MechChem Africa September-October 2024

MechChem SEPT-OCT 2024 AFRICA

Sustainable fertilizer solutions for Africa

This month: SA’s World-class On Key EAM solution

A woman’s journey into extractive metallurgy

Absolute pressure and abalone farming

Advanced solutions for the water treatment

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CONTENTS 32

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Maintenance solutions and asset management 6 Pragma’s world-class On Key EAM solution

Scott Gibson, the newly appointed CEO of Pragma, SA’s enterprise asset management specialist, sees strength in Pragma’s On Key software platform, which he says can compete with world leading competitors. 9 Specialist maintenance of conveyors pays dividends

10 Smarter fleet management for Bell Equipment Water, wastewater and pumping solutions 12 Why absolute pressure is important to abalone farming

Published bimonthly by Crown Publications (Pty) Ltd 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 Editor: Peter Middleton e-mail: peterm@crown.co.za Advertising: Elmarie Stonell e-mail: mechchemafrica@crown.co.za Design: Katlego Montsho 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. Transparency You Can See Average circulation Apr to Jun 2024: 10 721 Printed by: Tandym Print, Cape Town Front cover: thyssenkrupp Uhde Contact: Nithesh Mohun Tel: +27 11 236 1000 Email: nithesh.mohun@thyssenkrupp.com Website: www.uhde.co.za

UNIDO Pump expert Harry Rosen of TAS Online talks about a recent pump assessment for a group of Abalone farmers in the Western Cape of South Africa.

14 VEGA: takes the pressure out of pressure measurement 15 New 16 MLD water treatment plant for Botswana

Minerals processing and materials handling 16 A woman’s journey into extractive metallurgy

In celebration ofWomen’s Month,Wilna Hoffmann, a business development manager for Multotec, talks to MechChem Africa about her love of extractive metallurgy and her journey from being “not the best of students” to loving every subsequent moment of her working life. 19 Flexicon marks 50 years

20 CSIR SEA for green hydrogen economy 21 ENDURON ® all-bolted orbital screens Heating, ventilation and air conditioning 22 Ventilation-on-demand: why it remains elusive

Hannes Potgieter, specialist ventilation consultant at BBE, describes some of the issues impeding the widespread adoption of ventilation-on-demand in South African mines.

PowerGen, PetroChem and sustainable energy management. 24 Unleashing the potential of green hydrogen in SA

Mareli Botha, technical director at Zutari, talks about green hydrogen as a ‘beacon of hope’ for the sustainable energy transformation, particularly in South Africa. 25 Making a world of difference in energy security 26 Voith Hydro and ACTOM partner in pump turbine generator repair 27 GiGi Partners with Fuelre4m to drive sustainable energy

28 Steam turbine self-generation 29 SA’s first solar facade skyscraper Local manufacturing and food processing 30 First Battery sets standard for recyclable lead-acid batteries

First Battery leads the green energy sector with its new range of automotive lead-acid batteries, which are now 96% recyclable.This achievement showcases First Battery's strong commitment to sustainability and innovative energy solutions. 31 SKF and voestalpine to decarbonise bearing production

Hydraulics, Pneumatics and Automation 32 Air system management with service plans

Ashley Sathabridge of Atlas Copco Compressor Technique talks about the company’s suite of seven service plans, which set the benchmark for curbing operational costs and maximising uptime.

Innovative engineering 38 Advanced solutions for the water treatment industry

To more effectively and efficiently manage and control water resources, innovative technologies from SMC have been chosen for some flagship developments: a real time bio-based micropollutants detection system; and a zero-waste water recycling and reuse system for the Paris Olympics.

Regulars 2

Peter’s comment:The growth problem and doughnut economics 4 On the cover: Green fertilizer: local production for self-sufficiency: Nithesh Mohun of thyssenkrupp Uhde talks about Africa’s need for more local fertilizer plants. 34 Products and industry news 40 Back page: Deep sustainability modelled on nature’s mutualistic systems

September-October 2024 • MechChem Africa ¦ 1

The growth problem and doughnut economics

Peter Middleton

I recently attended a festival in the UK called Greenbelt, originally an alternative Christian festival, but it is now described as a celebration of ‘artistry, activism and belief’. This year’s theme was ‘Dream-on’ – in the ‘call to action’ sense rather than implying ‘it’s never going to happen’. Along with the music, comedy and poetry performances, speakers from all over the world were presenting on and debating the world’s current problems: how much trouble we are in and how we ought to be responding. Not much of what I heard offered cause to celebrate. One of the talks I attended was entitled: ‘We need to talk about growth’ by Kate Raworth, the author of a book called Doughnut Economics. She started by using pool noodles to demonstrate the difference between exponential and logistic growth: the one curve arcing ever more steeply upwards, the other flattening off and entering a decline as the resources run out. Her point: in a world of limited resources, we cannot expect our economies to continue to grow exponentially. Yet we are “addicted” to GDP growth. In a very entertaining way, she went on to highlight some of the reasons why governments, financial institutions and ordinary people have become totally dependent on “endless” growth: The new British Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has promised not to raise taxes, so she needs revenue growth to fund the services shortfall; the banking system depends on interest being paid on bonds, mortgages and loans; pen sion schemes are based on the value of monthly payments growing into a comfortable retirement income for members; and nations almost always have large defence budgets that have to be continu ally expanded to meet national security concerns or to feed ongoing regional conflict. As a climate-change response, she says that many nations, including the new UK Government, believe that green growth is still possible, where we transition away from exploiting our low-cost fossil fuel resources and, instead, invest in renewable energy options, which will create green job growth in a host of associated industries and activities. But the rate of this transition is way too slow to prevent climate change and we are still likely to overshoot at least six of the nine planetary boundaries on which all life utterly depends. Kate Raworth believes that we should be more ‘agnostic’ about GDP growth. We don’t want it to grind to a halt, but we need to transform our economies to deliver what we and the planet need,

