Dust-free hoppers for clean loading and unloading of fertilizer

Dutch company Breston supplies a wide range of equipment — machines, installations, process lines, conveyor belts, electro technical and hydraulic systems. It also takes care of maintenance for all these products.

In line with today’s emphasis on green handling, Breston has realized two mobile hopper installations for the weighted transshipment of fertilizers and raw materials. Both installations are extremely reliable and have various dust aspiration systems.

 

Breston, producer of conveyor systems, among others, has proven itself more and more in the industry since the 1980s. For example, various complex transport systems have been designed and manufactured for customers across the world, for the storage and transshipment sector. These are installations such as (mobile) shiploaders, verifiable weighing hoppers and loading systems for trucks.

 

A year earlier, Breston received a contract from Stevens Bulk Services (SBS) in Australia to supply an installation capable of buffering, weighing and loading bulk goods unloaded from ships, such as fertilizers and fertilizer raw materials. An important requirement was a reliable continuous process, as ships had to be unloaded at once. together with the customer, Breston went through all options to put together a suitable concept for the two receiving hoppers.

 

After the contract was awarded for the realization of the project, the engineering phase followed. the strict Australian Standard (AS) and the extensive requirements from the customer and port authority were the guidelines during this design.

 

The 270-tonne weighing hoppers, measuring 13.7m x 21.8m x 16.6 m (length x width x height), are designed to withstand all kinds of complex combinations of forces from hurricanes, earthquakes and collisions.

 

In this project, Breston’s strengths in the fields of hoppers, conveyor belts and dust control, have been brought together in these advanced installations. the hoppers each have a discharge grate with a Breston flex flap system and active dust extraction above and below the discharge grate. All dust extraction systems in this project bring the dust back into the product so as not to lose any product. A mobile roof has also been constructed which allows the hopper to be closed when parked or during rain to protect the product from the elements, while still being able to continue loading trucks with the product buffered in the hopper. Due to the corrosive properties of fertilizers and the maritime environment, the installation is equipped with a high-quality C5 coating system.

 

To limit the construction height, the hopper consists of four low quarters. From the four outlets, vibratory feeders bring the product to a collecting belt. This belt is also equipped with a system to prevent dust formation.

A weighing section is included in the collection belt for measuring the amount of skipped product. Via a short connecting conveyor, the product reaches a loading conveyor that can turn in two directions: either to the loading installation for the trucks, or to a dust-proof chute that transfers the product to a quay belt for subsequent transport.

 

 

The truck loading installation is operated from an overhead cabin, combined with light and sounds signalling, ensuring good communication between the driver and the truck driver. the electrical installation is built according to the Form 3B class and is in an insulated container with air conditioning. A compressor is placed in a separate room; this supplies enough compressed air to clean all dust filters according to the set schedules. The receiving hopper is equipped with a spillage deflector that is placed against the ship in a controlled manner to prevent product from falling between shore and ship.

 

These hopper installations were manufactured and built in the Netherlands, after which they were shipped to the customer’s location in Australia for placement. The two hoppers are placed on one pier. The installations have a range of about 200 metres. This makes it possible to position them optimally in relation to the cargo holds of the ships. The hoppers each have a capacity of approximately 420 tonnes per hour. With this project, Breston shows again that the company is capable of achieving ambitious goals.