A Better planning system - now there's a novel idea

It's that time again - every few months in the UK media we hear about how our broken planning system is endangering the future supply of sand and aggregates. The latest article has appeared on the Agg-Net website following a report from the Mineral Products Association.

For how long can all the industry bodies keep producing report after report detailing this real threat before something is actually done about it? Government makes all the right noises about trying to support businesses during the recovery but if we look at the evidence - instead of the soundbites - there is nothing being done to address this issue.

With the industry on the upward curve again after a very tough period surely the very least we can expect is for those we charge with responsibility for ensuring that we all have the opportunity to prosper and grow to demonstrate some action and fix a broken planning system.

 

Exhibitions are fine - but demonstration events are a far better bet

With the amount of construction equipment exhibitions across the world you could spend your life either visiting them or organising attendance at them. We've found that open day events at working sites are a far better way of demonstrating equipment and gaining a real understanding of the benefits of investing in a new processing system. When equipment is at a trade show and it's been polished up and cleaned to within an inch of its life you can't really tell how it's going to perform in the real world. Start throwing a few hundred tons an hour of rocks at it while you can talk to the people that own it, operate it, maintain it - now that's a far better indication of how it will really perform.

Calling all editors - Is there anybody out there?

54 - that's the last count of trade magazines that land on my desk every month. All of which are producing circulation certificates boasting of their unrivalled ability to reach our customers. Which is of course how they attempt to justify their ridiculous advertising rates.

4 - that's the last count of trade magazines that land on my desk every month that are worth reading.

The only reason the other 50 even make it out of he plastic packaging is so that I can put them in the recycling bin.

Why are there so many sub-standard publications out there? I can't help feeling that it's because the art of editing the content is slowly but surely disappearing. Far too many - over 90% as far as I can make out - simply copy and paste badly written press releases from corporate marketing departments. Most of the people writing these articles have had no formal training on how to construct decent copy so it makes for painful reading.

I can't really blame the marketing people for this though - they've got a job to do which involves presenting their company in the best light possible. Why not fill the news release with boasts of how wonderful they are and how their products will change the world? It's not like there are any editors (in the truest sense of the word) checking the copy.

The blame here has to lie with the editors - a little bit of simple fact checking wouldn't hurt would it? For example, I came across an article today where the headline looked familiar. As I read on the whole article had a familiar feel to it.

I checked back through our records and found an article from over 12 months ago with the same headline and broadly similar copy published in the same magazine. Surely the editors of the magazine have a responsibility to ensure that the material they are publishing is accurate in the first instance, and original in the second?

I'm not that bothered by our material being blatantly copied by others in our industry - it displays a complete lack of imagination on their part. If this is their approach to marketing I'd be fairly sure it's replicated throughout their business which we can only take as positive.

However, I'd expect more from the trade magazines who for the most part fail to recognise that it is only by publishing genuine, interesting articles that their publications will survive in a massively competitive environment.

C&D waste recycling: Are we measuring the right thing?

2013 is the first year that the UK will be required to report figures for the recycling of construction, demolition and excavation waste under the Waste Framework Directive initiative to achieve 70% recycling by 2020.

While there is no doubt that some form of measurement is needed to allow us to monitor progress I have serious doubts about whether simply looking at a 70% recycling rate allows to achieve anything meaningful. What does recovery actually mean? If we look at the figures at the minute they seem to be very impressive – 20% of aggregates used in the UK come from recycled sources. That represents somewhere close to 45 million tonnes at the minute which represents half of all the CD&E waste produced according to Government estimates.

For my money we should be looking at raising the bar in the approach we take to dealing with CD&E waste. The vast majority of the material being produced at the minute is being used on very low value applications using the most basic processing possible. Surely we should now be looking at how we can move recycled material up the value chain?

Yes, there has been good success up to now with the numerous initiatives to increase the focus on the valuable resource that CD&E waste can provide. Yes, we should celebrate the commitment from the UK industry that has seen us lead the way in the adoption of new technology.