rather than being fixated on whether or not GDP is going up or down. We need to ask ourselves why we need the growth and are there ways of directly meeting the needs we have rather than simply focusing on economic growth so that we might afford to fund a solution. Which is where the idea of Doughnut Economics comes in. Humanity’s 21 st century challenge, she says, is to meet the needs of all within the means of the planet: to ensure that no one falls short on any of life’s es sentials – from food and housing to healthcare and political voice – while at the same time ensuring that, collectively, we do not overshoot our Earth’s life-support systems, on which we fundamentally depend: a stable climate, fertile soils, a protective ozone layer, etc. The Doughnut of social and planetary boundar ies is a playfully serious approach to framing that challenge, and it acts as a compass for human prog ress in this century. The outer ring of the doughnut is the environmental ceiling of our planet. It consists of nine boundaries, beyond which lie unacceptable environmental degradation and potential tipping points in Earth systems. One of these is climate change, but eight other environmental concerns are also included. Overshoot on this outer ring represents an area of unsustainable degradation. The twelve dimensions of the social foundation form the inner ring and are derived from interna tionally agreed minimum social standards, as identi fied by the world’s governments in the Sustainable Development Goals. The empty space in the middle of the doughnut represents a shortfall in provision, an area of unacceptable social inequity. Between these social aspects on the inner ring and planetary boundaries on the outer lies an environmentally safe and socially just space in which humanity can thrive. [www.kateraworth. com/doughnut] The word economics comes from a Greek word ‘oikonomia’ meaning ‘household management’. It should be holistic in its nature, equitably balancing all our present and future needs, for ourselves and the planet, and Kate Raworth’s doughnut expresses this well. It also fits excellently with Greenbelt’s ‘Dream on’ slogan in both senses: I am sure many will feel it is simply ‘not going to happen’, but it certainly of fers a new perspective on identifying urgent global needs and putting into place a properly integrated set of actions for steering our plant and societies towards true and equitable sustainability.

Comment

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2 ¦ MechChem Africa • September-October 2024

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Green fertilizer: local production for self-sufficiency Nithesh Mohun, business development manager for thyssenkrupp’s green hydrogen-based solutions, talks about Africa’s need for more local fertilizer plants to enable local farmers to meet the demands of their fast-growing populations. “F rom engagements with cli ents across Africa, we are finding an increasing need for fertilizer plants,” begins Nithesh Mohun of thyssenkrupp Uhde in South Africa. countries. However, geo-political influences are disrupting global supply chains and driving the prices of fertilizer to prohibi tive levels. This presents opportunities for African economies to become self-reliant, particularly with respect to food security. To this end, countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, amongst others, have announced projects establish their own fertilizer production industries,” he explains. While there is a broad range of different fertilizers, he says that the African market tends to focus more on the nitrogen-based products, such as ammonium nitrate (AN) fertilizers, and urea ammonium nitrate over phosphorous based fertilizers. This is primarily due to the lower cost and greater availability of nitrogen fertilizers. “African farmers are currently import ing their fertilizer and producers in South Africa are exporting into many surrounding

The common ingredient for the produc tion of nitrogen-based fertilizers is ammonia (NH 3 ), which is produced from the reaction between hydrogen (H 2 ) and nitrogen (N 2 ). This is known as the Haber-Bosch process. If the hydrogen is produced by the steam reforming of natural gas (CH 4 ), then the resultant ammonia is called grey ammonia. However, if the hydrogen is produced from renewable resources such as solar, wind or hydroelectric, then the resultant ammonia is called green ammonia. Once the ammonia has been produced, the next step is the manufacture of nitric acid (HNO 3 ). Nitric acid is produced by oxidizing ammonia through the Ostwald Process. The ammonia and nitric acid are then reacted to produce ammonium nitrate solution (NH4NO 3 ). The ammonium nitrate solution can be further processed into solid forms such as prills, granules or crystals. thyssenkrupp Uhde offers a portfolio of state-of-the-art solutions for the produc tion of all types of ammonium nitrate-based fertilizers. “With plant capacities of up to 2 000 mtpd, we are one of the world-leading licensors of these processes,” says Nithesh Mohun. Of particular note is uhde ® ammo nium nitrate vacuum neutralization process (Figure 1), a proprietary process that offers exceptional reliability and safety during plant operation. “This process features a system for mixing ammonia and nitric acid and a forced circulation system for cooling the AN solution produced. The process ensures stable operating conditions with high efficiency and low emissions,” he says. The uhde ® ammonium nitrate vacuum neutralization process is characterized by high product quality in accordance with international standards; high reliability thyssenkrupp Uhde ammonium nitrate fertilizer solutions

thyssenkrupp Uhde can offer the whole green fertilizer process chain from ammonia to urea, ammonium nitrate or UAN, using experience from many such projects successfully executed.

