Cleveland Cascade chute, loading alumina at 1,200tph.
Cleveland Cascades Ltd. of the UK has refined and improved its Cascade chute system over a period of almost three decades now. But the original principle of material control in mass flow to minimize dust emissions remains the same.
The Cascade chute is arguably the world’s foremost loading chute when it comes to dust emissions performance, and this performance is generated by loading bulk materials — ranging from fine powders such as alumina and phosphate, to granular materials such as urea, sulphur and potash, up to large lump materials such as clinker, limestone, coke and coal — all with a principle of mass flow. Mass flow is the transfer, flow of a material as a single mass, and occurs by gently flowing material in high volume, but low velocity through a controlled and supported pathway.
Loading grains at 2,000tph.
Loading bulk materials in this way, prevents the particles from separating and becoming air liberated as dust. It also minimizes acceleration, and thus impacting forces as the material flows within the chute, and then upon exiting the chute to a forming pile. This means as well as minimized dust emissions, product degradation is also minimized and internal chute wear is controlled.
Cleveland Cascades Ltd has created a range of Cascade chute sizes, each with a different volume loading rate range for which it can be effectively applied. The Cascade chutes are now offered for handling bulk materials in volume loading rates ranging from 50 cubic meters per hour, up to 7,000 cubic meters per hour, and Cleveland Cascades Ltd. uses 15 different chute sizes to cover this vast range of rates. In addition to a large range of loading rates, Cleveland Cascades has also developed its system to cover a large range of extended lengths, with the longest Cascade chutes now being over 40 metres in extended length.
Loading soda ash, with the shroud cover down, clearly showing the mass flow principle.
Since its initial development and use in 1992, Cleveland Cascades Limited has delivered almost 800 systems around the world for loading a variety of bulk materials in a number of different applications. The Cascade chutes are used for open wagon & railcar loading, open stockpiling and storage building/silo loading — however the primary application is open vessel loading, shiploading. Due the outdoor application, and typical coastal locations with high winds, open vessel loading with shiploaders can be troublesome in terms of keeping emissions levels down. The Cascade chute offers the cleanest possible method for open shiploading, and essentially a totally clean loading process.
For any given loading application, regardless of bulk material handled, environment or climate, Cleveland Cascades has the appropriate experience to deliver the best possible solution.
Cleveland Cascades supports each of its chutes supplied with original spares parts through a dedicated after-sales department, as well as continuous technical support and on site services using highly trained engineers.