so readily apparent today.”

Stringfellow said that the initial idea was to use a co-disposal facility for the removal of waste, but by adopting paste thickening technology for the tailings dams, a good balance between moisture recovery and low maintenance costs could be achieved.

“The waste is thickened to a paste and pumped to a placement area. This ensures a minimum amount of water usage – in fact this technology utilizes only 10 percent of the water used by conventional co-disposal.”

It is anticipated that the CPP will be built by the end of 2009, with commissioning in early 2010.

Source: http://www.skmconsulting.com/

I

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