4 ¦ MechChem Africa • September-October 2024

⎪ Cover story ⎪

and long operating times; highest safety in operation due to sophisticated process and control concepts; and low operating temperatures, which avoid the decomposi tion of AN and the formation of potentially harmful aerosols. “The plants also offer easy start-up and shutdown and they offer high energy efficiency. Low maintenance and better corrosion resistance – due to low operating temperatures – are also features, which all makes these plants very cost effective. “We have many references for proven worldwide plants sized between 200 and 2 000 mtpd of AN, which are ideally suited for local production of fertilizers across the African continent,” Mohun adds. Urea and UAN UAN (urea ammonium nitrate) is a mixture of ammonium nitrate, urea and water. Typical nitrogen concentrations of UAN are 28%, 30% or 32%. Depending on the cus tomer's requirements, UAN can be enriched with soluble plant nutrients (sulphur, boron, and calcium compounds). Uhde offers two processes in capacity ranges from 540 to 4 300 mtpd in a single train for the production of UAN: • ammonium nitrate mixing with urea • Neutralization of urea off-gas, For the ammonium nitrate mixing with urea solution, ammonium nitrate (AN) is produced in the Uhde ammonium nitrate neutralization process as described above. The AN solution is then mixed with the urea solution and water in a special UAN mixing unit to obtain the required nitrogen content and adjusted to an alkaline pH (Figure 2). After cooling and addition of a corrosion inhibitor, the final UAN solution can be easily stored and handled. The contaminant level in the process condensate is normally below 15 ppm. The neutralization of urea off-gas pro cess is based on using a once-through urea synthesis process where the ammonia-rich off-gas is used to drive the ammonium nitrate neutralization reaction (Figure 3). Due to the high CO 2 content of the off-gas, the neutralization reaction is performed in a natural gas circulation loop, followed by the UAN preparation steps described above. A sophisticated scrubbing system is also installed to reduce ammonia losses in the vent gas. “The thyssenkrupp Uhde name is synonymous with first-class technologies, which are subject to constant refinement, excellent management, modern interna tional procurement from the global market and decades of experience in all corners of the globe,” adds Mohun. “We can offer the whole process chain from ammonia to urea, ammonium nitrate

Figure 1: The Uhde vacuum neutralization and evaporation process.

Figure 2: Uhde UAN solution process with ammonia feed.

Figure 3: Uhde UAN solution process using urea off-gas.

or UAN, using experience from many such projects successfully executed. “We be lieve, therefore, that we are in an excellent position to help countries all over Africa to meet their local fertilizer needs – from local resources such as air, water, captured CO 2

and renewable energy. Not only can this help to meet growing food production de mands, but it could also help the continent to become more environmentally friendly and sustainable,” concludes Nithesh Mohun. www.thyssenkrupp-uhde.com

September-October 2024 • MechChem Africa ¦ 5

Scott Gibson, the newly appointed CEO of Pragma, South Africa’s enterprise asset management specialist, sees strength in Pragma’s globally recognised On Key software platform, which he says can compete with world leading competitors such as SAP. Pragma’s world-class On Key EAM solution

“P ragma’s roots are in engineer ing consulting solutions. With over 200 engineers dedicated to enterprise asset manage ment, Pragma’s software competes comfort ably with the world’s top brands, such as SAP, Maximo and IFS Ultimo. I plan to use my experience growing software businesses to help Pragma achieve its international expan sion goals,” says the newly appointed CEO of Pragma, Scott Gibson, who has a proven track record from leading Dimension Data’s global digital practice and as CEO of the Britehouse Group. An industrial technology business head quartered in South Africa, Pragma has enter prise clients in 46 countries, where it helps industrial businesses to maximise their return on asset investments by supporting highly functional and reliable operations. The company’s specialised, home-grown solutions include consulting services, busi ness process managed services, training and a computerised maintenance management platform.

On Key: designed by engineers for engineers Pragma’s locally designed software platform, On Key, has been used by a multinational food packaging and processing company for more than 14 years. To date, it has generated over 2.7-million work orders to keep its assets in 172 countries in pristine condition. Other large operations using Pragma’s platform and services include Tetra Pak, Shell, Astron, Bell, Fair Cape Dairies and Massmart. On Key is a world-class enterprise asset man agement (EAM) system that offers a suite of software applications to assist asset-intensive organisations to manage their physical assets across their entire life cycle. This includes planning and scheduling main tenance work, managing maintenance activi ties, repairing and operating inventory items, tracking life cycle costs, analysing failures, managing the maintenance workforce, and more.

