Situation:
Centennial Coal’s Mandalong mine produces 5.5 million tonnes of coal each year from its underground Newcastle coal fields. Coal production typically produces a lot of dust creating a health hazard for mine operators.
Problem:
At the point where the coal drops from the crusher into the underground bin, a substantial amount of dust was being generated causing Centennial Coal problems. Centennial Coal had tried a number of different approaches to remedy the dust problems however none were as effective as they had hoped.
Solution:
After consulting with Wollongong University, who produced CFD modelling of the airflow around the bin and crusher, Tecpro was contracted to design a custom crusher dust suppression system and ROM bin dust suppression system.
Results:
Following installation of the dust suppression systems, Coal Services Health measured the impact of the systems, but unfortunately at the time of testing only half of the spray nozzles were in operation. Nevertheless respirable dust emissions had been reduced by 68% and with all spray operating, expectations for excess of 90% reduction.
