Redirection reduces impact of erosion

“Traditional defences by industry against erosion of critical equipment were to build the equivalent of a high wall, to make improvements to the way materials are hardened and to follow up with routine repairs to the damage caused by fine particles flowing in slurry form through a mineral processing facility,” says Dr Jie Wu who leads slurry erosion research for CSIRO’s Minerals Down Under Flagship.

“What we’re working on are smarter ways to minimise damage in the first place, extending the working life of equipment, saving both time and money.”

At Rio Tinto Alcan’s alumina refinery, constant bombardment of the cooling plates by abrasive hydrated alumina particles in the slurry was forcing the plant operator to replace some plates as frequently as every few days.

“What we suggested was a way to make the slurry flow more uniform by inserting a form of mesh to homogenise the flow. This eliminated the peak hot spots and minimised damage to the cooling plates,” Dr Wu says.

The benefits from implementing that single piece of advice have been dramatic. The life expectancy of cooling plates has been extended from a few days to as long as 12 months, representing a major saving in the maintenance costs. The biggest reward, however, is minimising plant shutdowns and maximising production.

Other stories in this issue of Process include:

• Radios tune in to rock frequencies: researchers have built sensors capable of electronically eavesdropping on bulk ore deposits to detect the crystalline structure of valuable minerals – a technology related to medical MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), which is used to image the body.
• Industry mines rich returns from research: robust independent modelling of industry-funded Parker Centre research has revealed that companies receive an economic benefit of $22 for every dollar they invest.
• Green technology improves performance: a new high-pressure die casting technique has the potential to make material and energy savings, while improving the integrity of metal components and increasing the competitiveness of manufacturers.

These and other stories can be found in the October issue of Process, which is released today. A pdf of the magazine is available at: Process magazine (Oct 10).