The On Key EAM platform To elevate maintenance management to a holistic and integrated asset management system that facilitates informed decision making through credible, real-time informa tion, the core On Key EAM system is extended through four dedicated supporting platforms: • On Key Insights is a set of business intel ligence apps that produces information to help make decisions, when needed, in the form of standard or customised reports. On Key Action focuses on streamlining maintenance work processes. Web based and offline mobile apps are used to optimise, automate and simplify maintenance activities. On Key Integrate enables standardised system-to-system integration solu • •

Pragma’s locally designed software platform, On Key, is widely used by multinational food packaging and processing companies.

6 ¦ MechChem Africa • September-October 2024

⎪ Maintenance and asset management ⎪

Left: The Asset Register can be set up per region to give a global asset owner oversight of all operations in any given area. Right: On Key’s Asset Tree provides a comprehensive view of all asset-related information per asset type, which can be rolled down to newly-acquired similar assets.

• Improved structure and control of all maintenance related information and processes. “The breadth of applications and features delivered on a single platform is what differ entiates On Key from competitors. Its open architecture is geared for integration with industrial software, business systems and sensors, making it an ideal fit for most system landscapes,” says Gibson. Asset management service providers and large asset owners across sectors use On Key’s comprehensive feature set to man age the complexities in their businesses to deliver different services, across different asset types, different sites and clients, under different conditions, and at different service levels and priorities. Key capabilities include: • Dedicated mobile application and flex ible user profiles that provide simple and configurable role-based user interface capabilities. Multi time zone and multi-currency support. Workflows can be configured toau tomatically action insights generated from analytics.Software is available for on-premises deployment. Data management that keeps data updated over an asset’s entire life cycle. User friendly and responsive user interface. • • • Integration connectors with leading enterprise software. Capabilities to consume IIoT technology and drive condition-based maintenance. Also, though, while On Key remains the system of record for all asset management related information and primary asset man agement processes, its superior integration platform enables seamless integration with most ERP and other business systems in sup port of streamlined and optimised business processes. As a seasoned angel and later-stage inves tor in niche tech, Gibson used his investment • • • Multi language. • • DIY report development.

tions that include monitoring and maintenance. On Key Connect is a complete integrated monitoring solution that connects as sets, gathers data and automates work management processes using a com bination of technologies such as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and EAM systems. On Key has evolved over a period of more than 30 years. It incorporates insights from seasoned asset and maintenance manage ment practitioners and industrial engineers who have worked closely with the software development team to ensure that the system addresses the primary requirements of an asset management system. Smarter business decisions rely on cred ible, real-time information. On Key supports this requirement through built-in features, keeping appropriate business processes and triggers in mind to ensure data is captured in full, timeously and accurately without duplica tion. This approach makes On Key the system of record for all physical asset information across an entire installed base. Since it can also integrate with other enter prise systems, teams from different divisions can perform the work they need to on their preferred systems, knowing that the informa tion they use is accurate and up to date. The advantages? Accurate, real-time data, enables asset managers to: • Increase asset availability and perfor mance, and improve product or process quality. Increase efficiency of maintenance teams and increase asset longevity. Reduce spending on parts, inventory and insurance premiums. Create structures and data management in support of asset management strate gies such as ISO 55001. Support quantifiable and transparent environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability initiatives. Consolidation of all maintenance related information and processes into a single centralised platform. • • • • • •

On Key’s mobile application simplifies and speeds up work management – artisans only see tasks that are relevant to them. criteria to guide his decision to join Pragma. “The business owns its intellectual property and appeals to a defined niche, and my experi ence has shown that clients buy business out comes, not software. On Key delivers against this mandate and, when combined with the deep subject matter expertise within the busi ness, Pragma has a compelling local and global offering. It is also a particularly agile business with a great client-centric culture,” he says. Going forward, he plans to improve the ra tio of people-focused versus platform-based revenue. “While our people will always be a key driver of our success, we are looking for innovative ways to grow revenue using our in-house developed platform.” Co-founder and outgoing CEO Adriaan Scheeres, who led the Pragma Group for 34 years, will remain a shareholder and member of the board. He believes that Scott Gibson is the ideal person to lead the business into its next growth phase. www.pragmaworld.net

September-October 2024 • MechChem Africa ¦ 7

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8 ¦ MechChem Africa • September-October 2024

⎪ Maintenance and asset management ⎪

Specialist maintenance of conveyors pays dividends Guy Fitt and Gerhard Strydom of Tru-Trac Rollers explain what a difference it makes to have an OEM’s eyes continuously on the performance and condition of mine conveyors.

Left: As a leading OEM, Tru-Trac offers flexible maintenance and support services to address industry challenges. Right: Comprehensive training ensures Tru-Trac technicians are skilled and knowledgeable about the company’s products.

