Dear Denis,

Interesting question!

It would also be interesting to know from readers about this with respect to geographical regions of the world.

For example, what is the future of bulk handling in the developing countries compared to the same in the developed countries? ■

6. A starting point maybe to look at the development of Bulk Technology over the last 40 years. A paper on this topic is available from www.ajax.co.uk.

Considering the next five years it is clear that pressure will increase on extraction and processing resources due to the expanding demand by and from rapidly developing nations with large populations, such as China and India, and the growing aspirations of their occupants. This effect can already be seen in the recent sudden jump in raw materials, metals and intermediates, such as sheet mild and stainless steel. This price escalation will not go away unless there is a slump because of the competitive international demand.

Broad technical education in this subject is sadly deficient for the monumental scale of its activities. One may therefore expect further replication of the many solids handling fiascos and catastrophic commercial failures that have bedevilled the industry. Combined with environmental issues and the finite nature of reserves there is an enormous challenge facing the industry for reducing waste, mess and spillage.

Nanotechnology is much heralded as a revolutionary step forward but the hype is considered to exceed the reality that most improvements in the immediate future rests with how the prodigious quantities of loose particulate solids can be handled better. Of one thing we can be sure, there is a sound future for good engineers in the industry. ■

I think India is a fast developing country and the requiement of bulk handling equipment will be in great demand as lot of expansion is going on in the mining fields.At prsent various expansion is going on in Iron ore handling,coal,cement and other fields.

You can expect a phenomenal growth in the next five years in India.

Regards,

K.B.Ghoshal ■

Future of Belt Conveyor Transport:

Although the belt conveyor transport is just one of many forms of bulk handling, I believe there are belt conveyor developments that portend of a bright future, increased use, and further advancements such as:

1. lower power rolling resistance

2. increased fabric and steel cord strength and splice efficiencies

3. increased belt life and reduced cover thickness

4. increased belt flight lengths

5. significantlty reduced cost of ownership: >30% drop

I presented, through Conveyor DYnamics, Inc. (CDI) associates

Mr. R. Lemmon and D. Kruse, the keynote presentation at Bulk India in 2003. I was recuperating from a cancer operation and could not personally attend.

The topic was on significant capital and operating cost savings over conventional design standards that make conveyor tansport more compelling. The basis of the savings is from our understanding of rubber's roll in: a) power, b) strength and c) wear life. I also gave a set of similar papers at Beltcon 12 in South Africa also in 2003.

The industry still resists taking appropriate advantage. I believe this is due to poor engineering knowlege and/or concern by the community in not being able to provide due diligence by independent parties. CDI is, at present, the only company that can measure rubber properties in the lab and convert the results to: power, strength, and wear life predictions. Some academics/consultants publish proported fallicies or our approach.

For an example, read this forums moderator Dr. Prof. Gabriel Lodewijk's paper in Bulk Solids Handling entitled:

"Determination of Rolling Resistance of Belt Conveyors Using Rubber Data: Fact of Fiction" 6/2003 pp 384-391.

He offers scare tactics to thwart corporate and engineering interest. Read his Conclusions entitled: It is fiction that:

1. rubber mechanical properties can be measured that can then be used in a( he says "any") design model that will predict power.

2. theory and measurement can be accurate with an error of less than 5 %.

3. indention rolling resistance is the driving design parameter for overland conveyors

4. new rubber properties change rapidly upon use, within weeks, dropping power consumption

I dispute all the above fiction claims. See our website and publications for our comparisons of lab and field measurements. CDI has made many field measurements to validate the theories. We find no inconsistencies.

It must be noted that Mr. Lodewijks was an employee of CDI for 3 years prior to his present position at Delft. During his employment, he never once became involved in measuring rubber or advancing our power analysis theories from rubber lab measurements. He does, however, do rubber rheology measurements, at Delft University, with the same equipment used at CDI. He did do field measurements of CDI designs and published positive findings on our design accuracy ( +/- 2%): Lodewijks, G., Kruse, D.J. :

"The Power of Field Measurements - Part 1: Bulk Solids Handling 18 (1998) pp. 415-427

The benefits can be substantial. It will happen regardless on the ney sayers. Look further on our website for inovations on structures (wine glass idler frame), power strip, granular/rock mechanics flow (DEM), elevated space gantries to name a few. We have many more unpublished methods that advance the science of bulk transport.