We should not however just keep measuring the same thing – we’ve moved on from simply trying to increase the amount of recycling of this material. The opportunity exists for us to turn this waste material into a real sustainable, high value alternative to virgin sand and aggregates rather than a cheap, low quality alternative.

How can we do this? Well maybe we can learn something from our European neighbours. After achieving more than 90% recycling of C&D waste some years ago in Belgium the target switched to improving the quality of recycled materials. This to me makes much more sense that simply aiming at a number that is fairly easy to achieve providing your description of what constitutes ‘recycling’ is wide enough.

If we’re simply doing this to tick another Brussels box then by all means keep measuring the volume of waste recycled. If, on the other hand, we’re serious about movingCD&E waste up the value chain and making the most of it as a valuable resource then it’s time for the focus to change. This happens by measuring something that encourages everyone in the CD&E waste recycling sector to up their game – from equipment manufacturers to material producers, architects, specifiers and building contractors.

Does the technology exist to do this? Yes it does. Will it help protect long term aggregate supply from a sustainable source? Yes it will.  In the words of a famous American sportswear manufacturer – Just Do It.

Landfill tax changes - threat or opportunity?

The environmental industry web sites are all singing the same tune today with articles dealing with the general disquiet over the changes in the landfill tax regulations for fines from trommels or screens.

The dominant voice seems to be the one that talks about the 2460% rise from £2.50 per tonne to £64 per tonne as a threat to the future of the industry and the potential for increase in fly tipping that will occur as a result. There are however some dissenting voices happy that a loop-hole has been closed that allowed for what David Palmer Jones described as '"cheap landfilling".

While there no doubt be attempts in the coming weeks and months to have this decision reversed it's also important for them to know that there is an alternative to the high landfill costs. It is possible to produce high quality recycled sand and aggregates from this material if more sophisticated processing systems are employed.

Simple crushing and screening of this material will not allow production of these quality recycled sand and aggregates. Introducing a washing plant will successfully divert the vast majority of this material from landfill and allow for the increased specification of recycled products on construction projects across the country.

While the initial reaction to this development is that it poses a threat to the industry there is no doubt that there is an opportunity here for operators dealing with this material to upgrade their processing systems in a move to avoid the huge increase in landfill tax.

The UK has established a reputation as the world leader in C&D waste recycling over the last decade largely due to the development of more sophisticated systems - which has only happened as a result of increased demand in this area. It has to be said that this demand has largely been driven by Government interventions and this landfill tax rise is simply the latest of these.

The industry has responded to challenges like this previously and it will do again - if these changes are here to stay then it has to in order to survive. Even if the decision is challenged we all know the decision will not be reversed any time soon given the government's reputation for quick action.

Innovation is: Unique + Bold + Original

In recent times the requirement to wash mineral reserves has become more frequent as operators tackle more difficult materials. With this upward trend set to continue equipment manufacturers have an important part to play in developing products which meet the evolving demands of the global industry. 

There has always been a requirement to process difficult materials. The geology of a region plays a large part in influencing the processing system that is chosen and it is for this obvious reason that washing equipment has found its place in the market. When there is clay present in the material or high levels of -63 micron material a washing plant offers the best solution to ensure production of the highest quality sand and aggregates.

When operators are faced with reserves which have variations in material quality they will obviously process the easiest material first – the low hanging fruit. The selection of the appropriate system will be selected according to the nature of the material to be processed and the final products that are required to satisfy customer demands.

As we have moved through the decades and quantities of this ‘low hanging fruit’ have diminished the challenge for equipment manufacturers has been to continually develop and improve systems to ensure the more challenging materials can be efficiently processed.

One of the key developments of recent years has been the move to mobile equipment within the global construction materials sector. This began with the development of mobile crushing and dry screening systems which operators can easily move between different processing locations and also move around a single site in order to minimise the transport movements of other vehicles.

The unique requirements of washing plants made this move to mobile a more challenging concept. Logic tells us that washing plants are restricted in their mobility due to the requirement for connection to an external water supply. The early attempts at mobile washing provided evidence of this and these plants were moved rarely – if at all.

