MechChem Africa August 2018

Mech Chem AUGUST 2018 AFRICA

This month: Vibrating equipment and the development mindset

Realistically predicting separation behaviour of RO membranes

Delivery solutions, thickeners, classifiers and the digital future

Reliability: a true-value IIoT opportunity

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Asset, maintenance and risk management 8 Equipment reliability: a true-value IIoT opportunity Johannes Coetzee, the new MD of condition monitoring specialist Martec, talks about the IIoT and urges adopters to focus on the true value that can be unlocked. 10 The high value industrial safety offering 11 Grease filling filter for automatic lubrication systems 12 Expertise and quality focus sees turbo machines expand 13 Scaling new heights for hotel waterproofing in Zambia 15 KP2: a pan-African project success for SSM Materials handling 16 Delivery solutions, thickeners, classifiers and the digital future FLSmidth senior account manager, Ricus van Reenen, talks about the company’s range of technical, transportation and assembly options and commercial manager, Terence Osborn, unveils the company’s Electra Mining focus. 18 Global collaboration advances screening media solutions 19 Management system mitigates negative outcomes of water extraction 21 Vulco composite liner improves mill life and performance 23 Improved transfer points to conventional chute systems Corrosion control and coatings 24 Effective protection against graffiti and more WACKER has developed a new, highly effective anti-graffiti product, which permanently protects surfaces with a thin film of silicone. Heating, cooling, ventilation and air conditioning 26 Rapid refrigerant recovery launched in SA A-Gas’ new Rapid Recovery service for the food and beverage industry promotes new refrigerants and assists end users to be compliant with local legislation. 27 New entry-level chillers and heat pumps Water and wastewater processing 28 Realistically predicting separation behaviour of RO membranes In this edited white paper, Uli Dölchow, Julien Ogier and Jens Lipnizki from chemical technology specialist, LANXESS, strive to better characterise the performance of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. 32 Ambitions for Africa and a new blending plant 33 Smart solutions for separation and filtration Innovative engineering 38 Vibrating equipment and the development mindset MechChem Africa visits the Spartan facilities of Kwatani and talks to COO, Kenny Mayhew-Ridgers, about the company’s industrial offering, the research and development mindset and some key aspects of vibrating product design. REGULARS 2 Comment: Maintenance, the IIoT and the fast changing workplace 4 On the cover: Innovative Pumps at the heart of Africa: Richard Harper and Norman Kroukamp talk about the refurbishment of concrete volute pumps at Lethabo Power Station. 6 SAIChE News: Mixed matrix membranes: Promising materials for AMD treatment 34 Product and industry news 40 Back page: AI in future X-ray inspection systems

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Published monthly by Crown Publications cc Cnr Theunis and Sovereign Streets Bedford Gardens 2007 PO Box 140, Bedfordview, 2008 Tel: +27 11 622 4770 e-mail: mechchemafrica@crown.co.za www.mechchemafricamagazine.co.za Editors: Peter Middleton e-mail: peterm@crown.co.za Glynnis Koch e-mail: glynnisk@crown.co.za Advertising: Brenda Karathanasis e-mail: brendak@crown.co.za Design: Darryl James Publisher: Karen Grant Deputy publisher: Wilhelm du Plessis Circulation: Brenda Grossmann The views expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of the publisher or the editors. P U B L I C A T I O N S CR O WN P U B L I C A T I O N S CR O WN 2015/02/10 01:17:09PM

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Front cover: APE Pumps Contact: Richard Harper +2711 824 4810 richard@apepumps.co.za info@apepumps.co.za www.apepumps.co.za

August 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 1

Peter Middleton Maintenance, the IIoT and the fast changing workplace plan necessary and scheduledmaintenance on critical assets has long been practised. Amaintenance profes- sional would typically set out into a plant with a data logger, analyser and some sensors – vibration, tem- perature, ultrasound, etc –and, using a routemap from one machine to the next, would log the condition of each asset for later analysis in themaintenance office. By embedding Internet-connected sensors into each piece of equipment – which is no longer extraor- dinarily expensive – the data needed to ascertain the condition of each asset can now be automatically collected and uploaded. There is no longer a need for a human being to go to the asset to collect the data. The IIoTalsonowfeatures automatic data analysis, which enables ‘live’ results and alerts to be generated and delivered to anyone, anywhere. So the mainte- nance manager may also be able to work remotely out of an Airbnb?

