Dryer Feed Screw Conveyor for Koppers Performance Chemicals Hubbell, MI

General Description

Koppers Performance Chemicals develops progressive wood preservative systems and technologies to pressure treat lumber for residential construction, commercial building, marine, and agricultural use. Koppers preservatives and fire-retardant products make wood resistant to fire, termite damage and decay.

Copper carbonate is a bulk material used in the wood preservative process. It is very dense and difficult to convey, causing problems with conveying and processing equipment. The maintenance crew at the Hubbell plant experienced continuous downtime and loss of production with existing screw conveyors. KWS provided long-term solutions to Koppers.

Design Parameters

1. Product Type: Copper Carbonate
2. Material Density: 85 Lbs. per Cubic Foot
3. Capacity: 76 Cubic Feet per Hour
4. Duty: Intermittent

KWS Advantages

Koppers and KWS have been working together over the past several years to solve bulk material handling problems at the plant. Engineers from KWS have been on site to observe many processes and develop permanent solutions to eliminate downtime. KWS is very familiar with handling difficult bulk materials such as copper carbonate. Specific areas of interest were to decrease maintenance, downtime, and clean out time.

KWS Special Features

The new KWS screw conveyor was redesigned to bolt directly to a dryer, eliminating a transition chute. To reduce clean out time, KWS designed and manufactured a split tubular housing with multiple doors for easy access. The special hinged design allows the doors to be opened from both sides and provides the option to completely remove the maintenance door. The split tubular housing design meets all OSHA safety regulations and requires special tools for removal by qualified maintenance personnel.

Screw sections were close coupled and clocked to eliminate hanger bearings and reduce maintenance time. Tubular housings were fitted with steel wear liners to increase operating life. KWS selected a high-torque drive unit to power through upset conditions. All drive components are designed with a large factor-of-safety to prevent mechanical failure.