AirScrape plus DustScrape in the gypsum and cement industry
From dust till none: Rich in ideas and low in dust
How an innovative skirting performs extremely clean work at conveyor transfer points
A typical problem in gypsum and cement production and a real cost factor: At most transfer points, material spillage and dust generation as well as the wear and tear of conventional sealing solutions cause additional work and long-term additional costs. A simple and effective innovation provide an uncomplicated remedy. With the contactless skirting AirScrape®, the developers at ScrapeTec offer a perfect solution that is convincing more and more customers in practice. The company Rump & Salzmann Gipswerk Uehrde GmbH & Co KG with its dolomite quarry in Uehrde has been one of these customers from the very beginning.
Scenario: Transfer from rotor crusher to belt. Uwe Schridde, Operations Manager at Rump & Salzmann in Uehrde, describes the situation at the time as follows: "Especially at this transfer point, we had to struggle regularly with problems relating to dust and material loss. There were material spills in the ton range. The spilled material then had to be removed again at great effort. As a result of this and the dust generation, costly and time-consuming cleaning work was necessary. In addition, there was frequent maintenance work on the seals at the transfer point. And we simply accepted the wear on the conveyor belts caused by the friction of the sealing solutions at the time. Until then, we knew of no other option."
A special kind of sealing
In 2013 there was the first contact to the company ScrapeTec Trading GmbH from Kamp-Lintfort. Owner Wilfried Dünnwald had developed the skirting system AirScrape® on the basis of his decades of mining experience. The principle: The skirting uses the air flow generated by the belt movement. It is mounted at the side of the transfer point with an air gap of approx. 1-2 mm above the belt. The AirScrape is fitted with lamellas that create a Venturi effect, i.e. an air suction from the outside to the inside. Dust or fine material cannot escape. Another advantage is the special arrangement of the lamellas: Coarse material is pushed back into the middle of the belt. Material spills, as they occurred in the past at the named transfer point, can thus be completely avoided. ScrapeTec integrated the AirScrape solution into the transfer point from Rump & Salzmann and the result convinced those responsible on the customer side from the first test run onwards.
More workflow, lower costs
Even in the long term, Rump & Salzmann could only recognize the advantages of using the AirScrape skirting: The usual spills were avoided and with them the extensive cleaning work, which also took up valuable time and represented costs. Maintenance work on the side seals was also a thing of the past with the AirScrape because the system is absolutely maintenance-free. This means that the conveyor belts do not have to come to a standstill during the maintenance work, as would otherwise be the case. In the meantime, the AirScrape skirting has been in use for 7 years at Rump & Salzmann in Uehrde, where an important advantage has become apparent. Due to the principle of the AirScrape, absolutely contactless operation is possible. There is no friction between skirting and belt. This increases the service life of the conveyor belts used with AirScrape many times over and minimizes the high investment costs for new belts. Furthermore, only undamaged belts without grooves can be effectively cleaned by scrapers and the reduction of dust through the use of the AirScrape increases the service life of all system components, including, for example, the belt pulleys. Overall, the AirScrape’s mode of operation also decreases energy costs of conveyor systems. The lack of friction automatically reduces the energy requirement. And that permanently.
Adding all the actual costs mentioned, such as material spillage, cleaning, maintenance, belt downtime, belt replacement and energy costs, would give you a size to compare with the investment in the AirScrape skirting system. This cost-benefit advantage has now convinced many companies, whether in cement and gypsum production or in other industries. The references of ScrapeTec Trading GmbH include names such as Knauff, K+S, Holcim and Saint Gobain. The AirScrape is now used at transfer points all over the world and proves its efficiency even under the harshest climatic conditions.
Reliable from day 1 until today
The AirScrape solution used by Rump & Salzmann in Uehrde at the transfer point is still in reliable use today. The dust generation there has now been reduced to nothing. Since 2016, ScrapeTec Trading GmbH has been offering the "DustScrape" solution in addition to the "AirScrape®" - a robust transfer cover made of highly resilient filter cloth material. The air passes through and the dust is retained. This interaction also supported Rump & Salzmann’s decision to equip further transfer points with solutions from ScrapeTec.
Focus on transfer points
"It makes me a little proud that a product I developed has been in daily use at Rump & Salzmann for so many years now and still keeps what we promised back then," says developer Wilfried Dünnwald, who founded ScrapeTec Trading GmbH in 2013. "The patented AirScrape® was, so to speak, our first baby. All the products that followed always arose from the needs that we discovered during our work or that our customers expressed. It is exciting to always be able to find a solution. In the meantime, we have discovered that you can get more out of transfer points than you used to think. As an engineer and miner, I am of course primarily interested in the technical side. But meanwhile our products also convince those responsible for controlling, occupational health and safety. That makes me happy and keeps me motivated".
Sustainable clean work
The immense reduction of dust by the AirScrape is not only an economic factor, but also an important factor for operational safety and health as well as for environmental protection. The company Masanes in Spain, for example, was able to radically reduce dust generation through the use of AirScrape - and thus also the downtimes of employees who had previously been exposed to massive dust developments. As far as environmental protection is concerned, dust reduction reduces overall emissions, extraction systems consume less energy and can be used more efficiently. Finally, minimizing the wear and tear of plant components conserves resources in the long term.