W ehaveagardencottageonourproperty that we used to let to long-term ten- ants. When our last guest gave notice a few years ago, though, we decided to ‘zhoosh’ the property up and give it a try on Airbnb. It has been an enjoyable adventure. The app ‘pings’ regularly, with guests from all corners of the world making enquiries, telling us about themselves and the adventures they are planning in our country. Many guests are overseas post-graduate students visiting our universities, or NGO project workers needing to be in SouthAfrica for a fewweeks. Several, however, are peoplewho simply like to travel and can work from anywhere: a Java programmer and web- site developer from Malaysia; an American English language teacher using an online App to connect to Chinese children; and an editor and translator from Sweden. These people need only access to goodWifi to en- able them to continue to earn. They don’t have jobs, cars or housing back home. They see no need – there are Apps for these. The Internet, Wifi, computers, tablets and cell- phones and the Apps that run on our devices make people availableonline fromanywhere in theworld for the delivery and ordering of services. A guest in South Africa connects to a local Uber driver using exactly the same App and procedure as he or she would in their home country–and theUber driver uses the sameApp too. How long before plumbing services are ordered and delivered this way? The Internet of Things is taking this connectivity one step further. Internet connectivity alreadyenables a phone to be used to remotely open garage doors, or to look at live video footage following a security alert. In industry, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is fast connecting the machines of production to the Internet. So not only can we ‘talk to’ our Uber driver, but the Uber can be remotely ‘driven’. Autonomous haul trucks on a mine in Western Australia are already being controlled from an air- conditionedoffice inPerth. And it neednot stop there. Is the time coming when a haul truck driver may work out of an Airbnb in Melville, South Africa? As well as the changing nature of the traditional workplace, the jobs we do and the skills we need to do them are changing, and will continue to change, at an accelerating rate. Froma proactivemaintenance perspective, for ex- ample, condition-based monitoring in order to better

Taking remedial action when an alert is generated will surely still need someone to physically attend to the problem. But this task can also be significantly simplified because of the IIoT and the connectedness of machines. First, becauseof the vast amounts of data collected from similar machines operating in applications and environments across the world, artificial intelligence techniques can be applied to accurately predict what the problem is, when the machine or component is likely to fail, exactly when it can be/needs to be re- paired, exactly what tools and spares will be needed andhowthe technicians can complete the repair in the fastest possible time once they arrive onsite. Second, augmented reality (AR) can also be made available to maintenance technicians to make avail- able a directly relevant step-by-step repair procedure. Detailed disassembly and reassembly steps along with associated checks can be superimposed onto the equipment being overhauled. Remote advice from other machine specialists is also directly available should the AI maintenance prediction fall short. The IIoT is not only changing where we work, but also the very nature of theworkwe do. Anew skill-set is required, which does not necessarily involve higher- level skills, but will almost certainly requiremore flex- ibility and high comfort levels with the IT/ICT skills on which the technology depends. Fortunately, many of these skills, alongwith associ- ated flexible work and lifestyle changes have already been enthusiastically embraced by the millennial generation. q

MechChem Africa is endorsed by:

2 ¦ MechChem Africa • August 2018

MechChem Africa visits the Wadeville manufacturing facilities of APE Pumps and talks to Richard Harper and Norman Kroukamp about the refurbishment of concrete volute pumps at Lethabo Power Station and the company’s growing reach inAfrica. Innovative Pumps at the heart of Africa

“ T he work we recently completed for the Lethabo Power Station in the Free State has been very exciting for us,” begins Harper. “This involved the removal of all six of ourCW concrete volute vertical end-suction pumps from the pump well, the replacement and fitting of new wear rings onto the concrete volute floor and the inspection, repair and reassembly of the pumps at our Wadeville facility,” he adds. “These APE pumps were initially installed back in 1981 to supply cooling water to the two water towers that cool Lethabo’s boiler feed water – and this is their first refurbish- ment. We are also the pump supplier for the cooling towers at Arnot, Kriel, Duvha, Grootvlei, Hendrina and Komati Power Stations,” continues Kroukamp. These power stations typically have two cooling towers each serviced by six 1.6 m diameter CW pumps installed in a ring in a flooded well,” Harper says. Describing the role of the pumps, Kroukamp says that once the steam pro- duced by the power stations boiler had passed though the turbines, it needs to be condensed and cooled. At these power sta- tions, this is done by passing the hot boiler feed water through heat exchangers in a wet cooling tower. “Using our CWpumps, cooling water is pumped into the tower and sprayed onto the heat exchangers from above. When it comes into contact with the hot fins of the heat exchanger below, thiswater evaporates, extracting the heat from the boiler feed wa- ter,” Kroukamp explains. The cooling water required is pumped from a process water dam into a circular well containing a ring of six concrete volume pumps.“Thecoolingtowersusehugeamounts of water so at any time at least four of these pumpswill be in operation, each supplying up to 7 350 ℓ /s of water at a pressure of 116 kPa, withtwoadditionalpumpsinstalledforredun- dancy, ready to be switched on in the event of a failure,” he tells MechChem Africa , add- ing that the pumps run at 216 rpm, drawing 1.875MW (2 515 hp) of power from a 6.6 kV electrical supply. The original design used in this applica- tion came from Allen Gwynne in the UK.

Above: An APE 1200 MF vertical turbine pump.

Left: A row of recently completed split- case pumps at APE Pumps’ Wadeville manufacturing facility.

in the white metal bearing and thrust assemblies, so these were stripped down in our factoryandrefurbished.The journal and thrust-bearing pads were all re-polished, reassembled and then we took the pump assemblies back to site and dropped them into the volutes.

