BHS-Sonthofen impactor for Harborlite Aegean
German impact crusher processes Turkish perlite for Spanish and Italian fruit juice industry
HARBORLITE Aegean in Turkey, a subsidiary of Imerys, are now processing two different types of perlite for the fruit juice industry using a BHS-Sonthofen PB 0806 impact crusher – the first time the machine has been used for this purpose. Tests with the material in Sonthofen, Germany, as well as previous experience with BHS machines gave Imerys the confidence to make this unusual choice.
As a world leader in mineral-based specialties for industrial use, Imerys are experts in producing a wide variety of performance materials. In Turkey, their Harborlite Aegean subsidiary processes two types of amorphous volcanic glass, known as perlite, which is extracted from a quarry in Izmir province. The end product is used as a filtration medium by the Italian and Spanish fruit juice industries.
In 2021, one of the crushers in Harborlite Aegean’s plant in Dikili needed replacement. The old Turkish impact mill had reached the end of its service life and could no longer produce the required 35mm grain size, so Imerys decided to contact BHS-Sonthofen, who they knew from a related project.
BHS had recently delivered an RSMX rotor centrifugal crusher to another Imerys plant in Teutschenthal, Germany, to process highly abrasive aluminium oxide. The machine proved to be a reliable choice with low wear costs, and the technology and service from BHS-Sonthofen convinced Imerys that the German manufacturer would be best placed to replace the Turkish perlite crusher too.
After an initial assessment of the requirements, BHS and Harborlite Aegean decided that a PB 0806 impact crusher with an output of 50 tonnes/h would be the ideal choice for the task, even though the BHS machine had never been used in this application before.
The opportunity to thoroughly test the machine’s capabilities at the BHS Test Centre in Sonthofen boosted the team’s confidence. For this purpose, both varieties of the original materials were transported to Germany – one of them a pre-crushed perlite that was to be reduced from 0–90mm to a target size of 0–35mm, and the other a pre-crushed fraction from 0–300mm, also with a target size of 0–35mm.
‘Running tests with original material is a standard procedure here at BHS-Sonthofen,’ explained project manager Hans Traut. ‘With our tests, we make sure the machine is the best choice for the client. The tests also ensure optimal machine configuration for minimal wear and help us to adjust the machine so that the processed minerals match the client’s crushing requirements.’
The tests confirmed the experts’ recommendation, with the impact crusher proving to be a particularly economical solution for the fine crushing of perlite. Its maintenance-friendly design and adjustable gap width offer a key advantage for Harborlite Aegean, ensuring consistent product quality with low-maintenance costs.
The Turkish company successfully installed the machine in late December 2021. Hikmet Bozkurt, plant and mine manager at Harborlite Aegean, said: ‘The impact crusher from BHS-Sonthofen proved to be a perfect fit for our plant and has been running smoothly since production started in January.’
