KRÖGER grabs for coal handling

The Kröger STLBG four-rope grab with enclosed shells is ideally suited for environmentally friendly coal handling.

 

The grabs from KRÖGER have been established for a long time in almost all ports and harbours in Germany, regardless of whether they are at international ports, e.g. in Hamburg, Brunsbüttel and Bremen, or inland harbours such as Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Andernach and Ludwigshafen. Thanks to their technical benefits, KRÖGER grabs are spreading out throughout Europe and worldwide as recent orders from Asia and South America show.

 

Weight-optimized configuration, achieved by special materials and an innovative design provide an improved payload capacity of the grab in coal handling which enhances productivity. With the optional KRÖGER ZERO-maintenance bearing system, time consuming and annoying lubrication procedures become obsolete which again enhances the efficiency of overall transshipment operation.

 

For environmental reasons and in view of legal requirements, it is becoming increasingly important for port companies working in the coal handling sector to reduce emissions. Many handling companies are located in the vicinity of residential areas. As a result, it’s more and more essential to avoid environmental impacts such as dust formation and ground water pollution.

 

Rainer Buessing, Director of Sales and Marketing at Kröger Greifertechnik with many years of experience in loading and shipping practices, provides an overview of the necessary requirements on future-oriented, ecologically responsible coal loading grabs. “Open the grab jaws. Grab the bulk goods. Transship. Things are no longer that simple in harbours and ports”, says Büssing. “Today it implies: Grab the bulk goods. Do not lose any of it. Protect the environment.”

 

What applies to free-flowing bulk goods is required more and more in coal handling, too. In view of eco-friendliness, three parts of the grab are essential: the specially raised grab jaws, the grab edges and the hinge bearings.

 

Let’s start with the eco-friendly grab jaws. While it used to be absolutely common to have open grabs, coal companies are nowadays compelled to protect their conical coal piles against material loss caused by winds getting up over the water and in the harbour. Therefore the grab jaws are raised above the angle of repose which results in an enclosed configuration of the shells. It’s the perfect solution to prevent coal dust from being blown off.

 

In the second place, matters become more complicated during the tight closing of the grab edges as it requires higher effort in terms of structure and design so that the grab jaws are able to operate tightly even under extreme loads and continuous, long-term usage.

 

For 90 % of cargoes — such as coal — tight closing of the grab shells can be achieved by using double Pantanax round-bar steels, both on the bottom scrapers and on lateral blades. The jaws close tightly thanks to the embedded round-bar steel so that a watertight closure is achieved and a loss of material is avoided.

 

In the third place, the protection of the environment from oils, greases and lubricants which might escape from the hinge bearings and get in touch with the ground or water is becoming increasingly important. This issue can be totally avoided by the use of the above mentioned KRÖGER ZERO-maintenance technology. Hence, undesirable follow-up costs are eliminated.

 

“So,” Buessing sums up, “KRÖGER shows that grabs can meet both, economic and ecological requirements in coal handling operation”.

 

Kröger Greifertechnik GmbH & Co. KG is a manufacturer of grabs located in Sonsbeck/Lower Rhine Area in Germany. Its core products include rope, motor-hydraulics and hydraulic grabs. The target markets are, in particular, customers in the sectors of sand and gravel extraction, ports and general bulk handling as well as waste incinerator plants. End-users and distributors at home and abroad are among their customers.