“We hold the licenses, pat- terns and draw- ing to enable us to manufacture

“HavingstartedtheworkduringDecember of 2017, wewere finished by April 2018, well before theendof theofficial half-shutdownat Lethabo. All the pumps are now installed and running efficiently to specifications and we arenowfinalisingworkon thepower station’s spare unit,” says Kroukamp. Harper continues: “Previously, we manu- factured three replacement impellers for Kriel and we are currently replacing Arnot impellers that experienced cavitation caused by running them in an inadequately flooded well with reduced suction pressure (NPSH). “We have also completed similar refur- bishments for Camden, Hendrina, Duvha, Komati and Grootvlei, and we are currently actively involved with Kriel power station,” he says, adding that work on pumps for the second Lethabo cooling tower is planned for the 2019 shutdown. Enhancing APE’s reach in Africa APE Pumps is now66 years old, having start- edout as aDowsonandDobson company and the local supplier for Amalgamated Power Engineering fromBedford in theUK. “We are well known for our 6- to 42-inch vertical tur- bine range, but our roots also include multi­ stagehigh lift pumps and split-case pumps for bulk water transport,” notes Harper. “Then, due to a buy-out of Byron Jackson,

these locally fromscratch, and if required, we also have the capability to make engineering design and pattern changes prior to casting,” says Harper. At Lethabo, the plant operators were becoming a little concerned about falling efficiency and initially decided to remove and replace all six of the wear rings from one of the towers’ pump well. “The clearance between the impeller and wear ring embed- ded in the concrete volute had increased to between 6.0 and 8.0 mm. The greater gap was allowing increased recirculation inside the pump, reducing the hydraulic efficiency. So a 2.5mmgap had to be restored to get the pumpsrunningtotheOEMdesignspecagain,” Kroukamp explains. “For the repair, the well was drained by Eskom, who also removed the motors. Using the permanently installed crane, the rotating assemblieswere then removedand inspected at ourWadeville facility. Then the wear rings in the volute were all removed and replaced. “The four pump assemblies in the best conditions were simply inspected and reas- sembled. After 37yearsof service, thesewere still in excellent condition,” Kroukamp notes. “The other two showed signs of deterioration

4 ¦ MechChem Africa • August 2018

⎪ Cover story ⎪

An APE split-case pump for bulk water transport. Right: One of the six APE CW

concrete volute vertical end-suction pumps on its way back to the Lethabo Power Station in the Free State.

we inherited anAPI 610 high-pressure pump range for the petrochemical industry, which gave us a foothold into local companies such as PetroSA and Sasol,” he notes. “We cur- rently offer API 610 8 th edition versions of these pumps and we are currently working onmodifyingthesedesignstocomplywiththe 10 th editionof theAPI 610 standard,” he adds. In recent years, however, APE Pumps has become part of the India-based WPIL pump group, which has its roots as Worthington Pumps India. “WPIL now owns APE Pumps, Mather+Platt, PSV Zambia and also includes GruppoAturia andRutschi pumps, both from Europe, which means that we can offer over 250pumpproducts, including clearwater and slurry pumps, single stage and horizontally multistage and split-case pumps, API 610 petro chemical pumps, Viking gear pumps for viscous substances such as peanut butter, grade 5A stainless steel super duplex pumps for seawater and chlorine applications, and many more,” Harper notes. The future is here To cope with the complexity involved in se- lecting suitable pump from this vast range, APE Pumps is currently setting up a web- based pump selection program to help se- lected clients to identify best-suited options in the fastest possible time. “This programwill soonbe available to selected clients toenable us to supply andmanufacture efficient pumps

If required, APE Pumps also has the capability to make engineering design and pattern changes prior to casting.

with the lowest possible cost of ownership to meet the specific needs of client applications. “Our aim is to significantly increase our penetration into Africa and the Middle East. Notablereferencesalreadyincludethesupply andsparescontractsforthebiggestpumpswe have ever built locally, the 1200 MF vertical turbine APE pump, which we supplied to a client in theMiddle East for desalination. The supply was supported by an America-based project management company and included the motor sets – 1 300 kW, 420 rpm, 14 pole electric motors. The combination of the two systems was 20 m in total length, weighed more than 36 t, and delivered at a duty of 3 800 ℓ /s into a 20 m head.

Other project successes include: stainless steel grade 5A super-duplex pumps supplied to an abalone farm in Gansbaai; and the turnkey high-pressure pumping solution supplied to the Blantyre Water Board in Malawi, which is pumping drinking water from the water treatment plant 26 km into distribution centre reservoirs and then a further 13 km into Blantyre,” Harper tells MechChem Africa . “We believe our innovative design and manufacturing capabilities place us at the heart of Africa, with turnkey solutions for mining, water and wastewater facilities, power generation, and for Africa’s burgeon- ing oil and gas and petrochemical industries,” Harper concludes. q

August 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 5

Mixed matrix membranes: Promising materials for AMD treatment By Michael ODaramola

In addition, the resins need to be regenerated when exhaust- ed by chemicals and this regeneration can produce sec- ondary pollution and elevate operational costs. On the other hand, the passive treat- ment of AMD relies on biological, geochemical and gravitation processes in natural or constructed wet- land ecosystems. Furthermore, conventional methods can only achieve partial treatment, and they also have the disadvantages

Water is connected to almost everything on earth. In South Africa, the words ‘mining’ and ‘water’ lead one to think about acid mine drainage (AMD). This month we feature an opinion piece by Professor Michael Daramola on membrane technology to treat AMD. The views expressed in this article are his own, informed by experience, literature review and other expert opinion pieces.