W hen margins are squeezed by lower commodity prices, mines must secure the pro ductivity and efficiency of key functions like conveyors – and Tru-Trac Rollers can assist in doing just this. “Turmoil in the mining sector is leading to lay-offs and pressure on capital budgets,” says Guy Fitt, National Sales Manager at Tru-Trac Rollers. “Both these factors can reduce the reliability of conveyor systems, at a time when the mine’s productivity lev els can least afford it. As a leading original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in this field, Tru-Trac provides flexible maintenance and support services to solve this dilemma.” Fitt emphasises that conveyor systems are the life blood of any mine or plant, so it is critical to ensure adequate maintenance or the whole operation’s productivity will suffer. Where mines are under financial pressure, Tru-Trac can step in to take the load off certain personnel, freeing them to focus on other critical areas of the mine. “We can assume responsibility for a range of tasks from checking and changing idlers to the cleaning of belt scrapers and maintaining belt trackers,” he says. “These are vital to avoid downtime, but can go ignored if mine staff are too thinly spread – with dire consequences for uptime and production.” Tru-Trac Technical Product Manager Gerhard Strydom notes that mines some times even need to do without their usual complement of artisans and assistants during difficult times. The company’s sup port teams are ideally suited to step in

only attended to when there is a breakdown. “While some customers request that we train their staff in equipment maintenance if they have enough personnel, it is increas ingly common for mines to keep us on site as the specialist OEM, allowing their artisans to concentrate on core mining activities,” he says. “The advantage of a maintenance con tract is that the mine has the comfort of knowing a specialist is on site, giving this essential system all the necessary atten tion,” he says. “We conduct regular surveys of belt tonnages, belt speeds and ground conditions, for instance, to check that the trackers and other equipment are perform ing to our standards.” It is this ‘extra pair of eyes’ that allows the uptime of conveyor systems to be op timised. Tru-Trac has developed relation ships of trust with longstanding customers through its ability to identify issues and bring these to the attention of manage ment. In one instance, the team identified a problem where a customer’s run-of-mine belt was lifting off the structure completely – causing misalignment, loss of product and damage to the belt itself. After reporting the issue, Tru-Trac was able to design, engineer and install a solution to the customer’s satisfaction. “We have skilled and experi enced teams close to customers, whom we continuously upskill through our training resources,” says Fitt. “This expertise is avail able to the mining sector, and has proven to have a marked impact on conveyor uptime and productivity.” https://tru-trac.com

and assist, says Strydom, as they are well trained in general maintenance of conveyor systems while also being familiar with the mining industry. It is clear that the market recognises the value of Tru-Trac's support, he points out, as a number of them have been customers for over 12 years. Many of these relationships have evolved into maintenance contracts with a team dedicated to conveyor main tenance on site for a specified time. Fitt explains that the work which these teams perform during these hours, while focused on conveyor maintenance, is not limited to Tru-Trac's products, but rather focuses on overall conveyor maintenance, performance and safety. “The benefit of well trained and experi enced conveyor service and maintenance teams ensures that belts are well main tained, and the necessary preventative maintenance work is completed, contribut ing to our customers’ other related require ments wherever possible,” he says. As the company’s national footprint has expanded, it has recruited and trained technicians from areas close to its customer bases, facilitating the upskilling within local communities. These individuals require comprehensive training to ensure skills and an in-depth knowledge of Tru-Trac products. Training is done either at head office or at the branches. Tru-Trac's aim is to improve the efficien cy of the customer’s conveyor system, says Strydom, which means giving all aspects of this equipment the attention it deserve. He warns that the conveyors on many mines are

September-October 2024 • MechChem Africa ¦ 9

Fleetm@tic ® , Bell Equipment’s South African-developed telematics solution, collects, stores and communicates information in three key areas: machine productivity; machine utilisation; and machine condition, to enable fleet operators to maximise the value of their assets and the efficiency of their operations. Bell Equipment product manager, Brad Castle, explains. Smarter fleet management for Bell Equipment

our customers. Fleetm@tic ® adds this exciting dimension, enabling operators to maximise their return-on-investment,” says Castle. The appeal is that it is simple to use. Working machines can be watched via the Fleetm@tic ® website or WebApp from the comfort of a home or office, or even while travelling abroad. A confidential login and password are used for secure access, and automated reports are emailed to authorised managers on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, depending on the need. “This always keeps Bell Equipment own ers in touch with their machines. Accurate, up-to-date operational data, production data, fault data as well as the machine's location and movements are all presented via user-friendly interfaces,” he assures. Key features include: • Remote monitoring of Bell machines includes vital details such as fuel con sumption, when and where a machine is operating, vehicle speed, all aspects of machine health, driver access and much more. From a reliability perspective, not only is the machine being continuously monitored, but the embedded service indicator ensures that the closest Bell Customer Care Centre automatically

receives notice that a service on a specific machine is due, thus avoiding machines running over their service hours. The system is satellite based, driven by a series of satellites with worldwide cover age. Production, machine and precise location data is gathered and stored, then sent via a machine-mounted satel lite modem to the Bell server. From there the raw data is analysed and compiled into reports that make it easy for users to access and understand. A selection of reports is available for each machine, ranging from shift, daily, weekly or monthly, and including loading and event reports, amongst others. These can all be customised, and the automated sys tem will ensure that they are delivered promptly, providing detailed information that is always in time. Fleetm@tic ® also includes a Driver ID Access feature that enables productiv ity and the driving style of each specific driver to be tracked, building up a use history of how the machine is driven and used. This ensures that drivers take responsibility for the machine during their shift, while also highlighting train ing needs and productivity enhancement

Bell Equipment’s product manager for Fleetm@tic ® , Brad Castle.

