Kingfisher awarded yearly inspection project for UK’s largest bulk terminal

Inefficiency relates to the handling of abrasive and non-flowing bulk material which causes premature wear to expensive capital plant and equipment.

As material is processed through a number of transportation points being handled, stored and conveyed an example of a typical issue is prevalent in a UK integrated steel works where they handle Norwegian iron ore which is renowned for its high moisture content and as the material is conveyed through equipment such as transfer chutes, hoppers and stacker reclaimers it tends to build up, resulting in blockages within equipment thus restricting material from flowing through the process.

Apart from physical properties of materials, other factors also contribute to the on-going problem, such as weather conditions and portside contamination. As product is transported through different forms and modes of transport, it is left exposed to factors beyond operators and handlers control resulting in the need to factor in mechanical aids to assist product flow and the requirement to remove contaminated products.

To protect against such issues, bulk handlers implement specific design measures from the initial build of the plant or equipment along with implementing repair and maintenance regimes during annual plant shut downs.

Referring to a project which was recently awarded to Kingfisher, which involved an annual refurbishment project for UK’s largest bulk handling ports. The inspection comprises of a thorough site inspection and examination of equipment used within different points of the plant including transfer chutes, hoppers, chain conveyors and storage silos.

One such example of note is associated to the Humber International Terminal (2) which was commissioned in 2006 and Kingfisher have been active on this site since 2007. Kingfisher have provided both on-site activities and in-house built equipment encompassing combinations of their range of ceramic, metallic and polymer lining systems that protect against the abrasive effect of the product handled and assist with the flow and discharge of product through transfer and storage equipment.

HIT2 was commissioned in 2006. Kingfisher began to re-line chutes and various transfer points in 2007, by replacing the existing lining system with their own specification as the original lining system started to fail after 9 months, whereas Kingfisher say that installing their lining system will provide a minimum of 10 years life.

As the vast majority of transfer points within the plant are now protected with the 92P K-ALOX alumina ceramic wear resistant lining system the customer sees the benefit of utilising specialised companies with proven abilities of implementing positive change for the long term objective of the plant being ‘trouble free operation’.

The relationship has evolved over many years and Mark Bond, Kingfisher's project manager, commented after a recent inspection: 'Throughout the years Kingfisher have carried out equipment replacement and maintenance for our client as and when inspections have deemed necessary and as we have now been awarded this annual inspection we are able to provide our customer with on-going suitable and cost effective solutions throughout the year resulting in minimal breakdown or cleaning activities which were a constant thorn in our customers side resulting in expensive shutdown, repair and demurrage costs.

'Due to the level of service and the quality of work completed throughout the years the project was automatically awarded to us based on the annual service provision we offer which eliminates some of the requirement for plant engineers to deal with ad-hoc equipment maintenance, annual inspection, report submission, outlining plant conditions, supplier price submission for the project and completion of the work when shipping and rail windows become available.

'Kingfisher are ‘beating the drum’ both in the UK and internationally, promoting the benefits of and trade off associated to ‘repair vs replace’ as well as advising end-users and OEMs of the upside of implementing best available technologies throughout their plant and equipment.

'One such practice that is now becoming more prevalent is in the import, handling and storage of biomass materials used as an alternative renewable energy fuel source in place of traditional fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Ports around the world in both developed and emerging markets are having to invest in such infrastructures to cater for materials that meet environmentally driven regulations on the need to enhance green energy production thus reducing a nation’s carbon footprint. This relatively new bulk solid is causing the industry many concerns due to the varying characteristics of the ranges of biomass materials being utilised by power generators. Factors such as eliminating product degradation, dust control, dry conveying and storage, abrasion, flow characteristics and last but not least explosion risk are concerns that can be managed by the use of technologies and practices mention above. By working closely with industry consultants, plant designers and engineers our aim is to provide a service that can help manufacturers and end users stay ahead of the game.'