A major sanitation and water pol- lution challenge associated with the mining industry is acid mine drainage (AMD), which forms when sulphide rocks are exposed to air and water for prolonged periods. The formation of acidmine drainage is a natural process, but reactions are caused by exposing sulphide- containing rocks to the environment through mining operations and are often catalysed by bacterial activity. The natural process of AMD formation takes close to 15 years in the absence of bacteria, for ferric iron to produce acid, but the presence of bacteria shortens this reaction time. Typical characteristics of AMD are very low pH and high concentrations of metals and sulphates. If left untreated, AMDhas the significant negative environmental impact of mineralisationof affected areas and acidifica- tion of receiving ground and surface waters. The solubilityof transitionmetals is greater in lowpHmedia, henceAMDcarrieswith it high concentrations of metals such as Al, As, and

Mg and other transition metals such as Cu, Zn, Pb, Co,

Mn andCd, depending on the host rock. It enters the aquatic environment uncontrolla- bly, posing a threat to humans, domesticated animals and the ecosystem. Conventional treatment processes: active and passive treatment Active treatment involves neutralising the acidity with alkaline substances such as lime to trigger precipitation of metal hydroxide, which is easily be removed by sedimenta- tion. Furthermore, ion exchange technology –which explores the advantage of oppositely charged pollutants and employs solid resins to remove cations and anions from solutions – has also been proposed as a treatment method. A high metal ion uptake capability of this resinmakes ion exchange an attractive technology, but it is a preferred technology forlowmetalionconcentrationsandbecomes very expensive when dealing with high con- centrations of metal ions in solutions.

of producing sludge, requiring high-energy consumption and frequent maintenance. Therefore, growing global demand for clean water and increasing environmental concerns, warrant the need to search for more sustainable and environmentally friendly technologies for metal ion removal from mining wastewater. There is a great need for water recycling and efficiency of water recyclingwill depend strongly, amongst other factors, on the performance of existing water treatment techniques andprocesses to provide potable and clean water for the use of the human race without posing environ- mental hazards. Potable water coupled with good sanita- tion should be affordable by all, which is the sixth of the sustainable development goals (SDG): Clean water and sanitation for all. Membrane technology In the search for alternative technologies, membrane technology has proven to be a promising option. Membrane technology, due to its easy operation, inexpensiveness, high separation efficiency and low energy consumption, has emerged as a promising substitute to conventional methods for AMD treatment. Amembrane is a thin layer of semi-perme- ablematerial that separates substanceswhen adriving force is appliedacross it ina selective manner.Mechanical strength, thermal stabil- ity and chemical resistance of a membrane form part of the significant characteristics that define a good membrane and they are highly dependent on the properties of the materials of construction. Mostcommonpressure-drivenmembrane processes, which are distinguished by pore sizes, are microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO). But pure polymer membranes have poor chemical resistance, poor mechanical

Michael Daramola is an Associate Professor at the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of theWitwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He is an established researcher, with a sustained record of research productivity and quality research outputs, who has been evaluated and benchmarked by the SouthAfricanNational ResearchFoundation (NRF) rating system (C-rating) recognised by peers in his field.  Furthermore, he is a Chartered Chemical Engineer (CEng) with the Engineering Council of the UK and a RegisteredEngineerwith theCouncil for theRegulation ofEngineeringinNigeria(COREN).Hisresearchfocuses on sustainable energy and clean environment. He also serves as an associate editor of theChemical

Engineering Communications (CEC), an editorial member of the International Journal of Oil, Gas & Coal Technology (IJOGCT), and an associate editorial board member of the Open Chemical Engineering Journal. He is an active member of SAIChE IChemE in Gauteng. Email: Michael.Daramola@wits.ac.za Extracted from: Machodi, M, Daramola, M O (2018); Sodalite and Chitosan based Composite Membrane Materials for Treatment of Metal-containing Wastewater in Mining Operations.

6 ¦ MechChem Africa • August 2018

⎪ SAIChE IChemE news ⎪

authorsdemonstrated,basedonexperimental results,thatloadingHScrystalswithinthePES polymer matrix enhanced the performance (selectivity and flux) of pure PES membranes. Inaddition,theauthorsobserved,basedon the characterisation of the synthesised HS/ PESmembranethatthefractionalfreevolume withinthePESpolymermatrixdecreasedwith an increase in HS loading. As far as could be ascertained, this was the first open report on the application of HS-infused polymer mixed matrix membrane for AMD treatment. Despite vast research efforts in the development of membrane materials, espe- ciallymixedmatrixmembranes, forwater and wastewatertreatment,theexpectedprogress in the field is hampered by some challenges mitigating the quick development of these membranes for industrial applications. Two commonly known difficulties associated with membrane operation are concentration polarisation and fouling. Membrane fouling is a more serious con- cern than concentrationpolarisationbut both need to be prevented in membrane system operations. During a membrane separation process, a natural consequence of semi- permeability and selectivity of a membrane results in accumulation of rejected solutes or particles on the membrane surface. This process, which is reversible, is called concen- tration polarisation. Another challenge in the development of mixed matrix membranes (eg, HS/PES mem- branes) for mining wastewater treatment, is the low membrane flux and membrane reproducibility. Development of dependable and proven robust synthesis techniques for the fabrication of reproducible membranes with high selectivity to metal ions from min- ing wastewater (eg, AMD), is essential for commercialising mixed matrix membranes for industrial application. In addition, devel- oping ultra-thin membrane (about 1.0 µm in thickness) could enhance the membrane flux without compromising the selectivity. For industrial application, a tubular con- figuration is preferred to the flat-sheet configuration, and enhancement of the surface area-to-volume ratio of the tubular configuration could be instrumental in en- hancing the performance and throughput of these membranes in industry. Instead of casting the membrane precur- sor solution into flat-sheet membranes (as is commonlydone), theprecursor solutioncould be made into fibres using an electrospinning technique. Furthermore, parametric optimi- sation and operational stability studies of the performance of these membranes using various real miningwastewatermight be nec- essary to benchmark their performance and integrityagainst other commerciallyavailable membrane materials/systems. q

