June 2015
|
World Coal
|
55
SYSTEM?
David Phillips
,
Heyl & Patterson Inc.
,
USA
,
outlines different
mechanisms for unloading
railcars and explains the
difference between rotary
dumpers and bottom
dump unloading.
A
ccording to the World Coal Association, coal provides over 40% of the
world’s electricity and roughly 70% of total global steel production. The
top five producers in ranking order are China, the US, India, Indonesia
andAustralia, which combine for over 6600 tpa of output. In a single
day, coal provides more than half the electricity for three billion people on the
planet and is also responsible for over 2.6 million t of steel production. Despite
pledges to mitigate climate change, demand for coal is expected to grow each year
until the end of the decade.
The main purpose of coal handling systems is to transfer the coal as quickly
and cleanly as possible to power plants, steel mills and other industrial facilities.
Transporting and unloading are just two stages in the process of moving coal from
the producer to the consumer. When transporting by rail, coal must be unloaded
from railroad cars. Anumber of options are available, but unloading via rotary
dumper or bottom dump are generally preferred.
Rotary dumper
The rotary car dumper is a cost-effective, all-purpose workhorse, and is often the
choice for high-speed automatic dumping of both rotary coupled cars and random
WHICH
UNLOADING