Lawrence Nordell

Conveyor Dynamics, Inc.

website: www.conveyor-dynamics.com

email: nordell@conveyor-dynamics.com ■

This is getting more and more interesting with Lyn and Lawrence putting forth their views.

Im waiting to see what happens next! ■

My feeling is that someone will finally take the plunge to install a pnuematic capsule pipeline in the USA and they will derive great benefits from it due to the elimination of a conventional conveyor system-meaning no troughing or return idlers, no conveyor belt to buy, no possibility of a belt fire, training idlers, no gear boxes no emergency stops to wire the entire length of the conveyor, no spillage, no need for extra personell to maintain it, if it is installed underground it will improve the mine air 10 or 20 fold, using synchronus motors will allow the generation of electricity on the capsule trains return trip in either direction. It is proven technology-remember that when you use a vacuum tube at your bank drive through. I really think that the power should be changed from three phase blowers to air compressors though as a rule a lot of air compressors stand by at idle during usage periods due to reduced demand.

I will jump of my soap box now:^)

lzaharis ■

I would want to comment on what tominer has rightly said.

The resistance for any industry to adopt any new technology is a common phenomenon. I call it "inertia" . This inertia is not new , it has been there thru the industrial development. When ever a new technology comes in people are apprehensive as to wether it will work ro not. Something like a new drug, we do not know the side effects.

Someone then musters the courage and adapts to new technology and if it works , the industry follows, if it doesnt they say," I told you.."

With the changing world markets , it is verymuch possible that some one will muster the courage and overcome the inertia to try something new to edge out competition.

That is why I wuld agree with

lzaharis on his view of someone installing a pnuematic capsule pipeline.

Regards ■

Lyn Bates had covered it all & his 3rd paragraph has just been aptly practised. Raw commercialism is still rampant in the business & the fiascos will prevail. Mind you it is a nice grab. ■

I Think lot of information and advise has been given by hon. members on this topic.

Regarding ,future of bulk material handling-This is very bright not for next five years but for next ten years.I can only put my exposure in the similar field in Indian and in gulf states.The other nations should be taken seriously and these are-Brazil.Russia and China.

China is putting up 12-15 mega coal waheries each year.with in next five years the same figure will be with India.

Brazil is going for rapid expansion of its Ore industries--5 times from present industries.

India- Has already announced 5 nos off mega coal based power plants--uo to 4000 mw.The shortage of coal at this moment is 15 mtpa,which will increase to 50 mtpa with in 3 years.At this moment there are 7 captive coal unloading terminals up to 15 mtpa are already on the track,same thing is with Iron ore also.

Regarding Indian top equipment suppliers related to material handling equipment like--Elecon.TRF.THYSEEN KRUPP.TATA.MAC.BHARAT are flodded with orders for next 5 years.Turnkey contrators from USA,CHINA and other countries are in India ,hunting for good equipment suppliers,this will be right time for any medium type company in similar field to take advantage of the situation.In some case the cost of used equipment is higher then new one due to delivery period.

We suggest our HON.Members to take the first hand information by participating in International Exhibition related to PORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE AT BANGALORE ON JUNE 29 AND 30. We can share our experiance with serious cos.there.

Libran Engineering&Services,India

0091-9811055650 ■

OK so much for the future of bulk handling. What about the future of the bloody planet then? From the foregoing it hardly seems to be in safe hands.

With 1 notable exception the developed world is trying to recover from the early & continuing devastation by King Coal whereas the allegedly developing world seems desperate to emulate past folly. Our forefathers fell by the wayside through lack of technology, ie ignorance. We don't have that excuse; with 1 notable exception, again!

Any clown can rip coal out of the ground & throw it into a boiler. I've done it for years. It takes nouse to do it all cleanly & participation in that aspiration should be our aim. What is the point of cutting out 60kW from a big drive unit if the stockyard is spreading crud all around & a 180kW refuse truck is required to clean up the crap?

If we cannot clean up coal handling etc. the public worldwide will begin to favour the nuclear lobby. There goes a fair chunk of bulk handling's future.

Iron ore handling is a passing fancy which is eventually drastically reduced by reprocessing scrap, similar to aluminium practices. Scrap is high value ore; with accordingly little accompanying waste & so the handling requirements will diminish. Nuclear power can be used to drive smelter furnaces, still keeping coal demand low.

In the short term there is a high demand for bulk raw materials but this must diminish rapidly because the raw material is not as profitable as the recycled scrap. Now there's the real growth potential for bulk handling. ■

I think , we have sufficient raw materials on our planet "Earth", if we handle with intelligence.