In the search for alternative technologies for AMD water treatment, membrane-based technology has proven to be a promising option.

strength and poor thermal stability when compared to inorganic membranes. In terms of chemical resistance, mechani- cal property and thermal stability, zeolite- based membranes (inorganic) display better performance when compared to polymeric membranes, but the cost of the ceramic sup- ports employed in fabricating zeolite-based membranes is very high, contributing to very high overall costs of zeolite-based membranes. In addition, they are very fragile and brittle, making handling during module assembly difficult. In addition, technology for fabricating commercial zeolite membranes is still at the developmental stage, while technol- ogy for commercial production of polymeric membranes is mature, with their applica- tions in a series of industrial processes. To overcome these shortcomings of zeolite membranes, mixed matrix membranes have been proposed. Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) are composite membranes containing inorganic fillers (eg, zeolite crystals/nano materials) within the matrix of polymer membranes. Mixed matrix membranes consist of inor- ganic fillers fabricated within a polymeric matrix and aim to take great advantage of the processability, durability, permeability and selectivity of polymers by offering the advantage of a unique surface chemistry and good mechanical properties. The presence of crystals within the poly- mer chains improves separationperformance, mechanical strength and thermal stability of polymeric membranes. However, chemi- cal structure of the inorganic fillers, type of inorganic fillers and surface chemistry are mitigating factors to obtaining high quality MMMs. Examples of thesemembranes, which

have been synthesised and tested for the treatment of AMD, are chitosan-infused and sodalite-infused polymer membranes. Chitosan-basedmembranes arepreferred as membrane materials for the removal of metal ions from solutions due to the ease of separation after processing, high adsorption capacity, faster kinetics, better reusability and biodegradability after use. In addition, the presence of functionalities such as amine (-NH 2 ) andhydroxyl (-OH) in thechitosanmol- ecules, provides a basis for interaction with othermaterials, therebymaking it apromising material for AMD treatment. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/chitosan compos- ite membranes have been examined for the removal of cobalt ions (Co 2+ ) fromradioactive wastewater. In comparisonwith other adsor- bents, the PVA/ chitosan (magnetic) compos- itebeads used in themembrane resulted in its very high adsorption capacity. In the same vein, performance of micro- porous chitosan/polyethylene glycol mixed matrixmembrane during adsorptive removal of iron and manganese from wastewater has been reported. According to the authors, the membranesdisplayedverygoodperformance for the removal of iron and manganese ions from the wastewater sample tested and they are re-usable. Recently, a report on the synthesis and performance evaluation of hydroxy sodalite/ polyether sulfone (HS/PES) mixed matrix membrane for acid mine drainage (AMD) treatmentwas publishedbyDaramola andhis co-workers fromWitsUniversity. Theauthors investigated theuseofHS crystals as a filler in PES to fabricate HS/PES membranes, which were tested by the treatment of real AMD. Themembranedisplayedverygoodselectivity to lead ions (Pb 2+ , about 60%). In addition, the

August 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 7

Johannes Coetzee, MD of condition monitoring specialist Martec, a Pragma Group company, unpacks someof thebuzzwords associatedwith the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and urges adopters to focus on the true value that will successfully be unlocked, as opposed to implementing the next best thing. Equipment reliability: a true value IIoT opportunity

“ W hen it comes to mainte- nance and asset man- agement, there are long debates and differing opinions about what fits where: is mainte- nance a sub-set of asset management or does it have a completely different role,” states Coetzee, who is the president of the Southern African Asset Management Asso- ciation (SAAMA) and the Vice-Chairman of theGlobal ForumonMaintenance and Asset Management (GFMAM). “AtMartec, we say that reliability is every- thing. Whatever your view about what fits where, getting your plant to perform reliably has got to be one of the first focal areas,” he believes. “Having an effective reliability plat- formas a building blockwill improve the ease of dealingwith themore complexoverarching topics of maintenance and asset manage- ment,” he goes on to say. Asset management, he continues, strives to optimise the balance between perfor- mance, cost and risk. “There is no ‘one size fit all’ solution, though. Every asset manage- ment implementation needs to fit snugly into the organisational strategy of the adopting company. “If selling into a cut-throat low-price mar- ket, for example, a company may not be able to justify the costs involved in establishing a low-risk asset management programme. To compete,theymayhavetobewillingtoaccept Johannes Coetzee is the MD of Martec, President of the Southern African Asset Management Association (SAAMA) as well as Vice-Chairman of the Global Forum on Maintenance and Asset Management (GFMAM), the umbrella body for professional associations in the field ofmaintenance and assetsmanage- ment across the world. He also serves on theAdvisoryBoard oftheIndustrialEngineeringDepartment at the University of Pretoria. Coetzee is an industrial engineer, holds anMBAand hasbeeninthefieldofassetmanagement for nearly two decades.

