At bauma in Munich BEUMER Group provided information on their system solutions expertise for the mining and raw materials industries and port handling. The portfolio includes curved belt conveyors, blending bed systems as well as ship loaders. Andrea Prevedello explains in the interview how users can benefit from BEUMER Group as a partner and which trends they can expect. Andrea Prevedello is Global Sales Director CL Systems of BEUMER Group.

 Mr Prevedello, at bauma you provided information on overland conveyors and Pipe Conveyors. Can you tell us a bit more about a current project?

Andrea Prevedello: What immediately comes to my mind is this very exciting project in the Belgian town of Flémalle. A coal-fired power plant was operated here in the past. The coal residues are landfilled on a fly ash stockpile. We installed a Pipe Conveyor to transport the fly ash to the Maas river for shipment. Its enclosed design prevents the volatile material from coming into contact with the environment and enables a low-noise transport to the destination. This was very important as the system runs over public motorways, railways and residential areas. The transport of the fly ash is carried out in strict compliance with safety standards, taking into consideration environmental protection and the effect of noise pollution on the local residents. It is planned to dissipate the entire stockpile within the next ten years, and repurpose the terrain into a nature park.

What were the challenges during this project, for example with regard to the installation of the system?

 Andrea Prevedello: The installation presented itself as quite a challenge, in this picturesque, but also quite hilly environment and as the Pipe Conveyor runs over roads, rails and residential areas we had to comply with public regulations. We set up three teams. We needed a safe conveying system design, that would prevent any environmental impact and noise pollution during the bulk material transport. In the first team employees of the local authorities worked in close cooperation with our experts. The second team was made up of ten BEUMER Group employees that assembled the system. Special cranes and helicopters were used for the assembly work. We assigned the third team for this: the Heliswiss International AG from Küssnacht, Switzerland. They provide transport and construction flights with heavy lift helicopters. Extremely precise flight manoeuvres were necessary so that the technicians could safely assemble the elements suspended from the helicopter to the steel structure. The pilots had to guide the components exactly to the bore holes of the connecting piece so that team II could then bolt them together. The BEUMER Group employees were working on platforms attached to cranes in heights of up to 45 metres. It was quite a sight!

How can you ensure that the customers always receive the best solution that allows them to remain sustainably competitive?

 Andrea Prevedello: An essential feature of our transport solutions is that they enable horizontal and vertical curves. This permits us to adapt the sections to the optimum route and we dont’t have to use straight line sections to build around obstacles. Angles of inclination of up to 15 degrees are possible, depending on the characteristics of the material to be transported and the topography, with lengths of more than twelve kilometres. Due to the ability to navigate curves, considerably fewer and in some cases no transfer towers are required. The customer gets an ideal solution which allows for substantial cost savings and the system continuously transports the material even over challenging ascending sections and downward slopes – this was a great advantage especially in Flémalle. Using BEUMER calculation programs, we precisely calculate the static and dynamic tractive forces of the belt during the development phase. This is the prerequisite for the safe dimensioning of the curves. BEUMER Group selects the required types of drive technology and conveyor belts based on these calculations. This ensures longevity of the entire system.

Would there also have been alternative possibilities for this task, using trucks for example?

Andrea Prevedello: Mine operators and manufacturers of cement and building materials often rely on trucks for the transport bulk material, even over long distances. These vehicles certainly also have their justification. However, depending on the terrain, they can rapidly reach their limits: they require well-developed roads and fuel, for example and the costs for the construction, maintenance and possible extensions are significant. The ecological aspect needs to be considered as well: new roads and access roads have a serious impact on the landscape. And this was to be avoided especially in the area around Liège with small villages along the Maas river as well as forests and unique landscapes. In addition, there are the emissions caused by truck traffic, which includes toxic substances as well as noise and dust.

Our belt conveyors are provided with environmentally safe electric drives and low-energy belts. The installed motors are mostly adjustable which permits the loads to be optimally distributed on the drive units under various operating conditions. If the belt conveying system conveys downhill, the system works in generative operation. The generated electric energy is fed back into the public network by a regenerative feedback unit. Depending on the project, our belt conveying systems require up to 90 percent less primary energy than comparable truck transports. Users often reduce their operating costs by several million euros per year. If you do not know which solution to choose, a cost comparison will help.

 As a system provider you also have stockpile equipment in your portfolio. What does the scope of supply look like, how do you support the operators?

