Luck Stone Installs Dry Process System by Van Tongeren
March 29, 2019
Score one for water conservation. Luck Stone, America's largest family-owned and operated producer of crushed stone, gravel and manufactured sand, recently upgraded the classification system at its Goose Creek Plant in Leesburg, Virginia to a breakthrough dry process system that eliminates the need for water.
Called a Gravitational Inertial Classifier (GIC), this system by Van Tongeren uses only ambient air and gravity to remove fine particles under 75 µm from clean, crushed stone, saving upwards of 22.5 million gallons of water required annually at plants using the traditional wet process. The dry process also eliminates the need for settling ponds and allows the fine particles to be recovered and sold as an additional revenue stream.
“The GIC from Van Tongeren is a fine example of an environmentally friendly approach that also reduces costs throughout the supply chain,” says Steve Demeyer, process management manager for Luck Stone. “We just feed the material and let gravity and airflow do the rest. It has performed flawlessly since startup.”
Processing 60 tons/hr of #10 screenings, the GIC features a proprietary design that passes a current of air through a curtain of falling material then directs each particle towards a series of vanes set based on the desired cut point. On-spec particles are discharged onto a conveyor as air-scrubbed manufactured sand and entrained fine particles are recirculated in an eddy current until discharged and captured by a dust collector.
The pneumatic classification system is achieving 5-7% fines passing at 200 mesh running unattended in 24/7 operation. Designed with no moving parts, the automated system needs virtually zero maintenance.
“Our GIC has performed exactly as promised, our operators are very pleased and support from Van Tongeren has been superb,” says Demeyer. “I’d strongly encourage people involved in manufacturing sand to take a look at this technology.”
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