Cemex UK improves its sustainable performance at Dove Holes Quarry

Cemex UK and sustainability
Cemex UK is working to improve its sustainable performance across its businesses. At Dove Holes Quarry, this goal is being achieved by removing tonnes of dust around the crushing and screening plant, and around the dry mortar plant where limestone dust, silica sand and cement dust are a constant health and safety factor and present a risk of exposure to operatives working in these environments.

Comparing the different approaches to dust removal
The removal of dust has been carried out efficiently in the past by large truck-mounted suction machines, but while bringing their own operators and needing no extra on site manpower can be ideal, such solutions can also be relatively expensive and therefore available on-site for a limited time frame, typically a day at a time.

Using the Gotland CompVAC takes a little longer to remove as much as 8 t of material at a time from around the different plant at Dove Holes, but as it is being hired for a month, the time factor is not an issue. Being portable with a forklift, the CompVAC can also be deployed where and whenever required.

Rob Doody, Cemex Northern regional director, compares the two approaches: “the truck mounted machines are good if you have only a day or so and no spare manpower, but the Gotland comes into its own because you have it for a month.”

Besides the time factor, the CompVAC also provides flexibility and portability, which allowed operatives to clean up not just the crushing and screening plant, but the dry mortar plant, the filter plant and the tarmac coating plant as well.

Cutting costs
Doody continues: “We can also use the Gotland to drive a fixed pipework system that we have here, and while it takes two operators to do this, it’s still more cost-effective.”

The Gotland is able to remove the kind of dust and waste material that is generated by crushing and screening plants, and minimises any risk of exposure in doing so, as it has a fully enclosed system from cleaning nozzle through filter to internal hopper.

The bottom line
Doody summarises his views on Cemex’s experience with the Gotland: “the net result is that we can do more with a Gotland CompVAC on our site for the same sort of money. It’s a good machine, and we will probably need it once a quarter to do all the various cleaning and housekeeping tasks that we have to do around this site.”

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/24032010/cemex_uk_improves_its_sustainable_performance/