 Andrea Prevedello: For this stockpile equipment, we offer the full range of stackers and scraper reclaimers. These can cover different functions as for example simple storage or mixing of the bulk material, and ensure a maximum mixing effect. Users can also efficiently homogenise different bulk material qualities which ensures the uniformity of the raw materials used. My colleagues carry out the entire engineering of the system. They calculate the storage dimensions and provide the design and static calculations of the associated storehouses. The blending beds are customised according to the requirements. BEUMER proposes either longitudinal or circular stockpile designs. The recommended design shape results from the spatial conditions and the amount of the material to be stored. Additionally, BEUMER provides material-specific detailed solutions with robust and low-wear equipment. The environmental impacts are also very low as minimal noise and dust occurs during operation.

 In what industries are your solutions needed?

 Andrea Prevedello: This can vary a lot, because our system solutions are used wherever you need to transport large quantities of bulk material. This is particularly true for the ore and raw materials industry, but also applies to applications beyond these traditional sectors, such as the transport of cereals. In ports, for example, we ensure that different materials are efficiently loaded onto ships.

 What is particularly important when it comes to these loading systems?

 Andrea Prevedello: The mobile and swivel-mounted ship loaders have a telescopic chute and a throw-off belt conveyor to make loading as efficient and flexible as possible. The ship loader is also equipped with a dedusting unit which keeps the process emission-free. We also offer bulk loading heads which are used to load bulk materials into silo vehicles quickly and without dust. Special fill level indicators are used, tailored to the bulk density, flow characteristics and temperature of the loaded cargo.

Due to rising living standards, especially in emerging countries and the expansion of key and future technologies, there is a growing demand for most raw materials. How will this development affect plant construction in general?

Andrea Prevedello: The prices for raw materials such as iron ore and copper are rising rapidly. This is why we notice that a lot of companies are willing to invest. In order to cover the increasing demand, there is an overall trend towards larger tonnages and throughputs since larger manufacturing facilities are more efficient. Many users don’t want to set up several parallel systems, but want to cover their entire requirements with one line or a minimum number of lines. This trend has a considerable impact on how we develop our systems.

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In Wallonia, the southern part of Belgium, the BEUMER Group Pipe Conveyor transports fly ash quietly and dust-free, passing through motorways, railways, residential areas and steep rocks without leaving a trace.

 In the past, a coal-fired power plant was once in operation in the Belgian town of Flémalle. The coal residues are landfilled on a fly ash stockpile. Now, the stockpile is to be entirely emptied and the terrain transformed into a nature park. A BEUMER Group Pipe Conveyor is being used to transport the fly ash to the Maas river for shipment. The system has not only been adapted to operate along the steep mountains, but its enclosed design prevents the volatile material from coming into contact with the environment, while enabling a low-noise transport to the destination. This is important as the Pipe Conveyor passes over public motorways, railways and residential areas. This extraordinary project is characterised by the cooperation of the BEUMER Group team with the customer Tractebel Engineering (Group ENGIE). The transport of the fly ash is carried out in strict compliance with safety standards, taking into consideration environmental protection and the effect noise pollution has on the local residents.

 The neighbourhood around the Belgian town of Liège is calm and picturesque with small villages along the Maas. The forests and landscapes are partly untouched and present a unique fauna and flora. Industrialisation started very early in the region of Wallonia, as coal was available in abundance. Even though the mines were closed years ago, there are still residues of slates and stones or bottom ash. For example in Flémalle, less than 20 km away from Liège: for approximately 50 years there are about two million cubic metres of the mentioned materials in a fly ash stockpile within proximity of the once largest coal-fired power plant. The stockpile is indeed surrounded by a wall, but according to a study, in the long run, it will represent a major threat for the local residents as it is displaced every year by several millimetres. In addition, the fly ash is an important additive in the manufacture of cement and concrete. It must be prepared to remove foreign substances such as wood or metal and to limit the grain size to 70 millimetres for the cement industry. In a project that is the only one of its kind in Europe, the Belgian power supplier Elektrabel commissioned its subsidiary Tractebel Engineering (ENGIE) to dimension and install a processing plant. The company offers engineering and consulting solutions for the energy and nuclear energy sector as well as for industry and infrastructure. It is planned to dissipate the complete stockpile in the next ten years, and to transform the terrain into a nature park, which will be developed according to the wishes of the local residents and authorities.

