Situation:
A suburban Sydney building material recycling plant needed to reduce the amount of dust which was being carried by the wind, onto adjoining properties.
Problem:
Existing dust suppression systems were inadequate and unreliable. Existing nozzles were often ineffectively located and produced water droplets which were too big to attract dust particles. Nozzles were often blocked due to inadequate filtration.
Solution:
Plumbing contractor, Jeff Hill Plumbing, recognised that new and innovative dust suppression methods were required. Tecpro Australia’s engineers worked with Jeff Hill Plumbing, suggesting the use of the low flow, CAY cluster nozzles, which produce large quantities of fine water droplets. This proved very effective for dust suppression. The CAY has a built in filter but Tecpro suggested improvements in filtration of the water supply which further enhanced reliability.
The cluster nozzles were deployed at conveyor drop off points and on the primary crusher drop chute. In one application a line of cluster nozzles form a very effective droplet screen. In addition, “Cobra Head” deflection fan nozzles were applied to wash conveyor belts and to wet product where it was practical.
Dust suppression of vehicle movement areas is normally achieved by water carts. Water carts are expensive and can also add to site safety issues. To reduce dependence on water carts, a “Skipper” water canon was deployed. The Skipper can be set to sweep and wet down a selected arc and with a throw length of 35 metres, it only needs to be turned on for very short periods to suppress dust over a large area.
By employing these measures, dust suppression was improved to a standard which well exceeded the site operator’s environmental obligations.
See Also
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