Vibra Screw to Supply Equipment for Chinese Coal Liquefaction Plant to Meet Surging Energy Demand
Performance and accuracy under demanding conditions key to operational success
TOTOWA, NJ -- Vibra Screw, Inc., a leader in solids processing and solids handling solutions, has been awarded a mid-six-figure contract with the People's Republic of China to supply Bin Activators and Heavy Duty Feeders for a coal conversion plant in Inner Mongolia, it was announced by Gene Wahl, Vibra Screw President.
The owner of the plant is Shenhua Coal, Co., Beijing; it was designed by Axens International, Princeton, NJ, and plant procurement was handled by Sinopec Engineering, Beijing. The actual purchase of the Vibra Screw equipment was handled by Govoni Sim Bianca Impianti, SpA, Italy, who are supplying most of the equipment for the plant.
The coal plant is the first of a planned total of five facilities that will help to meet the rapidly increasing demand for energy concurrent with the 14% growth rate in the Chinese economy.
According to Mr. Wahl, the equipment will be used to take coal out of silos and transport it so that it can be mixed with a catalyst in order to produce a more thermally efficient material that will be used to generate electricity.
"The process involves pre-wetting pulverized coal with a catalyst before it is mixed with more liquid catalyst in large mix tanks," he explained. "The coal, which has a high bulk density, bridges in storage and will not flow unaided. Once flow has been accomplished, the coal must then be accurately metered and weighed against the end products to ensure efficiency of the process. Since pulverized coal is very difficult to meter, the accuracy of the feed system is critical to the entire operation, which will run at literally thousands of tons a day."
Controlled vibration in the Vibra Screw Bin Activators will keep the coal moving without interruption from the storage silos into Vibra Screw Heavy Duty Feeders which will deliver the coal accurately into impact weighers. Accuracy of the Heavv Duty Feeders will also be achieved by controlled vibration, which densifies material, assures uniform filling and emptying, and controls the tendency of the coal to fluidize.
The Vibra Screw equipment to be used includes Bin Activators and HD-2 Heavy Duty Feeders made of extra thick abrasion resistant steel. Three of the feeders are 16" in diameter, and one is 14".
"Two factors of vital importance to the success of the operation are uniform flow of coal into the process, and accuracy of the feed system," Mr. Wahl continued. "The performance of Vibra Screw Bin Activators and Heavy Duty Feeders, which have already been proven in similar applications in a coal conversion plant in the U.S., will help to keep conversion rates high as 95%, providing an efficient and cost-effective way of generating electricity."
With a staff of experienced and talented engineers and technicians, Vibra Screw manufactures high quality equipment to store, discharge, meter, convey, size and blend solid materials.
The company's comprehensive product range includes bulk bag unloaders and fillers, volumetric feeders, bin activators, vibrating feeder/conveyors, loss-in-weight feeders, storage pile activators, live bottom bins, live bins, continuous blenders, screeners, controls, and turnkey systems.
For more information, contact Vibra Screw, Inc. by phone at 973-256-7410, by fax at 973-256-7567, by e-mail at info@vibrascrew.com, or visit the company's web site at www.vibrascrew.com
Richard Wahl
(973) 256-7410
info@vibrascrew.com/
