Can Aramid Conveyors Become an Energy-saving Alternative to Steel Belts?

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DÜPERTHAL Sicherheitstechnik GmbH & Co. KG

EDL Anlagenbau Gesellschaft mbH

Angst+Pfister AG

Aramid Belt Conveyors in Practice

The above example was a theoretical calculation. Here are some practical cases. There are quite a few short aramid belts already in operation around the world, as well as some long-distance ones. One example is a 2.6 km belt at the Maritsa Istok-2 power plant in Bulgaria. An impor-tant design consideration for the installation was low power consumption. This pipe conveyor (closed belt against spillage) with steel reinforcement was estimated to be 44 kg/m.

By reinforcing it with aramid, belt weight was reduced to 29 kg/m. This meant the moving system weight was reduced from 162 to 132 kg/m (carrying belt + payload + returning belt), which is 18 per cent less moving mass. In simplified form, resistance is linear, so approximately 18 per cent less power is needed to drive the fully loaded belt. The 2.6 km aramid-reinforced pipe conveyor has been running since 2000 without any problem, and in 2007 it was decided to install a second aramid belt of 5.8 km, which became operational in early 2009.

A second example of an installation in which steel was successfully replaced with aramid can be found at the Compagnie des Phosphates de Gafsa (CPG) phosphate mining operation in the Gafsa basin, Tunesia. Two installations, with lengths of 3 and 4 km respectively, originally ran with a 1m-wide steel-reinforced belt. To improve corrosion resistance, the steel belt was replaced with a fabric-reinforced belt in 2000. The available take-up length of the installation was sufficient for a replacement with aramidreinforced belts with low elongation. After 10 years of successful operation, in June 2010, the belts needed replacement because of rubber wear and they were replaced with new aramid-reinforced belts.

Conveying Processes Moving Forward

Measuring the exact energy consumption of a conveyor belt is complicated. Drive power changes over time, with belt load, operating temperature, belt speed and other factors all playing their part. Belt weight is easy to determine and can be straightforwardly linked to energy use.

However, when it comes to rolling resistance, it is much harder to arrive at a clear energy saving figure. To generate more data, several installations in e.g., coal mines are planned or being installed which will be closely monitored for energy use. Mine operators are obviously keen to prevent installation downtime, which is why alternative belt reinforcement will only be considered if reliability is proven. This is particularly important in the case of long conveyor belts, which are assembled from individual rubber belt sections of several hundred metres each. The weakest parts of these belts are the connection points (splices) where the various sections are joined up.

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