Capital Equipment News February 2018

The benefits of efficient and effective dust suppression systems are proven and multiple.

By adding various I-CAT additives to water, operations can increase the wetting ability of water to effectively supress dust.

water to control dust is a never-ending expensive task that offers very limited dust suppression capability,” he says. “The futility of wasting time, money and precious water resources is increased as the water quickly evaporates and dust is again released into the environment.” Van Rensburg adds that fighting dust pollution with plain water is a wasteful, out- dated method of dealing with the problem. He argues that this can be solved; by adding various I-CAT additives to water, operations can increase the wetting ability of water to effectively supress dust. Water savings of at least 50% can be achieved, depending on various factors such as the climatic con- ditions on site, traffic levels and the in-situ material of the road. Water savings can go as high as 70-80% in some circumstances, depending on the mentioned factors. Product range With several years’ experience, coupled with massive investments in extensive research and development of its products and solutions, I-CAT has become one of the pacesetters in the South African and southern African’s dust suppression systems industry. “We have an array of dust suppression products which basically cover two areas. The first area is road dust control on municipal and rural roads as well as haulage roads on mines and quarries. The second area we cover is the plant area where dust control for mines and quarries remains an important issue, especially considering the level of dust emissions during crushing and

screening processes,” says Van Rensburg, adding that the biggest component of the road dust business remains haulage roads at mines, especially open-pit mines, although I-CAT caters for underground operations as well. In the roads sector, I-CAT offers three different products. The RDC 20 (Road Dust Control), ideal for secondary or temporary haulage roads, is said to be the most prominent product in I-CAT’s stable. “RDC 20 is an entry-level product that we supply for mostly every day application where roads are normally heavily trafficked,” explains van Rensburg. “It is mainly for temporary roads that are mainly run for a short period, say for a month or two before they are demolished or decommissioned as part of the mining process.” Irving states that RDC 20 is an inno- vative formulation of blended emulsified co-polymers and ionic modifiers. “RDC 20 is a water-soluble anionic polyelectrolyte poly- mer. When sprayed onto the road surface, it will form a durable cross-linked matrix. The matrix will bind fine soil particles into larger heavier particles, which would be less prone to becoming airborne,” he says. Several major benefits can be achieved when RDC 20 is applied. It improves grip on the roads due to the friction between two organic materials, thereby improving safety. Braking distances can also be significantly reduced due to the improved grip. Opera- tions that use RDC 20 can save up to 80% water used for dust suppression, while its ability to bind soil particles reduces water run-off, thereby reducing road degradation

workplace safety, including better driver visibility, and extended life of vehicle tyres. Water only is no answer While the legislation is firm when it comes to dust levels on sites, van Rensburg reiterates that it does not enforce operations to use any specific dust suppression system or product. “As a result, many operations still use water only as their dust suppression system,” he says. This is mostly for presumed cost reasons, but Van Rensburg argues that it is cost-effective to use the I-CAT product, which is water-based, rather than utilising water as the only solution. With water restrictions becoming the order of the day in many areas, for example in the drought-hit Western Cape, using water as the only dust suppressant has a negative impact in terms of economic and environmental matters. Available statistics also show that by 2030, South Africa’s water deficit could be as high as 38 billion m 3 per year – representing a shortfall of 17% annually. In spite of this, Hein Irving, head of the Dust Division at I-CAT, reasons that water remains the most commonly used suppressant, which is very limited in its effectiveness. “The process of using only

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