Technology solutions company Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa has been awarded a contract by State-owned freight transport utility Transnet to supply three reverse-pulse bag filters.

Two of the filters are to be installed on multiproduct rail tipplers and one on a bottom discharge rail application at Richards Bay Port Terminal, in KwaZulu-Natal, says Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa MD Mike Deeks.

The contract is based on advanced reverse-pulse bag filter technology developed in-house by Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa’s trading division, Tenova TAKRAF Africa, which will execute the contract.

The turnkey contract covers design through to commissioning, including all civils and electricals.

The order was placed in early April, with the first bag filter for the bottom discharge installed by the end of October, and the remaining two, for the rotary tipplers, to be installed by the end of January 2015, explains Deeks.

He explains that the bag filters will handle between 90 m3/sec and 100 m3/sec of air, guaranteeing an emission rate that will meet the stringent requirements of South Africa’s National Environmental Management Air Quality Act.

The fast-track project is being carried out in a brownfield environment where tipping will be ongoing, while installation of the bag filters is being carried out and with minimum downtime allowed for tie-in of the systems.

“While this is the first contract for air pollution control technology to be awarded to Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa by Transnet, the group’s air-pollution control technology has been widely applied at Richards Bay for other companies,” says Deeks.

“The extensive reference list features more than 3 000 dust control systems installed in Southern Africa. Of these, some 2 000 are reverse- pulse bag filter technology installations in a vast variety of applications, and in many different industries,” he adds.

The bag filters handle flow rates from 0.5 m3/sec to 100 m3/sec and enable the economical collection of dust at high filter rates, with collection efficiencies less than 99.99%.

These high efficiencies are maintained under variable operating conditions by reverse-pulse action, with the bag filter being able to operate 24 hours a day under arduous conditions, says Deeks.

Filter bag inspection is easy and replacement of the bags is done from the clean-air side, reducing any risk to maintenance staff, he adds.

Tenova TAKRAF is a key supplier of equipment and systems for openpit mining and underground solutions and bulk handling, having provided hundreds of complete systems, as well as individual machines, to clients all over the world in all climatic conditions.

Globally sourced air pollution control, specialised handling equipment and technology for the cement and fly ash industries ensure selection of optimal processing options.