F leetm@tic ® is a purpose-designed telematics system for Bell Equipment machines that enables mining and construction operators to get the very best value from their assets. “By using Fleetm@tic ® to take ownership of the entire operational fleet on a mining or construction site, machine owners can keep projects on schedule, maintain machine health, reduce downtime and running costs, all while maxi mising productivity,” says Bell Equipment’s Brad Castle. He says that today's earthmoving industry faces the challenge of improving efficiency: doing more with less. Information is critical to meet this challenge and Bell has harnessed technology to be able to offer customers the right information at the right time, helping them to manage their fleets with greater than ever precision and efficiency. “Fleetm@tic ® is designed to be the eyes on the worksite, keeping track of every Bell machine in operation on a continuous basis – a fleet management partner that never sleeps. The cornerstone of our company is to provide lowest cost per tonne equipment solutions to

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Fleetm@tic ® enables machine owners to keep projects on schedule and maintain machine health, while reducing downtime and running costs.

10 ¦ MechChem Africa • September-October 2024

⎪ Maintenance and asset management ⎪

opportunities.

• A significant differentiating feature of Bell’s Fleetm@tic ® system is on-board weighing, which has been a standard feature on all Bell ADTs for more than a decade. “With ongoing development to fine tune accuracy and reliability, our on-board weighing can now highlight exactly how much useful work a machine is doing and how much money it is earn ing,” adds Castle. GPS tracking enables site machines to be configured for specific applications requiring extensive control. Sites can be segmented on Fleetm@tic ® , with vehicles made aware of their current location. Speed limits can be activated based on the vehicle's current position, which ensures that the machine is driven at a safe and legal speed in specific areas. A warning and limp mode will also be au tomatically activated should the vehicle leave a predefined geofenced area. Fleetm@tic ® software is integrated into the CANBUS system of each machine, which collects vital information from the machine's data receptors. GPS location and machine operational information from the CANBUS is stored in an onboard memory module ready for transmission. Communication is key. A state-of-the art GPS antenna works in collabora tion with a satellite modem and GPRS modem receiver to deliver repeatable high-quality information. The satellite communication capability provides true worldwide coverage while the global SIM card allows large amounts of data to be communicated over cellphone networks around the world when the machine is within range – via one service provider that delivers worldwide coverage. “Ongoing developments to fine tune accuracy and reliability now enable our on-board weigh ing to calculate exactly how much money each machine is earning. This, along with idle and unladen time tracking and shift summary reports, offers managers insight into how to optimise daily production schedules, while offering a very clear perspective of operational costs,” Brad Castle points out. Bell offers three Fleetm@tic ® packages, depending on the preferred level of fleet man agement required: daily, per shift, per cycle, or even per minute with the premium package. • The Basic Package is available on all Bell supplied machines and provides machine hours worked per shift, average fuel burn, and a productivity report. The Classic Package is standard on all new ADTs for two years from the date of delivery to customers. Thereafter, it can be renewed at an additional charge. It supplies enough information to give • • • •

Fleetm@tic ® is designed to be the eyes on the worksite, keeping track of every Bell machine in operation on a continuous basis.

Communication is key. A state-of-the-art GPS antenna works in collaboration with a satellite modem and GPRS modem receiver to deliver repeatable high-quality information.

basis. This function is used by some customers in their site control rooms to continuously track and manage their fleet operations. “Fleetm@tic ® is a definitive management tool that adds real value to mining and earth mov ing operations. It can be customised to suit the needs of fleets of any size and to ensure that machines are used effectively and safely, and that their asset value and operational life is maximised,” Brad Castle concludes. www.bellequipment.com

a thorough understanding of how the machine is operating: measuring shift productivity, shift fuel burn, shift fault codes and numerous other metrics. The Premium Package is available as an upgrade at any time. Geared for cus tomers who need detailed operational information, this package offers similar information to the Classic package but for each individual laden-unladen cycle. Live tracking is also available on the Fleetm@tic ® website on a per minute

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September-October 2024 • MechChem Africa ¦ 11

Why absolute pressure is important to abalone farming UNIDO Pump expert Harry Rosen of TAS Online talks about a recent pump assessment for a group of Abalone farmers in the Western Cape of South Africa, which involves pumping seawater at ever-changing sea levels in a suction lift application.

but both of these introduce further issues and complexity and were not considered. To maximise the available suction pres sure we need to minimise friction losses through the suction pipe, thus each pump has its own dedicated suction pipe. For minimum friction we go for the largest diameter pipe possible with the shortest length and as few bends as possible. We do not install any valves on the suc tion pipe, even if it means leaving out the non-return or foot valve so common in suction lift applications. It is better to re prime the pump every time it stops than to incur extra friction losses through the foot valve. Luckily, these pumps run 24 hours a day and only stop during planned maintenance or emergencies. The vapour pressure is insignificant for water where the water temperature is less than 30 °C. System design for abalone farming Since suction is the dominant feature of the application, we have designed the system to optimise the NPSH available (NPSHA) at the pump’s suction. We have also installed both suction and discharge pressure gauges for each pump to show exactly what is going on with the pumps. We selected a pump with the lowest pos sible NPSH requirement (NPSHR) at the duty required, which happens to be an NPSHR of 3. Pipe Friction • •

