PARTICULATE EMISSION MONITORING IN THE MINERAL INDUSTRY

The grinding of China Clay can be processed by ring roller mills providing efficient control of product size.

With the addition of a new mill on a China Clay production site, particulate emission monitoring from the baghouse to the atmosphere was required to meet regulatory requirements. With an ELV of 10 mg/m3 and an MCERTS certified product installation specified by the regulator, consideration was also given to annual calibration, reporting and service support to maintain reliability and repeatable particulate emission measurement results.

China Clay has naturally fine particles which means that dust collection is key, not only for air quality control but also for collecting fine particles to be used in the finished product. Remote observation of dust emissions and filter performance in real-time was important to the site operator to ensure optimal baghouse performance

An MCERTS approved ENVEA STACK 980 was installed on the main baghouse outlet to the atmosphere providing high-quality particulate emission measurement and reporting for regulatory compliance.

In addition, the installation of ENVEA LEAK LOCATE 662 sensors on individual baghouse chambers provided remote observation of the condition of bag filters. Plant maintenance teams were therefore alerted to early warning alarms of compartments beginning to release higher levels of dust and take preventative action.

An analogue output module attached to the ENVEA ProController allowed the local display of all seven sensors in real-time via a 4-20mA signal back to the site Data Acquisition and Handling System (DAHS).