The data collected can be the feeding ground for the development of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) systems.

the higher risk associated with equipment failure. Critical service providers, however, may have to go for a higher equipment and maintenance cost options to deliver at lower risk,” Coetzee tells MechChem Africa . “Asset reliability impacts all three of these factors, because if the equipment (assets) in the operation are reliable, then better overall performance is guaranteed and lower risk obviously follows. Cost could go either way as reliability also comes at a price, but this is where technological advances are changing the industry in a big way,” he argues. “When it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT), there are a few buzzwords with similar meanings flying around, which are creat- ing excitement and nervousness in the industry: the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT); Industrie 4.0, with German origins; Maintenance 4.0; Autonomous operations; Artificial Intelligence, and more. Also, con- cerns about people’s functional profiles, skills development and the changingworking environment are being raised,” he points out. “The IoT involves broader applications of Internet connectivity and data formyriad ap- plications: monitoring a car and informing the owner when a service is due, for example or automatically turning on the air conditioning just before arriving home. “With IIoT, we focus on industrial uses to optimise business objectives.Monitoring and control devices connected to the Internet analyse live data that can be used to better manage individual components, whole ma-

chines and entire factories,” he says. “There is a different between the drive towards IIoT and Automation, however. IIoT will most definitely assist more sophisticated inter-system automation, but the goal with IIoT is not merely to automate. For instance the huge potential feed of datawill be used to driveoptimisation, inaddition to thepotential automation uses.” Coetzee explains. ”It is possible to have an Internet- connected sensor next to a factory worker packing boxes, for example, which collects in- formation about howmany boxes theworker is putting through per hour. The process is not automated: it has simply been digitised. Connectivity has been added to better moni- tor the operation,” he adds. It is a misnomer that one first has to auto- matebeforethepowerofIIoTcanbeaccessed. Automation can be bypassed if a manual process makes better financial sense. “It is, perhaps, easier to implement an IIoT solution on an already automated system, but not necessarily a requirement.”Coetzee suggests. Before embarking on an IIoT implementa- tion, however, Coetzee believes that people need to understand the why. “What compa- nies get wrong is that they get sold on the perceived ‘honey pot’ associated with some of the buzzwords and, in the process, do not justify thebusiness caseagainst truecompany objectives. “Since asset management involves the balance between performance cost and risk – and reliability is a strong influencer of all

8 ¦ MechChem Africa • August 2018

⎪ Asset, maintenance and risk management ⎪

of these factors – it makes sense to use reli- ability improvement as a factor in thebusiness case when investigating IIoT advancements.” Coetzee informs MechChem Africa , adding that the efficiency of a reliability programme is “hugely improved” by the amount of reliable data availableoneachof the significant assets (equipment). “For an enhanced reliability programme we need to have a clear indication of the condition of all the significant equipment components that make up the process. We have long done this via periodic condition monitoring of selected components, but IIoT technology can play a massive role here in making the information readily available on abroader base and thusmuchmorepowerful. “Let’s take a bearing, for example, the most commonly used component on rotating machines. If I havenodata andno information about the typical conditions under which the bearing will fail, then I can only assume a random failure pattern and will not be able tomaintain it optimally. As I learnmore about the bearing, I can start to estimate the period of its useful lifeand, thereafter, I can replace it. It still might fail before that time, but I might catch it in time. “By implementing a lubrication pro- gramme Imaybe able toextend that bearing’s useful life, but I will still need to replace it at some estimated point in order to try and pre- vent outright failure and I will need to guess or experiment as to the optimum lubrication schedule. “If, however, I bring an IIoT solution into the equation I will be able to lubricate based on the actual requirement andbe in a position to predict the remaining life with much more accuracy and, in particular, an outright failure can be predicted before it actually occurs. Employers attending the second CTCOpen day for 2018at theCollieryTrainingCollege (CTC) on the 4 November 2018 will have an opportunity to learn more about artisan skills that align with the Fourth Industrial Revolution/Industry 4.0. Already seen in the mining industry in the use of autono- mous Haulage Systems (AHS) that allow unmanned operation of mining equipment, for example, Industry 4.0 has already been successfully tested on local coalmines. It is said that the first person to reach the age of 200 has already been born and it is expected that she will be totally re-trained at least four times during her lifetime. Also, if she chooses to be an artisan, her training will lookmuch different fromthat currently prescribed by the authorities. 

In this, way costs and production downtime can be reduced and the risks lowered at the same time,” Coetzee notes. Unpacking some of the typical value that IIoT has to offer, he includes: • Making data live, which allows us togather data faster and turn it into useful information that is much more easily accessible. • It enables the gathering of data from dangerous and inacces- sible areas of a plant without inconvenience or safety risk posed to humans.