Suction lift applications require a level of planning and suitable engineering design to ensure that there is always a positive pressure pushing liquid into the suction of the pump. As much as I get fed up with them, pumps do not ‘suck’ in any sense of the word. Which means that they require a minimum absolute pressure on the suction side, or they will start cavitating and end up destroying themselves. The suction side pressure is called the Net Positive Suction Head available or NPSHA and is made up of the following three components: 1. Atmospheric pressure • One advantage of being at sea level as there is 101 kPa or 10 m of head available to push sea water into the pump. Up in Johannesburg, at 1 600 m above sea level, we only have 83 kPa to help out. A positive help in many applications but these pumping stations are mainly located at the maximum sea level or high tide mark. This reduces the risk of flooding during high seas but it means that for the majority of time, the sea is going to be at least 2.0 to 4.0 m below the pumps. During a spring low tide, the sea level will be even lower. • 2. Suction level: • A possible solution would be vertical turbine pump, which have the pump motor out of the water, while the impeller bowl is submerged in the sea. Submersible pumps are another option, •

I recently held a training course on pumps with a group of Abalone farmers in Gansbaai, a drive of around 40 minutes from Hermanus in the Western Cape. Besides being one of the most beautiful parts of the country to visit, Gansbaai is world renowned for its shark cave diving trips, which offer a chance to come up close and personal with a Great White. This industry is going through tough times as there are no white sharks to be seen all the way down the coastline. Apparently they are the favourite day-time snack of the Orca and whole groups of these killer whales ap parently swim up and down the SA coastline attacking and killing great white sharks. There are now far fewer sightings of these beasts in the waters around SA – maybe thanks to the Free Willy movie about saving an Orca whale. Abalone ¬ known in the Western Cape as Perlemoen – is an eastern delicacy farmed commercially in SA, with most of the natural abalone having been hunted to near extinc tion. Abalone farming requires pumping huge amounts of seawater through hundreds of tanks filled with abalone, supplying nutrients to the small creatures as well as removing their waste. Unfortunately two characteris tics of the sea make this a difficult pumping application. • The level of the sea water will generally be below the level of any pump station. This leads to a suction lift or negative suction application – excluding, of course, countries with areas of land below sea level, such as Holland, where sea water is pumped back into the sea. The level of the sea varies greatly, both over a single day – between low and high tides – as well as over a month – during spring low tides, for example, at full and new moon when the sun and the moon align. •

Figure 1: Mark up the suction pressure gauge with a red and green zone, clearly showing the point at which the pump begins to experience suction problems.

12 ¦ MechChem Africa • September-October 2024

⎪ Water, wastewater and pumping solutions ⎪

from the original pump curve and data sheet. Add 1.0 m for a margin, and con vert from absolute pressure to gauge pressure. Move the suction gauge in line with the pump. If this is a problem with respect to access and being able to view the gauge easily, reduce the NPSHR value by the gauge height – in this case this would reduce NPSHR to -71 kPa. Make sure this value is clearly shown in the pump station, by marking up the pres sure gauges with red and green zones as shown in the Figure 1. This clearly shows when the pump begins to experience suc tion problems. When the gauge reads less than the minimum or inches towards the red zone, then something must be done. This could be happening for a number of reasons: Over time, friction increases through the suction pipe due to organic growth. The solution is to clean out the pipe, using either a high pressure wash or manually. Spring low tides cause unusually low suction levels, causing the suction pres sure to drop into the red. Stop the pump at these times. It only happens twice per month for a couple of hours. Build ad ditional storage into the system to allow for this and other times like load shedding when you cannot run your pumps Regularly clean out the strainers and cages around the pump inlets. Once again, the suction needle inching towards the red zone will tell you when this needs to be done. As with all difficult pumping applications, the starting point is designing the system and se lecting the pump that best suits the site-specific conditions. In this case the negative suction head and low NPSHA was key. But a well-designed system is not enough: conditions vary over time so it is essential to continuously monitor pump operation. This will prevent the pumps from destroying themselves, even under the harshest unforeseen circumstances. And finally, a negative pressure on the suction side is not necessarily a problem. This happens in many applications with a positive suction head that we are not even aware of. It is only when this value falls below the absolute pressure required by the pump, the NPSHR, that we have a real problem. www.tasonline.co.za • • • • • •

One of the more scenic views of a pump station, the sea water intake pump station for an Abalone farm showing the suction lift conditions.

