Meeting the cement dust challenge

Hanson Cement at Clitheroe is part of Hanson UK, one of the UK’s largest suppliers of construction materials. The Clitheroe site is responsible for the manufacture of cement, which is distributed to its customers in either bulk tankers or 25 kg bags. The majority of the cement produced on the site is used for building projects in the north of England and Scotland, such as the Manchester United stadium and Manchester International Airport.

At the Clitheroe site, the production process involves the storage of various materials in silos or hoppers, which are required to be continually replenished. The nature of the products, however, creates a dusty environment and high temperatures in the silos/hoppers, therefore causing problems in the level measurement of the products during the filling process by compromising the accuracy and reliability of the measurement. The existing ultrasonic measuring system was not reliable and precise enough in this arduous environment. Hanson Cement was looking for a system that would be suitable for the demanding conditions during the re-filling cycles.

Endress+Hauser supplied Micropilot FMR250 level radar devices, which were installed in 16 storage areas. Unaffected by high temperature and dust during the filling process, it offers high accuracy in the continuous level measurement of the Hanson Cement materials, meeting the challenges of the application.

The company now benefits from improved accuracy and reliability. Additionally, the use of Endress+Hauser FieldCare software offers remote configuration and complete life cycle management of the radar devices from the control room. Endress+Hauser also provided Hanson Cement with training so that their own staff were able to set up and install the device on site.

Ben Nicholson, Project Engineer at Hanson Cement, said: “We were looking to upgrade our existing ultrasonic continuous measurement system used in one of our 3000 t cement silos. Endress+Hauser suggested we trialled the Micropilot FMR250. We were impressed by the reliability of the radar device, particularly during the silo filling cycle. This was where other level monitoring products had let us down. Following the success of the trial, we purchased the FMR250 and installed a further 15 within the production process, handling a variety of materials, cement, limestone, clinker and coal in storage silos or hoppers. The Micropilot radar devices have allowed us to standardise equipment for most of our continuous level measurement applications on site.”

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/26112010/meeting_the_cement_dust_challenge/