The IIoT can improve the efficiency of a reliability programme because of the huge amount of reliable data available on each of the significant equipment assets.

dation to the artisans attending the course, making the facility one of the preferred trainingcentresforemployers.“Fivetraining vouchers that will afford employers the op- portunity to send learners for a full artisan trade at CTC. These will be up for grabs in our Open Day for Employers Lucky Draw,” says Venter. TheColliery TrainingCollegewas found- ed in 1965, initially to cater only for the mining sector, but the collegehas diversified andartisan skills training is nowavailable for all interested parties. CTC is accredited by the Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA) and the QualityCouncil for Trades andOccupations (QCTO). A memorandum of understanding (MoU) also exists between CTC and several relevant SETAs. info@ctctraining.co.za “But we are not becoming an IIoT service provider,” he emphasises. “We operate at the next level by selling end-to-end reliability solutions that deliver improved bottom line results through utilising the best technology has to offer,” Coetzee concludes. q in Perth in an air-conditioned office. They are still driving trucks, but they are not driving them in the same way. Now these operators can live and work in a city and drive mine trucks in a remote and inhospitable area. It’s safer and certainly more convenient, but not necessarily more difficult,” he suggests. In support of these arguments,Martec and the bigger Pragma Group is investing a huge amount of time and money into research and development that will enable the successful integrationofthevariousadvancesintechnol- ogy (including IIoT) towards guaranteedvalue delivery against customised organisational objectives. The purpose is to have modular solutions that are system agnostic enabling them to interface with virtually any device that can provide a basic output signal.

• We can much more quickly react to alarm levels that may previously have been missed due to the time gap between in- spection cycles. • The data collected can be fed into bigger systems where complex datasets can be analysed and used to generate ever- better artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. Typically this data will be the feeding ground for the development of advanced AI and virtual reality (VR) systems. On the impact on people and skills, Coetzee believes that “the reality is that whether we want to accept it or not, the way that current shop floor employees engage with industrial assets is busy changing.

“Many say that IIoTwill take away jobs, but I do not think that is necessarily the case. The types of jobswill change and thiswill be asso- ciatedwithdifferentskills,buttheseskillsmay not necessarily be higher or lower level skills, theywill simply be different,” Coetzee argues. He cites an example from an iron ore mine in Australia. “All of the haul trucks are remotely operated and the drivers are sitting CTC open day to focus on Industry 4.0

The CTC college, now in its 54 th  year of existence, offers SETA aligned training to mining and most other industrial sectors, with a core objective to provide training for artisans in the mining, metals, engineering and related sectors and also to collaborate with employers, product developers and other stakeholders in the search for sustain- able training solutions to prepare artisans for the fourth industrial revolution.  The managing director of CTC, Johan Venter, says the Open day will afford em- ployers an invaluable opportunity to get information from theMQA andMerseta on artisan training grants that will be available. At this Open day, CTC wishes to show- case its state-of-the-art training facilities. The CTC Training Centre offers accommo-

August 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 9

The high value industrial safety offering

Germiston, offer local customers legislative compliance, consistency, accuracy and cost savings, says Strydom. Citing Afrox HiQ methane and carbon monoxide mixes, he says that these are used to calibrate the monitors for ship engine rooms, and for the explosive and toxicmeters used in underground goldmines. These gases pose fire and explosion dangers, so reliably monitoring their presence is essential for the safety of people working in engine rooms or underground. In addition to the calibration gases for environmental and safety monitors, Afrox HiQ gases are widely used as carrier gases for gas chromatography-mass spectrom- etry (GC-MS) instruments, which are used in laboratories and testing facilities all over the worldtodeterminetheexactconstituentsand contamination levels of substances. Applications include drug detection, envi- ronmental analysis, fire and explosion inves- tigations, and the identification of unknown substance samples. GC-MS is widely used for forensic identification of substances found at crime scenes because specific samples can be traced to the criminal with 100% certainty. For GC-MS instruments, Afrox offers HiQ helium. The purity of the carrier gas is obvi- ously very important to the accuracy of the result, but the instruments themselves are also very sensitive to oxygen, moisture and any hydrocarbon contaminants. In thepetrochemical industry, for example, samples of a fraction from the distillation of crude oil, such as diesel, petrol or natural gas, are analysed. The chosen fraction gets vapourised and separated on a chromatogra- phy column. It then goes into the mass spec- trometer, which produces a chromatogram fromwhich every constituent element of the sample, including all of the impurities, can be identified and quantified. The result is automatically compared to a library of substances in a database, so all the constituents and their percentages are immediately identified. And if the instru- ment is calibrated for a particular substance mix – Afrox is currently working on a very toxic benzene/toluene/xylene calibration gas – then tiny quantities of the contaminant of interest can be found. For the petrochemical industry, Strydom says that Afrox develops a vast range of calibration gases, whichmimic the potentially harmful pollutants that need to be kept out of the fuels that are used by the industry. HiQ gases are also widely used by water utilities which use GC-MS to pick up any dan- gerouspollutantssuchasvolatileorganicsand other carcinogens in their water. q

Precision matters in everything we do, says Hans Strydom, technical services manager for special products and chemicals at Afrox. Here he talks about Afrox’s HiQ range of innovative solutions, tailor made to suit customers’ specific speciality gas and equipment requirements.