Only the intelligent bodies in the world are working in the direction of decreasing "Entropy". All other Phenomena in the world are effecting an increase of "Entropy".

Therefore it is very important, that we handle with intelligence.

If we have not sufficient coal for example for steel making, that means the leakage of the the so called good quality coking coal, so we should find out new solutions like formed-coke technologies to produce metallurgical coke from non-coking oals.

I think that we will find out very many new solutions and technologis in the next five years for many raw materials problems. ■

Very well put john-reminds me of the railroads when the have a line with much less traffic than they like to see-Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific as examples-they would rip out the track and sell it for scrap, now UP is looking for more motive power and adding triple track in some places like the powder river basin.

The PRB coal is low sulfur and needs no prep wash etc. and can be burned right out out of the tippler the fly in the martini is the low BTU value since it is not metalurgical grade bituminous-of course if it was anthracite at that volume........... hopefully someone will wise up and build greenhouses near power plants to strip the CO2 to grow tropical sugar beets for alcohol.

leon ■

DEAR FORUM MEMBERS,

IT IS A NICE DEBATE AND WE ARE ALL OPTIMISTIC ABOUT FUTURE.

AS YOU WOULD KNOW THAT FUTURE OF ANY PARTICULAR INDUSTRY / FIELD CHANGE FROM TIME TO TIME.

THE BASIC NEED OF THE HOUR IS DIVERSIFICATION

IN OTHER FIELD OR FIND SUITABLE ALTERNATE RESOURCES.

DUE TO SCARCITY OF COAL IN INDIA ,GOVT HAS FOUND LIGNITE AS A ALTERNATE FUEL IN SOME OF THEIR POWER STATIONS.

IN OVERALL FUTURE OF BULK MATERIAL HANDLING WILL BE

BRIGHT IN NEXT 10-15 YEARS.

THANKS ■

The Future for Bulk Material Handling is very bright specially in BRIC countries-Brazil,Russia,India and China,recently ther has been tremendous scope in countries like-Indonesia,South Africa,Vietnam and Australia.Even in America the gas based power plants are thinking to swith over again to Coal and started digging old cap mines.You can judge from the situation that top suppliers for Material Handling Systems/Equipments like Ship Loaders/Unloaders,Stacker,Reclaimers,High Speed loadouts,Grizzlies,Wagon tipplers ect, are full with the work for another 2-3 years.Even Consultants related to this Industries have gala time.

Regards, Anil

Director-Libran Engineering & Services

www.libranengineering.com ■

As a developing country, China has made great effort to encourage and develop bulk cement. We believe there is a bright future for China and other countries.

www.cementchina.net there is much information about China cement industry. ■

Dear forum members

pleased to chip into this interresting discussion

The evolution of handling techniques is somehow conditionned by the rate of automation that emerging countries are prepared to integrate. Near to free labour may seem more palatable than machinery, at least until such time as labour cost level out, which will take some years in coutries like China and India. Correct me if I am wrong.

The reluctance to changes is general to human behaviour. Reluctance to innovation is further enhanced in our field by the high cost of equipments. It takes a man with a vision and a free hand on investments to go for something new. When the decision is taken by a board, the most conservative view usually prevails.

Not to mention the fact that nowadays financiers, not engineers, have the last word, and tend to go for the bottom line investment cost.

Important also is the financial strength of the innovation vector. A small company carrying a promising technology has seldom access to large investment projects, by lack of financial credibility. Mediocre technologies are purchased from large companies, whereas better systems may be offerred by dwarf organizations.

We are talking from experience

Jean-Claude ■

Dear Forum Members,

In hope for the future the legislation in all countries and the costs will force more and more solutions for more eficient systems lowering the energy consum and enhancing the use of environment friendly equipment.

For each installed kW one should plant a number of region native trees.

The industrial plants will be more integrated, and controlled for the so called inteligent systems, wich will help the operators in to find the best adjustments for every equipment in the production line, avoiding for example, empty operation for belts, crushers and screens, and logically energy waste.

The equipment could be self adjustable, within certain limits, in order to save more energy. Everything controlled by the specialist systems, as people well done in the cement plants.

Water will become more and more rare, and the industry will face problems if its use remains abusive.

Belts will run faster, the limits will be (are)the rolls and transfer points.

Simulations will be more and more in use.

