Efficient processes rely on a predominantly dust-free environment in industrial minerals processing plants. By containing and reducing the ingress of dust, companies experience higher levels of productivity and lower levels of maintenance and downtime. Many such facilities have realised the benefits of installing high speed fold-up or roll-up traffic doors from Apex Strip Curtains & Doors.
In a particular application at a cement production plant, the installation of high speed doors provided the optimal solution in reducing dust deposits. Wim Dessing, sales executive at Apex Strip Curtains & Doors explains that the cement plant was experiencing an issue with the dust deposited by the incoming coal deliveries.
“A rail line runs alongside the plant and when the coal tipper stops at the siding to offload coal, a large amount of dust was filtering into the surrounding atmosphere. This dust was then carried by the air currents into the plant, Dessing says. Coal dust is very abrasive and ensuing problems included the unwanted coal dust causing damage to equipment resulting in increased unplanned stoppages with negative effects on product integrity and quality.
The locality and operation called for doors that would offer wind-resistance and that would effectively contain the dust. The solution provided was the installation of two Apex high speed fold-up Traffic doors. These are constructed from strong self-extinguishing Class 2 fabric, and in this instance the doors are 4.7 metres high, with a combined width of 5.5 metres.
In another application, it was necessary to facilitate access into the product processing area while still preventing the ingress of contaminants from outside. At this customer, materials handling equipment needs to occasionally move in and out, and the installation of Apex high speed doors has facilitated the process but still allowed the doorway to remain closed for most of the time.
High speed traffic doors are the perfect option where doors need to be opened for short periods of time to allow the passage of vehicles. The doors in this particular application are activated by a manually operated push button, allowing fast and easy entrance and exit of the coal tippers.
Dessing says that not only have the Apex Traffic doors contributed to a cleaner working environment at the plant, but they do not in any way interfere in the coal offloading process. The doors were seamlessly integrated into the tipper offloading area and to date they have operated faultlessly and have met the required client expectations.
