Rand Air Temperature and the eight-ton boiler

MechChem JUL-AUG 2024 AFRICA

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Rand Air Temperature and the eight-ton boiler Edmund Haddad, the recently appointed business development manager for Temperature at Rand Air, talks about the company’s new steam boiler rental offering and the peace of mind it offers for meeting local manufacturing and processing needs. E dmund Haddad is a mechanical en gineer with extensive experience in design, research and development, manufacturing, mining and minerals Namibia. “We conducted studies into the fea sibility of extracting lithium from the orebody; the process design, capital cost, operational expenses and most importantly, the return on investment. So I understand manufacturing, mining and how to implement engineering projects, which, I think, stands me in good stead for this new business development role at Rand Air,” says Edmund Haddad. The 8t containerise boiler offering. On May 8 th this year, Rand Air part of Atlas Copco Speciality Rental, had a launch for its new Temperature offering. “We have been running a soft launch since earlier this year, and have already done a few projects us ing our 3 t boilers. We have now also taken delivery of two new German-built 8 t steam boilers, though, which is very exciting,” Had dad continues.

processing projects. “I started out in manu facturing in a copper foundry, specialising in simulations to optimise how molten metal flows into moulds. After several great years, I decided to join a startup foundry to recreate the successes already achieved and to move away from the specialist role,” he begins. “I joined the steel startup foundry in Springs just before Covid hit, so I had to de velop a lot of business skills in a short time, implementing workarounds to keep the busi ness running on a shoestring budget,” Haddad tells MechChem Africa . He then moved into a study manager role at a technology metals mining company in

“I have an engineering mindset, so I also un derstand what customers want from a rental company. When in Namibia, the mine was looking to expand the existing plant without a large upfront capital investment. So, we came to Rand Air for the compressors we needed. The rental option enabled us to get what we needed immediately while paying for it out of increased production. It proved to be a far better option in terms of cash flow, and it en abled the expansion project to be completed far more quickly, without adding a long-term financial burden,” he relates.

The quality and technology involved is remarkable, he says citing the European CE standard mark and design details. “This is the Rolls Royce of packaged boilers, 72-hours unmanned, low emissions, fuel efficient, with little details such as the mounted steel badge indicating the nose levels.” A fire-tube packaged boiler with a deliv ery capacity of 7 800 kg/h of steam at 14.5 barg, the new 8 t dual-fuel boiler runs on any light liquid fuel, such as diesel or natural gas. Compared to standard coal-fired boilers in the

As part of its Temperature offering, Rand Air has now taken delivery of two new German-built 8 t steam boilers.

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South African market, these are much cleaner and environmentally friendly, helping to re duce emissions and promote a greener future. The unit is packaged to meet the needs of the rental industry. Built into the container is the boiler unit, a feedwater tank, along with all the filtration and water treatment systems needed. A simple easy to assemble chimney stack slides into the back of the unit during transport. Inside the doors you will find the control panel and Scada system with all the embedded connectivity and data collection features of a modern IIoT-ready plant. “Rental boilers in South Africa are synony mous with older technology, coal fired boilers with multiple parts coupling to the plant. Our Rand Air 8 t steam boiler is an elegantly de signed package. Everything needed to deliver steam to a plant fits neatly into the container, and with a mass of just 28.7 t, it can be loaded onto the back of a road trailer for transporta tion to site,” he asserts. Plug and Steam Connecting a boiler is not as simple as install ing a compressor, he warns. “At Rand Air, we treat every installation with an engineering project mindset. We come to site to inspect and assess the customer’s needs, where the water is coming from and at what quality, how the steam needs to be connected into the system and where we will be placing the boiler unit,” continues Haddad. He points out that every boiler is a pres sure vessel that is subject to the Pressure Equipment Regulation (PER) of the South African Department of Labour’s Occupa tional Health and Safety Act. Specific safety features are required, and an independent authorised person (AIA) needs to inspect and formally sign off on the operational safety of the installation before it can be used. “We are working with local partners to see how we can streamline that process to get instal lation and commissioning done as quickly as possible,” he says. “As we see more and more customer, we are developing smarter processes, fittings and adapters to make the process of connecting up a boiler as simple and seamless as possible,” Haddad adds. Rand Air is calling this approach ‘Plug and Steam’. It involves “working smarter in our goal of getting the customer’s plant up and running in the shortest period”. With its partners, Rand Air can offer three rental options: • Short term rental, typically for plant breakdowns and the mandatory yearly and three yearly AIA inspections. Longer term rentals, typically for new boiler installations and major plant expansions. Outsourced steam plants. With this offering, the customer is hands-off and • •

Rand Air’s 8 t steam boiler is an elegantly designed package with everything needed to deliver steam to a plant fitting neatly into a container. With a mass 28.7 t the whole system can be loaded onto the back of a road trailer for transportation to site.

Rand Air is developing smarter processes, fittings and adapters to make the complex process of connecting up a boiler as simple and seamless as possible. The company is calling this approach ‘Plug and Steam’.

which is also available for steam boiler users, is outcomes based pricing. The steam user is not involved in any of the boiler operation or management activities. “The boiler is fenced off and our operators run it. The customer only pays based on metered steam usage, just as you would pay for electricity and water from a utility,” Haddad explains. “This is an appealing option for customers trying to move away from coal without the headache of having to invest in a new plant and boiler operators. We are already engaging with customers who are interested in this op tion, but for now, it is a future vision,” he says. “The future is likely to be a uncertain for the next few years. This is why rental is a great solution for South Africa. Rand Air can provide customers with the Temperature equipment they need, for steam and cooling, without them having to commit capital outlay. They can rent the equipment on a month-to month basis while Rand Air takes care of any maintenance requirements. “With uptime guaranteed, our customers get the full benefit of high quality products that are energy efficient and clean. In addi tion, when a better one comes along, there is no need to ‘sweat the asset’ of older technol ogy. We will happily bring the latest model to replace any of our older units,” Edmund Haddad concludes. www.randair.co.za

only pays for what is used. On these projects Rand Air supplies the steam hardware and partners with local sup pliers to run the operations. “On all these options we offer boiler supervi sion and water treatment services; along with training and support for existing personnel to ensure efficient running of the packaged boiler plant,” Haddad assures. By law, steam boilers need to be inspected by an authorised inspection authority once a year, with a major inspection once every three years. During these inspections, any wear to the boiler will be detected and repaired, resulting in downtime of between one week and a whole month. Plants typically schedule these shuts during the Christmas break, while demand is low, to minimise production losses. This approach results in businesses com peting for boiler inspection and repair re sources over the December period. “Renting a standby boiler to maintain steam production during a shutdown frees up the maintenance calendar and ensures adequate time for work to be done properly,” Haddad explains. Outcomes based pricing: ‘Steam over the fence’ Another innovative offering from Rand Air, Scheduled boiler inspection at any time of the year

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