Pipe Conveyor: the economical alternative

Until then, the bulk material has to be transported to the Maas that is approx. two kilometres away (bee-line). However the terrain is very mountainous. The use of trucks would imply driving on public roads for long distances. This would have caused detours, slowed down transport times and raised costs. In addition, the environment would be harmed by exhaust gases, dust and noise. The project lead opted for the BEUMER Group Pipe Conveyor as economical alternative.

“To be able to support companies like Tractebel Engineering with turnkey solutions, we have bundled our comprehensive expertise worldwide spanning various industries and established different Centres of Competence”, says Vincent Ferlay, Managing Director BEUMER Group France. “It includes also our Pipe Conveyor. This international team of BEUMER Group bundles the know-how and supports the Sales Department and the Project Management. With Tractebel ENGIE we have developed a solution adapted to the special routing and the ambient conditions”, explains Ferlay.

Dust-free conveying

The system supplier provided a conveying system with a centre distance of 1,800 meters. “Due to the system design and the required system capacity, we have designed the Pipe Conveyor with a diameter of 260 mm,” explains Ferlay. The conveyor transports 300 tons of fly ash per hour at a speed of 2.3 meters per second. Most importantly though: the enclosed transport of this machine protects the environment from the dry and dusty material. This was an important requirement for the construction of this solution to be approved in the first place. “The project planning absolutely had to guarantee a safe transportation of the material,” reports Ferlay. “The fly ash had to be prevented from exiting or falling on the ground, even in the smallest quantities”, since the route passes public motorways, railways and residential areas. The noise emission played an important role too. “We had to minimise the noise to an extremely low level,” he describes. The BEUMER Group team developed special sound-absorbing elements that were also used to enclose the Pipe Conveyor bridges. “Along certain line sections, the noise level had to be kept under 35 dB(A),” says Ferlay. This is also possible with special sound insulation, idlers and low-noise bearings.

The Pipe Conveyor transports fly ash across the open environment, navigates large inclines reliably and can be designed to accommodate tight curve radii. This is why only a few transfer towers are required, depending on the length of the conveyor, the terrain conditions and the curves. BEUMER Group can customise the conveying system to match the individual routing, thus protecting the environment and reducing the costs. The system supports are up to ten meters high. Durable conveyor belts guaranteeing tensile strength are used. BEUMER Group makes use of own dimensioning programs to determine the ideal belt design, thus enabling to analyse tractive forces but also forces which occur due to acceleration and deceleration – always taking into account the net weight of the belt and the transported material. This method also lets you calculate possible curve radii.”This is particularly important for ascending and descending conveyors,” describes Ferlay. For these types of projects, BEUMER Group also offers feasibility studies and profitability calculations. The colour scheme was selected so that the system blends in well with the environment.

Efficient ship loading

The system supplier provided the turnkey system and all of the necessary components such as filters, strippers and dedusting units. The system provider also provided the engineering, automation and the steel structure, as well as loading systems: excavators load the material into hoppers and on vibrating feeders. From there it is transported to the feeding area of the Pipe Conveyor. BEUMER Group installed a ship loader at the end of the conveyor line. It consists of a fixed boom with an extendable telescopic belt conveyor. This way the ships are loaded efficiently. The ship loader is also equipped with a dedusting unit which keeps the process emission-free. Every day, 2,000 tons of fly ash are loaded on a ship and from there transported to a cement plant.

Photo credits: BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG

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Cement is the most commonly used building material worldwide and is continuously growing. Cement manufacturers are however faced with challenges: complying with ever stricter environmental regulations, in an industry with some of the highest carbon dioxide emissions. They are also faced with permanently increasing cost pressures due to excess capacities, especially from China. Many countries therefore import the material, instead of producing it. BEUMER Group supports cement manufacturers with systems and machines that are adapted to the market, increasing the efficiency of their systems and their competitiveness.

As the saying goes in the building industry: “Somewhere someone is always building something”. Whether it is in North America, Asia or Africa: large infrastructure projects require more and more material for buildings, streets, airports, bridges or dams. Since 1990, global cement production has almost quadrupled. About 4.17 million tons were produced worldwide in 2016. This growth is mainly coming from the development of the Asian markets, especially China. Despite growing cement sales, cement manufacturers worldwide face production overcapacities that have been built up during recent years especially in China. This decreases global cement and clinker prices. Due to these overcapacities, some countries focused more on the export of cement and clinker, an intermediate product when producing cement. At the same time, an increasing number of countries decide to import cement or clinker, instead of producing it domestically. In 2016, more than 150 countries imported cement and clinker.

