W.S. Tyler’s Michael Honea offers his take on the portable equipment revolution.
Aggregate producers have historically washed material in stationary equipment, but portable systems are emerging that are giving operators the ability to move equipment to more ideal locations within a site. To learn more about the direction of washing equipment, PP&E caught up with Michael Honea, a process engineer at W.S. Tyler who’s been in sales and engineering with the company for more than four years.
PP&E: What are your thoughts on the direction material-washing technology is trending in terms of equipment size, efficiency and use of water? Also, do you see a trend building toward mobile washing equipment, at least in the aggregates industry?
Michael Honea: Perhaps the most important aspects of mobile equipment are the unit’s size and efficiency. And, naturally, you want something that will clean the material efficiently with less water.
I definitely see a trend in efforts to conserve water. A lot of states and regions either have or will have water-use restrictions. Many of our customers have the ability to pull fresh water out of a lake or reservoir, but with the trend toward more regulation, they should still be thinking about conservation, as well.
In terms of water conservation, it’s useful to look at the log washers many operations use to clean their materials. They still operate with the same concept and technology as when they were first invented, and they consume a tremendous amount of water. Other equipment, by comparison, pumps water at very high pressures through its spray nozzles in a short amount of time. For customers who have limited water to pull, this equipment is going to be a tremendous benefit.
PP&E: As you said, aggregate producers have historically relied on larger equipment such as log washers to wash material and meet their production needs. How does something the size of W.S. Tyler’s Hydro-Clean fit into the typical aggregate operation?
MH: First, a log washer is fundamentally very different from our Hydro-Clean. While the Hydro-Clean uses high water pressure, log washers use 30 psi and friction to clean materials. The Hydro-Clean also has fewer wear parts than log washers, which incorporate components such as paddles and liners that need to be replaced periodically.
Also, log washers are not getting smaller, and really can’t get much more efficient because they require a certain amount of time in the unit for the materials to be cleaned. The Hydro-Clean is as much as 60 percent lighter and consumes 15 percent less energy than log washers with comparable production capabilities.
Our mobile test plant allows aggregate producers to test Hydro-Clean technology before they buy. Or, with the introduction of our up-and-coming permanent demonstration site in Conyers, Ga., operators can send materials to the site to be tested to cut costs.
PP&E: What are the biggest adjustments aggregate producers need to make when moving to a mobile washing technology?
MH: In terms of adjustments to make the mobile test plant work on a site, aggregates producers need a level area to park a 53-ft. trailer, a water source and a pump that can provide 100 gallons per minute of water at 40 psi, as well as loading equipment to feed the unit.
PP&E: Do you anticipate washing technology to trend toward recycled water?
MH: I see the trend continuing to move in the direction of using recycled water to reduce water consumption and cut costs.
PP&E: Is the Hydro-Clean mobile friendly to the point where it’s being used on demolition sites? Is there demand for use of such a machine on demo sites, or is it typically not a good fit or a desired piece in such a setting?
MH: We have one customer in Virginia who uses an HC-350 on demolition sites. Until now, W.S. Tyler has been dealing solely with sand-and-gravel pits, mines and quarries. The fact that there’s already an interest in demolition applications, when our mobile unit is so new, says a lot.
The current demolition customer crushes concrete, then screens and washes in the Hydro-Clean. He then paints the material and sells it as landscape rock. It’s a good fit because it consumes less water than traditional technologies and it’s compact.
We think this could be a successful new market, especially because there are more permitting and expenses involved with a stationary unit as opposed to a portable one.