4.0 m. Including a margin of 1.0 m, we get a total positive suction head requirement of 5.0 m, or 50 kPa. So long as our NPSHA exceeds this amount, we will not expect the pumps to cavitate. If pumping systems were this simple, though, I would probably be out of a job and have nothing interesting to write about. However things change, sea levels rise and fall, organic growth builds up inside our large diameter pipes reducing their effective di ameter, kelp and seaweed lifted up through storms clog the inlets to the pumps, etc. The pumps were running fine last week but sud denly three weeks later we have problems. Ongoing monitoring At the time of my visit the suction pressure gauge was reading -61 kPa. This sounds seri ous, but what does it mean – are we pulling a vacuum, is the pump cavitating, what now? This is where successful abalone farmers need to understand the relationship between gauge pressure and absolute pressure. NPSH is expressed in absolute pressure – which includes atmospheric pressure – whereas the suction gauge is reading gauge pressure. These are not the same thing, like comparing apples with oranges! P absolute = P gauge + P atmospheric If we switch the terms around we get: P gauge = P absolute - P atmospheric Our NPSH required for the pump was 5.0 m or

50 kPa absolute pressure. If we subtract the 101 kPa of atmospheric pressure, this gives us gives us -51 kPa gauge pressure. Now we have something useful to work with – if the gauge pressure on the suction side of the pump is less than -51 kPa, then our pump is in trouble. But our suction gauge is reading -61 kPa, so our pump must be cavitating: Right? Wrong! The suction gauge was installed 2.0 m above the level of the suction pipe or pump centreline. This gauge height correction must be added back to the suction pressure reading as the liquid loses pressure as it rises in the tube connected to the gauge. The gauge pressure at the pump suction is therefore -41 kPa, and even though it is way less than zero – or what many people would call pulling a vacuum – our pump is not cavitating. This is the power of a compound pressure gauge on the suction side that can read nega tive pressure. If we used a standard discharge gauge on the suction it would probably read zero all the time, not telling us anything useful. If the gauge pressure dropped below -50 kPa we know our pump is close to cavita tion and we need to stop the pump, fix the suction conditions and only then restart the pump. A pump cavitating under these condi tions could destroy the impeller in a matter of weeks. What were the recommendations? • Work out the NPSHR for the pump –

September-October 2024 • MechChem Africa ¦ 13

VEGA: takes the pressure out of pressure measurement Implementing process automation with precise and reliable pressure transmitters from VEGA can greatly assist personnel responsible for overseeing water and wastewater treatment systems.This article outlines some key VEGA instruments for these applications and the advantages of standardising on one sensor brand.

W ater treatment companies recognise the advantages of incorporating pressure sensors throughout their treatment facilities. In principle, these tools are expected to streamline their processes, allowing them more time to focus on critical tasks. However, not all in strumentation is of the same standard, and inaccurate readings can lead to significant challenges and delays, resulting in equip ment damage, severe process disruptions and significant water and financial losses. Utilising sensors from different manu facturers might seem feasible from a technical standpoint but, in reality, it of ten proves to be problematic. One of the primary challenges encountered is related to the end-user experience, as each device requires unique configuration and setup procedures. Furthermore, the knowledge acquired for operating and calibrating one sensor does not necessarily transfer to another operator. Obtaining support for multiple devices can also be a significant hurdle. In some in stances, water treatment facilities are left to navigate the configuration and trouble shooting processes independently. Clients of VEGA have found that standardising their pressure devices with a single manu facturer significantly simplifies the opera tion of water treatment plants. VEGA offers invaluable support to its clients, assessing facilities and finding custom solutions for their unique chal

lenges and needs. It is not just the time investment, VEGA sensors offer unparal leled ease of configuration, precision and reliability. VEGA has introduced sensors equipped with Bluetooth connectivity, which allow operators to wirelessly moni tor, set up and adjust them through the VEGA Tools App. This App is available for download in the Google Play store as well as the Apple App Store. Some VEGA pressure sensor options include: • VEGADIF 85 universal pressure transmitters can handle influent and effluent flow metering in loca tions throughout systems, enabling water treatment facilities to obtain high-precision measurement and value detection. The VEGADIF 85 is highly reliable through the integrated overload diaphragm, and functions as a multivariable sensor through integrated measurement of absolute pressure, delivering the data treat ment plants can rely on. VEGABAR 38 pressure sensors can be used to measure levels on tanks and chemical feed and fill systems, making it easier for system operators to view the pressure status – thanks to the sensors’ innovative, configu rable colour LED light ring – and to manage on-site operations via the VDMA menu structure. These sen sors also offer easy integration into control systems through IO-Link •

communication.

• VEGABAR 82 pressure transmitters measure at inlets and outlets on valves. These unique sensors offer an abrasion-resistant ceramic measur ing cell, ensuring reliable operation in the toughest process conditions. They provide reliable measurement down to the last drop through the smallest measuring ranges with high accuracy. This in turn can enable massive cost savings on maintenance costs. VEGAWELL 51 sensors are suitable for continuous level measurement in deep wells/reservoirs and rivers, with a maximum cable length of 1 000 m. Robust ceramic measuring cells offer maximum overload and vacuum resistance, making them a highly reliable addition to any water treatment and distribution facility’s process automation arsenal. VEGA offers true benefits of process automation to companies operating in the water and wastewater industries. VEGA’s proven mix of precise, reliable instruments and commitment to customer support means that plant operators are empowered by process automation instead of struggling with usability or maintenance, freeing them to focus on their other responsibilities. In so doing, VEGA takes the pressure out of pressure measurement for these industries. www.vega.com/en-za •

Left: VEGA pressure transmitters offer reliable measurements in the most challenging environments of the water and wastewater treatment industries. Right: The VEGADIF 85 is a universal pressure transmitter that can handle influent and effluent flow metering in locations throughout systems.

14 ¦ MechChem Africa • September-October 2024