One of these countries is Australia. Brisbane for example, the metropolis on the Pacific coast, is one of the fastest growing cities on the continent. Its population of about 2 million inhabitants is expected to double by 2056. Construction sites all over the city centre are witness to this progress. Skyscrapers are springing like mushrooms. Due to their strict environmental regulations and price pressures, Australia imports an increasing part of their demand for cement and especially clinker. The clinker is imported and then ground down to cement in Australia. The imported materials are coming from multiple countries including Indonesia, China and Vietnam. The cement and clinker imports are increasingly replacing the local production. In 2016, the utilisation of the domestic cement production capacities was only at around 57 percent.

Reduce environmental impacts, increase energy efficiency

When producing cement large quantities of carbon dioxide is emitted worldwide. These emissions occur during various processes, but the majority comes from emitting the CO₂ from the limestone used to produce cement clinker.

Depending on the processes used, the carbon dioxide emissions from producing cement are at 0.6 – 0.99 t of CO₂ per ton of cement. The CO₂ emissions from producing cement are estimated to account for seven to eight percent of the overall global carbon dioxide emissions. Manufacturers can reduce these large quantities for example by partially substituting the cement clinker with alternative materials such as fly ash, clay or granulated blast-furnace slag.

Another approach to sustainably reduce greenhouse gas emissions and production costs is to increase the use of alternative fuels for the cement production. The alternative fuels are used as sources of energy instead of fossil fuels like coal and gas. Besides liquid materials like waste oil or solvents, the majority of the solid alternative fuels are composed of municipal and industrial waste, such as plastic, paper, composite material or textile mixes. Whole or shredded waste tyres are also used and made up 6 % of the alternative fuels used in Germany for the production of cement in 2016. The calorific value of the rubber from waste tyres is comparable to that from hard coal, and the iron from the reinforcement can be incorporated mineralogically into the cement. This minimises the addition of ferrous corrective substances.

Systems adapted to the production

As a system supplier, BEUMER Group develops tailor-made solutions perfectly adapted to meet cement plant requirements: conveying systems such as troughed belt conveyors and pipe conveyors, different bucket elevator types and clinker transport systems, loading systems and complete packaging lines. BEUMER Group provides these solutions throughout the entire material flow chain from unloading the delivery vehicle to storing, taking samples, conveying and control feeding solid alternative fuels. BEUMER Group also provides fully automated systems that can control feed, singulate and convey large and heavy tyres to the inlet of the rotary kiln. BEUMER Group provides innovative intralogistic solutions to international cement companies who are looking for sustainable and cost-efficient ways to modernise their plants.

Aalborg Portland A/S relies on these solutions for example. BEUMER Group provided a complete solution so the cement manufacturer can recover energy from different types of waste at its plant in Denmark. Different types of alternative fuels are used in the calciner and in the main burner. These fuels are made of varying compositions and are efficiently stored, conveyed and fed. The customer received all equipment from one source, thus having only one contact.

The oven-ready alternative fuels are delivered in moving-floor trailers. They are unloaded and then temporarily stored at the receiving station. Both lines receive the transported material from the storehouse via the moving floors that have been modernised by BEUMER Group. To enable the transport of the pre-processed fuels from the storehouse to the calciner and to the main burner, BEUMER Group supplied and installed one Pipe Conveyor as the heart of this system. Using the Pipe Conveyor to transport the fuels is quiet and low-maintenance; and the enclosed system is also emission-free and energy-efficient. The enclosed construction prevents material from falling and dust and odours from escaping into the environment. With an ability to navigate curves, the Pipe Conveyor requires considerably less transfer points compared to other belt conveyors. This allows for substantial capital cost savings for the customer and BEUMER Group can customise the system to the individual routing.

Transport – low on energy and environmentally friendly

The BEUMER Group belt conveyors, Pipe Conveyors and open troughed belt conveyors, are particularly suited for transporting bulk material through rough terrain. The overland conveyors come with horizontal and vertical curves, depending on the topography, and can be over 10 kilometres long. Angles of inclination of up to 15 degrees are possible, depending on the characteristics of the material to be transported. The throughput capacity of BEUMER Group conveying systems can be up to 10,000 tons per hour.

