Rio Tinto, Imperial College London launch Centre for Future Materials
Rio will invest $150 million in the Centre over the next 10 years,
Tenova TAKRAF has recently developed a symbiotic niche in the oil sands industry by giving both new and incumbent production trains the supercharged boost they need to sustain profitability in a low oil price environment. At the same time as boosting production, TAKRAF has achieved a recovery increase in the downstream extraction process; critically, this combined success has been proven during the [traditionally] performance limiting arctic winter months.
In 2013, TAKRAF was engaged by one of the principle oilsands producers to solve the winter time stalling of their incumbent Double Roll Crushers (DRC). The direct effect of the halt, as well as their restart inability, resulted in significant cumulative annual restrictions on their winter production. In 2014, TAKRAF began retrofitting all their primary crushing plants with the New Generation TAKRAF TRC 25.34 double roll crusher.
The TAKRAF New Generation DRC increased drivetrain inertia over 200%, useable kinetic energy 185% and available motor torque 168%. This resulted in peak crushing demand dropping from nearly 600% Full Load Torque (FLT) to a level near 350% FLT. A specially designed motor with a Breakdown Torque (BDT) in excess of 430% FLT was then implemented to deliver the full 350% FLT through a larger capacity fluid coupling.
These changes represented a paradigm shift in the basic crushing principles utilized in an oil sands primary crusher. Previously, the technology primarily relied on expending its limited kinetic energy during every major crushing event; however, if the kinetic energy was completely expelled before the feed material was processed, the crusher would stall. Subsequent restart attempts were insufficient and often consumed the available heat capacity of the fluid coupling, further suspending the production recovery. The TAKRAF New Generation DRC possesses the ability to process the most difficult materials without primarily relying on consuming any kinetic energy; the inertial storage buffer translates directly to production guarantee.
The successful New Generation philosophy was then applied to the entire Primary Crushing Plant, two trains of which were put into production in 2016. The robust TAKRAF drive units and an abundance of surplus kinetic energy are already proven to process sustained tonnage rates exceeding 14,000mtph, whilst maintaining an impressive 400mm x 400mm maximum product size – even when the feed approaches a 10:1 crushing ratio. At the same time, the TRC 25.37 is able to develop an impressive 11% increase in the surface area of the product, significantly assisting the oil recovery process. In the redesign of the oilsands Primary Crushing Plant, none of the components were ignored in the New Generation plant. Not just functionality and reliability being key areas of focus, but of equal importance were considerations for maintainability and reduction of downtime, during both planned and unplanned maintenance outages.
The net result is the most effortlessly maintainable, cleanest and powerful primary crushing plant, which now fulfills both the immediate and future needs for mining oilsands. The TRC 25.37 is designed for a sustained 17,000mtph throughput capacity in all oilsands materials and the most frigid ambient conditions. The two units which commenced production in 2016 are detuned to the contracted 14,000mtph capacity but can be fully realized with a simple change to the ratio of the apron feeder.
For those mines not immediately requiring the implementation of a complete new crushing plant, the upgrade to the powerful New Generation TAKRAF TRC 25.34 DRC has proven to be an economically effective means to increase production through elimination of stalls and reduced maintenance downtime; as well as increased recovery through achieving a high crushing ratio, even in the most extreme winter conditions. This type of primary crusher upgrade typically requires a shutdown period of 22 to 30 days. Economically, the payback period is less than two winter seasons.
TAKRAF is also pleased to advise the Copper ore, Iron ore and Bauxite industries, together with mines with difficult overburden; that they are currently developing a New Generation range of Extreme Class sizers for their hard ore types – those which have traditionally been beyond the capability of the current sizer technology industry.
TAKRAF primary crusher components are almost exclusively all manufactured under strict quality control at their Lauchhammer facility in Germany. The oilsands industry is locally supported by TAKRAF from its Calgary (Alberta, Canada) subsidiary location
For further information, visit: www.takraf.com and www.tenova.com
Tenova TAKRAF is an integrated solutions provider to the global mining, bulk material handling, minerals processing and beneficiation industries, offering innovative technological solutions as well as process and commodity knowledge along the industry value chains. With the integration of the well-known DELKOR and, more recently, the Tenova Advanced Technologies (formerly Bateman Advanced Technologies) brand of products into TAKRAF, our portfolio for the mineral processing and beneficiation sectors has been considerably enhanced.
Tenova, a Techint Group company, is a worldwide partner for innovative, reliable solutions in metals and mining. Leveraging a workforce of over three thousand forward-thinking professionals located in 22 countries across 5 continents, Tenova designs technologies and develops services that help companies reduce costs, save energy, limit environmental impact and improve working conditions.
Additional information for readers/interested parties:
TAKRAF GmbH Torgauer Straße 336, 04347 Leipzig, Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)341 24 23 5 00
Fax: +49 (0)341 24 23 5 10
E-Mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.takraf.com
