Ports play a critical role in transporting bulk materials and the loading and unloading process can pose an environmental problem at sea and in neighboring areas.
The loading process generates dust as materials are conveyed into the ship’s hold through chutes or conveyor belts. Unloading usually takes place with an auger, which moves material around the ship’s hold and transfers material to a conveyor. During this process, the movement and collapse of the material can cause dust generation that can be driven out of the hold into open air by wind.
Dry Fog provides an efficient and easily workable solution for operators that need to suppress dust during material loading and unloading, particularly for moisture sensitive materials. Micron size fog droplets are used to blanket the ship’s hold preventing dust from becoming airborne in the first place. In most cases, systems are designed and housed in a portable cart to allow for easy movement around a ship’s hold. A remote control is also provided to operators allowing them to control the manifolds inside the hold to either increase or decrease the amount of fog necessary for maximum efficiency and visibility.
Moisture addition to the material is typically less than 0.05% by weight and many times is undetectable, making it a preferable technology for materials such as cement, clinker and copper concentrate.
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