Trucks are still frequently used for greater distances. Depending on the nature of the terrain, however, they can rapidly reach their limits as they require well-developed roads and fuel, for example. The costs arising for construction, maintenance and possible extension of these roads are not insignificant. In addition, all of this implies serious landscape changes. The emissions caused by truck traffic are high, both with regard to toxic substances and to noise and dust.

The BEUMER Group belt conveyors are provided with environmentally safe electric drives and low-energy belts. Therefore, especially in times of climate change and increasing greenhouse gas emissions they are considered a ‘preferred option’. The motors – which, depending on the topography are run in motor-driven and regeneration mode – are mostly adjustable. This permits an optimum load distribution on the drive unit in different operating conditions. If the belt conveying system conveys downhill, the system works in generative operation. The generated electric energy is fed back into the public network by a regenerative feedback unit. This way the operating costs of the complete system can be further reduced.

Straight up

BEUMER Group provides different types of bucket elevators with low investment costs, a long service life and easy maintenance to ensure a cost-efficient production. The buckets are mounted either to a belt or a central chain, depending on the application. Thanks to consistent developments in the field of vertical conveying technology, BEUMER Group can provide each customer with the perfect solution, whether with belt or chain bucket elevators.

Until recently, the use of belt bucket elevators was generally limited to transporting fine bulk material, because there was a risk on the older models that coarse-grained bulk material could get stuck between the bucket and the belt and damage the belt. Through the consistent advancement of their belt bucket elevators, BEUMER Group developed the innovative high-capacity belt bucket elevator type HD (heavy duty), that makes it now possible to also efficiently transport coarse-grained material such as clinker. This bucket elevator designed to eliminate the space between the individual buckets and the belt. This prevents coarse material from getting stuck during the scooping and filling process and from damaging the belt. At the same time, it holds the same proven advantages of belt-based bucket elevators for the customer, such as the very high conveying capacity, prolonged service life of the belt and less noise generation. BEUMER is also well-positioned in the field of chain-based bucket elevators and its central chain bucket elevators offer highly-efficient technology for the vertical transport of coarse, hot or abrasive bulk material.

PACKAGING FOR SAFE TRANSPORT

Until the final completion of cement in the silo, the greatest part of the costs is associated with the transport. Cement is transported in bulk and in bags. The majority of cement worldwide is loaded in bulk via terminals on road and rail vehicles or on ships. Another not insignificant part of the material is transported bagged, palletised and packaged and then transported to the customer, often over large distances. For this BEUMER Group provides entire packaging lines. They consist of the BEUMER fillpac R which operates according to the impeller filling principle. The weighing electronics make it unique. The product is filled according to the gross weight principle, i.e. the bags are weighed during the filling process. The weighing electronics of the system ensure exact filling degrees of the bags. The system is complemented by the BEUMER bag placer and a state-of-the-art ream magazine. The fully automatic BEUMER paletpac layer palletisers then stack the bags reliably with a capacity of 5,500 bags per hour. The systems can be equipped with a twin-belt turning device, so the bags can be turned to the required position fast, gently and without affecting their dimensions. Its intelligent control involves the dimensions and weights of the bags in order to achieve an exact positioning preset by the respective packing pattern. The finished bag stacks are then transported over roller conveyors to the BEUMER stretch hood A packaging system.

Loading and palletising in one

To further reduce the costs, the trend goes towards higher degrees of automation in the fields of packaging and loading, also on emerging markets like India for example. The goal is to reduce personnel, especially in emerging countries, where the transhipment of bagged bulk goods is increasing and labour costs are climbing. In order to fully automatically load the bagged bulk material on trucks, BEUMER Group offers the loading and palletising system BEUMER autopac, that can load up to 3000 bags per hour without any problems. The machine simultaneously loads and stacks bagged goods directly on trucks, pallets are not necessary. This system makes the loading of bags on trucks particularly efficient and cost-effective.  Using the BEUMER autopac can help save labour during the otherwise labour-intensive loading of cement bags. BEUMER products are also suitable for loading waggons and ships. BEUMER Group machines and systems help cement manufacturers worldwide to produce efficiently despite increasing cost pressure and strict environmental regulations.

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