Another short-coming in the development of the first washing plants described as mobile was the inability to successfully integrate the sand washing element with the washing screen. This required operators to purchase two separate items of equipment to deliver on the sand and aggregate production requirements.

The result of these short-comings was that the uptake of these systems was limited and the perception in the industry was that mobile washing plants had a problem – they weren’t mobile. Simply putting hydraulic tracks onto what was essentially a dry screen with the addition of a few spray bars was not a satisfactory solution.

The term ‘Mobile washing’ had reached a point where it had become the evil that will not be spoken of due to flaws in existing systems. These systems did not fail because of limited demand or lack of promotion. They failed because of an assumption that the same design principles that apply to dry processing equipment can simply be copied when developing a mobile washing plant. This provided the motivation for the development of the M2500.

Central to the creation of the M2500 was the integration of the sand washing element with the rinsing screen. The aim was to produce a mobile washing plant which offered feeding, aggregate washing, sand washing and stockpiling on a single chassis.

Another key issue was ensuring that the rinsing screen was suitable for the application and would stand up to the rigours of an aggregate screening process. The issue with previous mobile washing screens was that more often than not the spray bars were bolted to the screen box. This meant they were subject to extremely high stress levels which would ultimately result in failure.

The M2500 eliminates this risk by offering a spray bar assembly which is completely independent of the screen box thus removing this risk of failure and ensuring the M2500 is designed for long term reliability and performance.

By successfully integrating the Prograde rinsing screen and the Evowash sand washing plant onto the M2500 mobile washing has gained new momentum in recent years. The M2500 has quickly become established as the equipment of choice for operators in variety of industry sectors and has been employed on the processing of sand and gravel, crushed rock, dust washing, scalpings and construction and demolition waste recycling. In addition to this there are specific models available for mining applications.

The success enjoyed by the M2500 since its introduction to the global market is evidence that with the correct design ethos, existing processing systems can be substantially improved to offer the industry more efficient processing systems which help to improve product quality, reduce waste and meet the requirements of a fast changing industry.

Sand production - wet or dry?

Wet?

Washing is widely accepted to be the most efficient way of producing high quality sands for use in a variety of applications ranging from sands for use in concrete to specialist applications such as golf and silica sands.

This is because of limitations with traditional dry screening processes particularly in regard to the ability of these systems to effectively and consistently remove minus 75 micron material.

CDE Global have built a reputation on the delivery of efficient sand washing plants throughout the world over the last two decades and have been working in the Gulf for almost 10 years.

During this time we have completed many sand washing installations including two 1200 tonne per hour plants in Qatar. There are numerous other CDE washing plants in operation in many other regions of the Gulf and North Africa including KSA, Oman, Bahrain, Tunisia and Morocco.

Our entry into the Gulf came as the result of the demand for high quality washed sands in the region. This resulted in the two large 1200 tonne per hour projects in Qatar initially and since then there have been many other installations with capacities more in line with every day requirements – between 50 and 150 tonnes per hour.

Over the years CDE has developed a project list full of examples of replacing inefficient traditional sand washing plants such as bucket wheels and screw classifiers with the hydrocyclone based Evowash system.

Old sand washing technology has a number of issues, not least the loss of significant quantities of quality fines to the settling ponds or water treatment phase. In an effort to ensure effective removal of the minus 75 micron fraction these inefficient systems take a lot of commercial quality sand with them which has a negative impact on the profitability of the operation.

Operators using inefficient sand washing plants are taking a hit on two fronts. Not only is the final value of their sand product compromised by the presence of larger quantities of minus 75 micron material than is ideally the case but operational costs are also increased as a result of the requirement to clean out settling ponds regularly in an effort to recover the good material that has been lost.

There are various design features on the Evowash plant that prevent this problem from arising with the choice of hydrocyclone technology being one of the key factors. Hydrocyclones offer the most efficient means of delivering the required cut point thus ensuring a sand product that meets the desired specification. The effect of being able to guarantee a sand specification is to maximise the commercial value of the material and thus the profitability of the operation.

