Air keeps the ash flowing
The cement industry emits substantial quantities of carbon dioxide. Because of this, the cement producer Cementa AB has a vision for reaching carbon neutrality by 2030. One method of reducing emissions is to launch new types of cement that replace the carbon-intensive clinker component with fly ash. At Cementa’s plant at Slite on the island of Gotland/Sweden fly ash is transported to two silos via a 120 m long Scirocco II hose from Trelleborg AB, Trelleborg/Sweden. Additional hoses transport the material to the production. The entire fly ash handling facility was installed by the bulk handling solutions company Bulkteknik AB, situated in Lidköping/Sweden.
The Scirocco hoses powder transportation system requires very little energy. In fact, the hoses that transport the fly ash need less electricity than other conveyor types. The substances being transported behave like water and essentially flow under their own power. The powder is mixed with air so that each tiny particle is surrounded by an air bubble, which helps to eradicate friction. “Once the facility has been filled, gravity does the rest,” says Carl Samuelson, Key Account Manager for hoses at Trelleborg Industrial Solutions.
If required, the hoses can be bent around corners and posts without incurring additional rebuilding costs, which is often the case with standard conveyors. Also, since there are no moving parts and low friction minimizes wear, the need for maintenance is minimal.
“The hoses are extremely flexible and easy to install compared with all other types of systems, which can require extremely accurate construction drawings,” says Klas Borg, Project Manager at Bulkteknik. “All we have to do with Scirocco II is to cut it where necessary.” The Scirocco installation at Slite is the largest and longest ever made for Bulkteknik and for Trelleborg.
“We prepared ourselves very carefully and conducted test runs of the hoses for several months, because we had never previously installed such long hoses,” says Borg. “Everything went well and the plant was commissioned at the beginning of April 2013. We have already sold several more solutions that use Scirocco hoses to other customers.”
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