Afrox HiQ gases are widely used as carrier gases for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instruments, which are used in laboratories and testing facilities all over the world.

A t Afrox and all other Linde compa- nies around the world, HiQ is the global brand for a specific range of made-for-purpose gases, gas mixturesandassociatedproductsthatcomply with very high purity and quality standards. Afrox HiQ speciality gases include pure ‘scientific’ gases;made-to-order scientific car- rier gases and mixtures; calibration mixtures for certifying the accuracy of instruments; as well as a host of special-purpose mixtures for safety, research and development in the petrochemical, energy andmining industries, scientific laboratories and at health facilities. At the starting point of the HiQ product range are Afrox’s high purity atmospheric gases: argon, carbondioxide, helium, nitrogen and oxygen. For use in HiQ gas formulations, eachof the sourcegasesmust beof exception- ally high purity. “We talk about gas purity lev- els in terms of a number of nines: a five nines (N5) purity, for example is 99.999% pure, which means it has an impurity level of less than 0.001% or 10 parts per million (ppm),” Strydom explains.

For modern HiQ gases, Afrox now offers six nines (N6) purity levels, which contain less than 1.0 ppm of contamination. This is the basis for the HiQ ® 60 range, according to Strydom. These gas mixtures are designed to have a shelf life of up to 60 months, as op- posed to the previous generation mixtures that could only be guaranteed for 36months. When it comes to the calibrationof safety- critical measuring equipment, the purity level of the calibration mix represents true value. Emissions analysis of smoke stacks at refin- eries, power stations and processing plants is a legal requirement and, in some cases, the emission monitors used are required to detect contaminant levels below 100 ppb (parts per billion). To calibrate these instruments, the cali- bration gas used must accurately mimic the polluting gas that the instrument needs to monitor – getting the measurement wrong can be costly, with potential fines. Low ppm HiQ calibration gas mixes, many of which are manufactured at Afrox’s state-of-the- art Gas Operations Centre (GOC) facility in

In addition to the calibration gases for environmental and safety monitors, Afrox HiQ gases are widely used as carrier gases for gas chromatography- mass spectrometry (GC-MS) instruments, which are used in laboratories and testing facilities all over the world to determine the exact constituents and contamination levels of substances.

10 ¦ MechChem Africa • August 2018

⎪ Asset, maintenance and risk management ⎪

Grease filling filter for automatic lubrication systems

S KF has announced the introduction of its Lincoln small grease reservoir filling filter, which helps to minimise contaminants entering automatic lubrication systems during the filling process of smaller-sized reservoirs. Installed as an inline component in the res- ervoir’s fill line, the filling filter helps to ensure that clean grease enters the reservoir and the system. As grease enters through the inlet, it passes through the filter and then exits into a hose that is connected to the fill port of the grease reservoir. As the filter element becomes clogged, the unit’s clogged-indicator pin starts to re- tract, signaling that filter element cleaning is required. If the clogged filter element is not cleaned, grease will vent safely to a catch container without bypassing to the reservoir. The easy-to-install Lincoln small grease reservoir filling filter is available with either a 250 or 500 μm crush-proof filter element, which is simple to clean. It has a fill rate of up to 8.0 ℓ /min at a maximum operating pressure of 344bar –depending on the application, type of grease and ambient temperature – and the filter’s compact size makes remote mounting from the reservoir possible. The Lincoln small grease reservoir filling filter is suitable for off-road construction, small mining equipment, general industry, wind en- ergy, over-the-road trucking, construction and agricultural applications. Combiningmore than100 years of SKF and Lincoln expertise, SKF offers the industry’s most complete portfolio of innovative lubrica- tion solutions – from manual lubricators and tools to the most advanced centralised and automatic lubrication systems. Automatic Lubrication systems are vital for the on-going maintenance of any type of machinery, ensuring that each lubricationpoint gets the correct amount of grease, in small doses in regular intervals while the machine is in motion. This ensures that the lubrication points are optimally lubricated, reducing pre- mature failure. ALincoln systemwill also assist in reducing the time it takes for maintenance procedures. These systems can prevent costly break- downs, making operation more profitable and are an integral component of asset protection management systems. As well as the supply of equipment, Lincoln Lubricationalsooffersqualityservicesthrough- out sub-Saharan Africa, including: consulting and systemplanning; installationof technically advanced systems;maintenanceof Lincoln and SKF equipment; on site and workshop repairs;

and training, on-site or at Lincoln/SKF facilities. The company aspires to design and develop quality as-

The new Lincoln small grease reservoir filling filter for automatic lubrication systems from SKF. and on time with a view to exceeding their expectations. Fully complaint with safety, health, en- vironment and quality regulations, Lincoln Lubricants is committed to creating a safe and healthy working environment for em- ployees and a culture of mindfulness. q

set management/protection systems for industry and to create a cultureof innovative thinking by establishing productive working methods and suggesting ideas for continuous improvement in its products. With respect to its customers, sound and above board, long-term relationships are preferred. Clients’ are treated profession- ally, with their needs being met accurately

August 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 11