Investing in low cost, old technology is a false economy as the return on investment takes much longer than is the case when our washing system is specified.

Water recycling

The ability to offer operators water recycling equipment to accompany the sand washing plant has also been a key factor in the success that we have enjoyed in the Gulf.

Given the climate in the region and a scarcity of water when compared to the North European markets where CDE originally established a reputation the specification of the Aquacycle thickeners and GHT filter presses that we offer was very frequent as business grew.

You could say that Gulf operators led the way for the global washing industry in relation to the specification of water recycling equipment. We would now include our thickeners and filter presses on 80% of all global washing projects whereas as recently as five years ago this figure would only have been around 20%.

The scarcity of water in the Gulf was a major factor here and made the CDE water recycling and sludge management system a ‘must have’ rather than a ‘like to have’ as it was seen in some other territories. Environmental concerns and subsequent legislation in this area has driven demand for water recycling systems but there is also a growing realisation that their introduction does actually offer a more efficient way of operating.

When you factor in the costs of managing large settling ponds, the additional space required to accommodate the operation and the potential health and safety risks, water recycling systems offer operators a way to ensure a much more efficient and easily managed washing plant.

Dry?

Just as the introduction of effective water recycling systems was a response to the unique climate of the Gulf region we then introduced new air classification technology.

The introduction of our Sirocco air classification system was a move inspired by the need to offer a solution to operators not able to consider a washing plant due to water supply issues. Even with full closed circuit water recycling reducing the volume of fresh wash water required to around 5% of the total volume some operators are simply not able to ensure supply of the volumes needed to operate a wash plant.

The question that arises from this decision is how does it fit in with the previous assertion that dry screening of material is not as efficient a process as washing?

Well, although a dry process, the Sirocco air classification system is far removed from the traditional dry screening process which has been problematic for those seeking to produce high quality sand.

The key success of washing using our Evowash system is the capability to efficiently remove the minus 75 micron material. We prefer to describe the Sirocco as a dry wash system – or washing without the water as it is able to achieve the same results as washing in terms of minus 75 micron fines removal.

Previous to the introduction of the Sirocco air classifier to the Gulf operators wishing to produce quality washed sands were unable to do so because of a lack of water availability. With the introduction of Sirocco the option exists for these same operators to achieve the higher specification sand products that will allow them to diversify into new sectors of the construction market.

We have several Sirocco units operating in KSA and Oman which are producing concrete sands to the same specification as those being produced by our Evowash sand washing plant. With each new Sirocco unit comes a growing acceptance of the technology and a realisation that this dry wash system is a viable alternative to a washing plant.

An additional feature of the Sirocco system that has made it attractive to operators is the small amount of space required to accommodate the system. We offer the Sirocco as a stand alone unit or as part of a turnkey package. The turnkey option includes a feed system, the Sirocco air classification unit, two stockpile conveyors – one for the sand product and one for the fines – and a dust suppression system.

The fines product from the Sirocco is not a waste material but has a number of applications including its use in the manufacture of ceramic tile adhesives and grouts. This provides additional revenue for operators from what many consider to be a waste material.

The Sirocco system is available in a variety of configurations from 50 tonnes per hour to 800 tonnes per hour in a single unit. This differentiates the Sirocco from other air classification systems on the market which offer single units at 150 tonnes per hour and multiples of this system should larger capacities be required.

Our washing plants are customised to the specific requirements of each project and our Sirocco units are built according to the same principles.  The specification of the right system needs to take account of the individual characteristics of the feed material, with the level of fines being the critical factor. Other systems take a ‘one size fits all’ approach which compromises final product quality.

The future

The introduction of the Evowash and Sirocco units reflects the approach we take to all the regions in which we operate. We will continue to respond to the specific requirements of the Gulf region and all of the other territories we are working in or aspire to work in as we seek to continue to offer operators the most efficient sand processing systems available.