Chute Block Prevention

If you have a problem with sticky material causing chute blockages, Benmarc has the solution. Benmarc’s PACS^® is a cost effective method of keeping your material flowing.

Benmarc SA has installed PACS^® in several large plants in South Africa handling a variety of different materials including coal, iron ore and Kimberlite. After installing PACS^® in one chute, our customers typically come back for more. The results speak for themselves.

Theory of Operation

Benmarc’s patented Pneumatic Accumulation Control System (PACS^®) works on the principle that compressed air can be utilized to remove build-ups of wet, sticky material from the walls of material handling system chutes, bins, and hoppers.  Normal plant compressed air (6 to 8 Bar) has been proven to exert enough energy to remove large accumulations of material when directed along equipment surfaces underneath the accumulations. PACS^® does this automatically, without operator interface, 24 hours per day, without interfering with normal material handling operations.  Loss of material flow due to blockage is virtually eliminated in areas where PACS^® nozzles are correctly positioned.

Safety

PACS^® systems contribute directly to an increase in the safety performance of plant personnel.  Personnel exposure to the hazards of clearing hoppers and pipes is greatly reduced with the proposed system.  Since the clearing of plugged hoppers is a physically exhausting task, eliminating its occurrence will leave operators better prepared to accomplish other tasks.

How They Work

A standard PACS^® system consists of a number of properly positioned PACS^® nozzles and pulse valves, a compressed air receiver and / or compressor, and the necessary electronic controls. A blast of compressed air is delivered sequentially to each nozzle through a quick opening / quick closing pulse valve. Each nozzle directs the air in a 360° pattern along the inside surface of the chute work for a radial distance of approximately 500 mm. The air dislodges and breaks up the layer of material, which is then carried away by gravity or other material flowing through the chute.

The nozzle body assembly is mounted flush with the chute surface. The valve head extends into the material stream. When activated by a blast of compressed air, the valve pops out approximately 3mm. The valve then retracts back to its original position through spring loading.

The PACS^® nozzles use up approximately 15 SCFM of air at 6 to 8 Bar for 0.5 seconds per firing. The system controls are designed to suit customer requirements, from stand-alone to fully integrated systems controlled by the customers Network PLC

Installation

The drawing below shows the major components of a PAC system. It does not show a air compressor which is mandatory for a PAC system. Benmarc can size and provide the air compressor system as well as the PAC system.

The Major components are: 1) air supply shut off/isolation valve 2) air reservoir tank 3) air pressure switch 4) air pressure gauge 5) Isolation valve 6) nozzle isolation valve 7) high pressure flex hose 8) PAC nozzle 9) control timer panel

Not all nozzles fire at same time they fire in a timed sequence reducing the overall air used so many nozzles can be used in a single system

Typical installation at a transfer chute (we have also installed PACs on Webb chutes successfully)

No more plugged chutes means better production number

Benmarc’s AGRISEEL has been developed and continues to be reformulated for better cost/performance over the past 35 years and is presently being used within the agriculture industry.

Studies show that with water only, over 3% moisture addition is required to achieve 80% dust reduction. This equates to wasting a very valuable resource whose cost is increasing greatly, electrical consumption to run pumps also increasing at a rapid pace.

The chemical products supplied by Benmarc have been specifically designed for each application according to individual customer, is environmentally friendly, with components local to South Africa.

AGRISEEL is Benmarc’s long term dust control agent, designed to have a residual effect of the haul road between the vineyards. AGRISEEL combines the properties of BM210E with an added binding agent that essentially binds the dust particles to the larger lumps or rocks, keeps that bond for an extended period of time. AGRISEEL application minimizes water (moisture addition) substantially. Requiring 0.5% water addition, per treated ton of material, dust emissions are reduced over 90% vs water addition of 3% per treated ton clearly reducing dust by 80%.

Primarily used for haul roads between vineyards, the bond remains effective for up to 14 days.

Benmarc’s BM100FE has been developed and continues to be re formulated for better cost/performance over the past 35 years.

This intermediate foam dust suppressant, formulated to eliminate super fine dust at source, and several transfer point downstream. The BM100FE is a surface tension modifying agent that allows effective suppression of all types of super fine material. Most dust types are resistant to water (hydrophobic), water-only suppression remain ineffective at providing the required levels of dust suppression, irrespective of droplet size (misting/fogging).

Benmarc’s BM100FE is presently being used within the manganese mining industry.

Studies show that with water only, over 3% moisture addition is required to achieve 80% dust reduction. This equates to wasting a very valuable resource whose cost is increasing greatly, electrical consumption to run pumps also increasing at a rapid pace.

The chemical products supplied by Benmarc have been specifically designed for each application according to individual customer, is environmentally friendly, with components local to South Africa.

Benmarc chemical product have been developed over 35 years and are still ever-evolving to suit environmental restraints and customer needs. As an environmentally responsible company, all chemicals are 100% environmentally friendly, and bio-degradable to European standards

Without Benmarc treatment, the average application requires approximately 45-65% more water to suppress emissions. However, at this level of moisture addition, the material handling system will experience severe life-shortening, and process halting problems due to mud build-up on conveyor equipment and blockages in transfer chutes.

