Product Handling - Phosphate Ore

Application

1 Feed Conveyor to 1 Receiving Conveyor

Objective

• Reduce dust
• Reduce spillage
• Replace warped tail stringer

Transfer Detail

The transfer had about 2.5m of drop height. Both belts run at about 145m/min. and move about 390tonnes/hour of material. The transfer included multiple dust collection and return points.

Challenge

The main concern that the operations team looked to address was the dust generation at the transfer point. The primary cause of the airborne particles was the hard impacts inside the existing transfer and the sand-like nature of the material.
Additionally, when redesigned, the dust collection and return ports needed to be reconnected in a manner that properly collected and returned particulates. The facility also requested the installation of a new rotary valve for their return pipe at a location that could be easily maintained.
While the facility was aware it had tracking issues on its receiving conveyor, during an evaluation of the transfer, it was discovered that the tail frame was warped and not properly secured to the tower. This distortion partially contributed to their spillage problems and introduced unsafe working conditions. It was determined as part of the solution that the receiving conveyor’s tail frame needed to be replaced.

Tasman Warajay Solution

The engineers provided a FlowFirst™ solution, using its Tasman Warajay® Technology to address the facility’s problems. To soften impacts and belt loading, the new transfer point’s component geometry was highly engineered to create a condensed stream that moved material smoothly to the receiving conveyor.
New skirting was installed that properly sealed to the receiving conveyor, keeping any flicking at the load zone over the receiving conveyor, while giving dust space to settle. The transfer upgrade also included a dedicated fines section that directed all of the cleaner belt scrapings down a separate leg than the main material flow, reducing buildup and instances of plugging.
A new tail frame section was supplied to be installed near the load zone. It remounted the existing tail pulley and idlers, while being properly secured to the tower.
Finally, two Tasman Warajay cleaners were installed to properly clean the feed conveyor belt to reduce carryback and the dust generated by it.

Result

Dust, spillage, and carryback have been significantly reduced with the Tasman Warajay FlowFirst™ solution. Additionally, with the receiving conveyor tail frame replacement, the tracking issues were eliminated. The client was also pleased with the new location of the rotary valve, which makes maintenance much quicker and easier.