PROBLEM
The largest energy-from-waste plant in the Hamburg region of Germany processes around 320,000 tons of waste annually. The facility handles a variety of materials and recovers energy in the form of electricity and heat, while also achieving material recovery. A key part of the operation is the 40 conveyor belts - from 800mm to 1200mm in width and typically running at 1.3 m/s - used to transport abrasive materials through the process. Persistent carryback on most of the conveyors led to excessive cleaning demands, posing a problem for productivity and creating potential safety risks. Previous solutions from a competitor failed to deliver significant improvement.
SOLUTION
Martin Engineering experts were invited to visit the site and recommended an innovative belt cleaning solution - the CleanScrape® Primary Cleaner and the highly-effective SQC2S™ Secondary Cleaner. Both types of cleaners are perfectly suited for tough conditions where space is limited. They have long service life and deliver effective belt cleaning without risk to the belt or splice(s). The CleanScrape® Primary Cleaner is especially durable and has a unique design; it's installed diagonally across the discharge pulley, forming a three-dimensional curve, and incorporates a matrix of tungsten carbide tips. While applying minimal pressure to the belt, it removes hardened material without damaging the belt.
RESULTS
A total of 30 CleanScrape® Primary Cleaners and five SQC2S™ Secondary Cleaners were installed on the affected conveyor systems. The installation significantly reduced the amount of cleaning required as well as unscheduled downtime, reducing the cost of overall operation. Thanks to the optimized belt cleaning performance of the CleanScrape® Primary Cleaner in combination with the durable secondary cleaners, the plant achieved a higher level of productivity and reduced maintenance costs. The customer is very content with the efficient performance of the Martin® belt cleaning systems.