Tuesday, January 25, 2011

BRASIL: Dust reduction for Pecem

The first of a new design of dust-reducing mobile hoppers has been installed at the port of Pecem, Brazil, where it will be dealing with traditionally dusty bulk like coal and cement.


The Eco Hopper, so called because of its ability to carry out virtually dust-free unloading of bulk materials on the quayside, is ready to receive an initial 71,000 tonnes of imported material; this is made up of 50,000 tons of slag and 21,000 tons of clinker purchased from China.

The order was placed by Brazilian company Cimento Apodi as part of a project to build a 30,000 tonne per month cement milling facility located adjacent to the port. Apodi plans to initially invest $60 million during the first phase of the cement unit project.

The Eco Hopper, manufactured by B&W Mechanical Handling (part of the Aumund Group) is loaded from vessels via 20 cubic metre capacity crane grabs. The materials are then transported by truck to the new grinding plant. The unit has a working volume of approximately 70 cubic metres and is capable of discharging at rates up to 700 tonnes per hour.

The key to the design is the integration of purpose built dust filter units incorporated into the structural element of the hopper. This approach, says B&W, enables it to provide a higher filtration media surface area and therefore higher air throughputs at lower velocities. This improves operational efficiency and reduces the overall size of the hopper. The filter configuration is complemented by the B&W Flex Flaps system at the hopper mouth which eliminates fugitive dust release at the point of grab discharge.

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