Trade Port Posiet begins testing coal storage sprinkler system
Trade Port Posiet AO (part of Mechel Group’s transport division managed by Mecheltrans Management Company) test-launched specialized equipment suppressing dust at the port’s outdoor coal storage areas.
The port acquired a stationary sprinkler system for coal storages from Germany’s ThyssenKrupp corporation as part of its technical upgrade investment project. This system consists of 22 automatic sprinklers that operate as natural rain and are due to ensure dust suppression in the production area all year round. The system’s water discharge rate is up to 96 cubic meters an hour.
The first four sprinklers have been assembled, connected to a 2.9-kilometer trunk pipeline and checked for pressure integrity. After these tests the port’s staff pronounced the first sprinkler line ready for launch. To prevent mechanical damage, the port constructed concrete safety barriers separating the sprinklers and haul roads.
Launching the stationary sprinkler system at the port’s storage areas will become the next stage of the efforts to upgrade the port’s infrastructure and reduce its impact on the environment. The new system is due to be launched in the first quarter of this year.
“A work zone sprinkler system is an efficient instrument widely used in specialized terminals dealing with loose goods. What is important is that the sprinkler system will be managed from a central dispatch. A special program will determine the sprinkler operating algorythm that would be the most effective in suppressing dust at any given moment. In addition, the transshipment complex’s operator will fine-tune the sprinkler system’s work, depending on the wind’s strength and vector, the state of handled coal and other factors. This way we will ensure accurate control of the dust suppression system,” Mecheltrans Management Company OOO’s Chief Executive Officer Alexey Lebedev noted.
Trade Port Posiet’s technical upgrade project includes various ways of reducing the port’s impact on the environment. Coal is unloaded by railcar dumpers in a closed space equipped with dedusting systems that rule out the chance of coal dust escaping into open air. In winter, railcars with thawed coal are moved after defrosting into the railcar dumper facility via a covered conveyor gallery. Coal transfer stations are also equipped with dedusting systems. Conveyor lines are equipped with metal galleries to protect the environment from coal dust. As coal is transferred into storage areas, it is moistened by a water dispersion system installed on stacker-reclaimers.
Mechel Group’s investments into creating a computerized terminal at Port Posiet exceed four billion rubles. The port’s transshipment capacity enables the company to export up to nine million tonnes of coal annually.