The chemical products supplied by Benmarc have been specifically designed for each application according to the needs. As of January 2019, all our products were re-engineered and re-formulated, replacing all chemical components with locally-sourced, naturally-derived environmentally-friendly products, while providing an improved level of efficiency in terms of its suppressing and binding capabilities.

A competitive haul-road application that, like all Benmarc chemical products, is environmentally friendly. This chemical is supplied to several customers, although Benmarc is not physically involved in the actual application thereof.

Benmarc’s BM515E has been developed and continues to be re formulated for better cost/performance over the past 35 years.

Benmarc’s BM515E is presently being used within the coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, limestone and diamond mines as well as other mining operations.

Studies show that with water only, over 3% moisture addition is required to achieve 80% dust reduction. This equates to wasting a very valuable resource whose cost is increasing greatly, electrical consumption to run pumps also increasing at a rapid pace.

The chemical products supplied by Benmarc have been specifically designed for each application according to individual customer, is environmentally friendly, with components local to South Africa.

BM515E is Benmarc’s long term dust control agent, designed to have a residual effect of the treated material. BM515E combines the properties of BM210E with an added binding agent that essentially binds the dust particles to the larger lumps or rocks, keeps that bond for an extended period of time. BM515E application minimizes water (moisture addition) substantially. Requiring 0.5% water addition, per treated ton of material, dust emissions are reduced over 90% vs water addition of 3% per treated ton clearly reducing dust by 80%.

Primarily used for multiple transfer and stockpile emission control, including the stacking and reclaiming processes, the bond remains effective for up to 14 days.

Other applications include:

• Stockpile feed conveyor. Point of application is last transfer point / tail end of the staking conveyor, NOT multiple application points, and NOT at the head end;
• Multiple transfer point emission control (with single point application). BM515E is applied at the discharge from a crusher / stockpile, where after multiple transfer points are encountered en-route to the next area of processing. Typically, the material is treated at the primary crusher discharge, covering the dust suppression requirements at that point, as well as subsequent transfer points over extended distances (in some cases in access of 5 km and 5 transfers from treatment point);
• Train load-out and treatment for long distance transport. This application aspect was originally targeted at reducing the emissions during the offloading process at Saldanha – 900km and several days after treatment at the mine, as well as suppressing at the source (during loading of the rail cars). Currently Saldanha receives Iron Ore and Manganese Ore from mines in the Northern Cape. None of the batches treated by Benmarc produces significant emissions during offloading, handling, and stockpiling at Saldanha, while material from other mine are reported to cause major process delays due to excessive dust emissions.

Benmarc’s BM310E has been developed and continues to be re formulated for better cost/performance over the past 35 years. BM310E have been specifically designed for the coal mining industry.

This intermediate dust suppressant, formulated to eliminate dust at source, and several transfer point downstream. The BM310E is a surface tension modifying agent that allows effective suppression of all types of material. Most dust types are resistant to water (hydrophobic), water-only suppression remain ineffective at providing the required levels of dust suppression, irrespective of droplet size (misting/fogging).

Benmarc’s BM310E is presently being used within the coal mining industry.

Studies show that with water only, over 3% moisture addition is required to achieve 80% dust reduction. This equates to wasting a very valuable resource whose cost is increasing greatly, electrical consumption to run pumps also increasing at a rapid pace.

The chemical products supplied by Benmarc have been specifically designed for each application according to individual customer, is environmentally friendly, with components local to South Africa.

Coal application points include:

• Truck tip
• Truck tip reception bin, apron feeder feeding surface crusher
• Surface crusher
• Secondary crusher & tertiary crusher outlets
• Rotating rail tip, conveyor transfer points etc.

Benmarc’s BM210E has been developed and continues to be re formulated for better cost/performance over the past 35 years.

This intermediate dust suppressant, formulated to eliminate dust at source, and several transfer point downstream. The BM210E is a surface tension modifying agent that allows effective suppression of all types of material. Most dust types are resistant to water (hydrophobic), water-only suppression remain ineffective at providing the required levels of dust suppression, irrespective of droplet size (misting/fogging).

Benmarc’s BM210E is presently being used within the iron ore, manganese, nickel, and diamond mines as well as other mining operations.

Studies show that with water only, over 3% moisture addition is required to achieve 80% dust reduction. This equates to wasting a very valuable resource whose cost is increasing greatly, electrical consumption to run pumps also increasing at a rapid pace.

The chemical products supplied by Benmarc have been specifically designed for each application according to individual customer, is environmentally friendly, with components local to South Africa.

Application points include:

• Truck tip
• Truck tip reception bin, apron feeder feeding surface crusher
• Surface crusher
• Secondary crusher & tertiary crusher outlets
• Rotating rail tip, conveyor transfer points etc