Success Story: Load Zone Upgrades for North American Pellet Mill
Problem Summary
With personnel safety and regulatory compliance top of mind in the corporate safety culture, a pellet mill in southeast North America was determined to tackle dust and spillage issues occurring at several transfer points and loadzone areas of the facility. Maintenance and housekeeping were a costly, never-ending part of the routine, and acceptable results were still hard to achieve.
The plant leadership turned to Benetech to incorporate new tools and leading-edge technology aimed at providing easier, safer maintenance with minimal downtime. The goal was to create a safe and efficient pellet mill handling operation.
Benetech Solution
Benetech used a “toolbox” approach to total dust management and spillage control to address the problems at the source. Improvements were made to alleviate issues at transfer points throughout the wood pellet facility. By controlling material flow and minimizing entrained air along with soft loading and center loading of wood chips onto the receiving belts, the dust and fines were reduced well below the acceptable level.
These included, but were not limited to:
- MaxZone Plus® — A system that acts as a modified load zone chute, which increases capacity and throughput levels while center loading the conveyor system to avoid belt misalignment and to further reduce dust and spillage at the load zone.
- MaxZone® Skirtboard System — Designed to contain dust and spillage up to 85%.
Successful Results
The project was completed on time and within budget. The pellet mill has seen significant improvements in functionality and performance. Dust and spillage have been reduced by 85%, helping the plant meet OSHA regulations. Overall, the results are reduced maintenance time and cost while maximizing material throughput, system efficiency, reliability, and plant safety. After seeing these results, the facility is working with Benetech on additional projects within the plant on its quest to run as efficiently and safely as possible.
- Reduced dust and spillage up to 85%; reduced risk of injury
- Reduced clean-up costs: $60,000 per year savings
- Satisfied OSHA and federal regulations
- Improved system capacity and reliability by 20%
- Created ease of maintenance, repair, and improved safety profile: $50,000 per year savings
- Reduction in plant risk profile based on excessive dust, spillage, and related frictional concerns
- Ease of installation and reduced safety hazards during installation
- Reduced waste: $250,000
- Total yearly savings: $360,000+
