Pneumax Valve Components Offer Mines Environmentally Friendly Dust Management Solutions
Decision-makers in the mining industry are starting to become increasingly aware of changes in legal and environmental pressure around the control of air pollution – which essentially takes the form of dangerous gases and dust. Although it is accepted in industry that regulations take a long time to implement and therefore influence business operations, the important thing to consider is that the legislative process has started and that strategic planning around the control of dust on mines needs to start taking place.
In the past, because of the lack of regulation, controlling dust around mines has been an “optional choice” that many mining operations have avoided because it was viewed as an unnecessary expense. However, this approach is short-sighted and mining houses will have no option but to become better informed about new environmental requirements and get “up-to-speed” on how to best manage dust emissions.
Heathcliff Barnard, Technical Manager at Pneumax, highlights that “the problem of controlling dust during mining operations is increasingly coming under the spotlight as regulations in this regard are currently been fine-tuned by two departments of government”, that is the Department of Environmental Affairs and the Department of Minerals and Energy. Barnard continues, “often attention is focussed on the environmental impacts of acid mine drainage or the lack of rehabilitation of mines because the impact of these types of problems are immediately visible. However, what often gets overlooked is the control of air quality around mines – simply because we can’t see a problem until there is an extreme impact on people in close proximity to a mine. Because the control of dust is currently not regulated in mining, mining operators often take short cuts regarding this type of pollution in order to keep operational costs down. However, there is no doubt that this will change in the near future”.
Raising Awareness Amongst Future Engineers
Knowing that legislation often takes years to be finalised and be applied to industry, it is important to start informing and educating young engineers making their way into the economy about how the control of dust can contribute to greener mining – a subject that is becoming increasingly important throughout the world. An initiative that Pneumax have recently become involved in is the PneuDrive Challenge, a student mechatronic innovation competition which they co-sponsor with SEW Eurodrive. The theme of this year’s competition is “Greener Mining” – which is perfect for highlighting engineering processes and solutions for engineering students not yet familiar with mining.
Understanding How Bag Houses Control Dust Emissions
The control of dust emissions was one of the problem statements put forward in the competition and students are invited to design an application that can successfully address this mining problem. The strategic idea behind this was to start raising awareness amongst South Africa’s future engineers of the need to start designing solutions for this particular problem related to mines. Bag Houses are essentially large filtration boxes, and although uncomplicated on an engineering level, it is the use of the correct components and the engineering processes related to Bag Houses that are critical for the successful control of airborne particles. This is a business and engineering element of mining that students will not be exposed to at university.
It is only by being involved with the problem at site level that students will start to gain and understanding of the various components that make up an effective engineering solution for controlling dust emissions. For example, Bag Houses can be made up of many filtration units that could cover large areas on a mine. However, it is the components that make up the filtration units of Bag Houses that are essential for the effective filtering of dust particles. Two components from Pneumax that are critical to the effectiveness of Bag Houses – the Turbo Pulse Valve and the Optyma Terminal Valve – are not noticeable from ground level, so it is therefore easy for the untrained eye to underestimate how relatively small components could mean the difference between meeting regulations or not.
Barnard believes that the PneuDrive Challenge “offers an important opportunity for students to learn about a relatively uncomplicated solution for controlling dust emissions around the milling or refining of ore – that is, the use of Bag Houses. Hopefully, by engaging young minds around the design and operation of Bag Houses, we can encourage students to come up with a revolutionary way of addressing this very basic mining problem”.
Contact address for editors and readers:
SEW EURODRIVE Marketing Department Rene Rose – General Manager - Communications Phone: (+27 11) 248 7000 rrose [at] sew [dot] co [dot] za pneudrive [at] sew [dot] co [dot] za |
Pneumax Marketing Department Eugene van der Lith – Regional Manager Phone: (+27 11) 573 0902 eugene [at] pneumax [dot] co [dot] za pneudrive [at] pneumax [dot] co [dot] za |