Important companies developed new concepts in these fields.

In the future more people will learn how to construct horizontal curves for belt conveyors and they will be more in use, with smaller radius, saving money and space.

Technology will become more and more global, and will be more easier to find spare parts anywhere in the globe, and more easier to find people to share problems and solutions.(like in this forum)

Like others, some components actually in use in the market will disappear, like some couplings and some belt cleaners.

And I hope that the mineral production and so all the industrial activities in the future wil be more friendly, with the environment and the comunities. ■

Dear Forum experts,

What will be the next generation mode of operation, as there are

one or two serious concern in India for high speed load out, like

1. Increase of pressure on Railway will push the industry to load

rake in 2 hours, means one and half hr for loading 4500 tonnes.

2. Very tight schedule for erection of Material handling system,

may be due to lengthy statutary clearences,

3. Lower ownership cost due to price down in coming future

Mukesh Ranjan ■

Dear Mukesh, You are rightly saying about the pressure on various industries to go for high speed loadout station.About 8-12 months back the situation was to load a racke in 5-6 hours which was sufficient for any industry who were having 4-5 mtpa capacity.The urgent need for High Speed Load out is definately there due to the following reasons also--

1.Now, we need to despatch the material @30-35 mtpa specially at coal import terminals,means 30-35 rackes in a day.

2. In mining sectors also we need to despatch 15 rackes in a day.

In India there is only one company who is supplying Rapid Loading Systems but not for such high capacities, recently one more company has come in India with American JV.I strongly feel that there is need for two or more companies because the existing ones can not meet the demand. By providing Rapid Loading System the turn around time for wagons will be faster and the railway will give preference to these clients.

Recently We have providied our services to the clients like-Tata,STCLI-Coal washeries in the field of High Speed Load out.

Regarding time to install a Rapid Loading System having loading capacity of 4000 tph for coal and 6500 for iron ore with all backup system yo need min-8-10 months depends upon the site conditions and layout.

Anil Seth

Director-Libran Engineering& Services

www.libranengineering.com ■

Hello there,

Does anyone here know any South African National Standards related to coal stacker design? Particularly the standards which are equivalent to following ISOs:

ISO 7149:1982 Continuous handling equipment - Safety code - Special rules

ISO 1819, Continuous mechanical handling equipment - Safety code - General rules.

ISO 2148, Continuous handling equipment - Nomenclature.

ISO 5049/1, Mobile continuous bulk handling equipment - Part 1: Rules for the design of structures.

Appreciate your help and time.

Best regards,

Lily ■

China, as a developing country, is also focusing on this topic, for i saw that someone had the keen interest in developing countries.

Just before saying which side(developing countries and developed ones) needs more bulk handling information, just think of that, both sides need develope their industries, rihgt? in this way, they can`t be left without Machinery! then, Bulk Materials handling! ■

Dear Jimmie, Iwant to add the followings--

Coal is the main material which will shuffle this market of Bulk Material Handling.Coal is badly needed by developed,under developing and under developed countries.Take example of US and some countries in Europe who are again switching their fuel to coal from Gas/Oil.This also due to rising prices of oil in International market.The people who can survive in this market of supplying material handling equipment shall have caliber of supplying the equipment at very competitive and short period.In china also mostly all the big cos. are full with their orders and giving their jobs to outside fabricators.

Jimmy, I am preparing Tender Specification for a coal crushing,stockpiling.extraction and barge loading system which to be installed in East Kalimanthan,Indonesia,I shall be sending you the copmplete tender documents,Please let me know your interest in the same.In this project, I have mounted barge loader on FLOATING BARGE ,since, this is going to install at river side where current and draft is very nominal.By doing like this I have tried to save lot of money in Jetty contruction.Please also let me know you experiance handling similar type of jobs.

Anil

Kalimanthan. ■

Dear Anil,

Thx for your attention for my post and you can just contact me through email: Jimmie@krdbulk.com

and we can just talk further about the bulk information.

Thx again for your time and Patience. ■

The popiulation grouth and the urban concentration of population will require new solutions on material handling , to supply said megalopolis

Even if Nuclear , solar and geotermal energy sources can take the place of the dwindling oil production, efficient non obtrusive , available just in time to avoid or limit storage, sub surface or elevated transpor systems will be required , energy recovery from those systems will also be something required , splillage and waste will have to be minimized if not because the cost of waste but because the space and manpower, or automation needed to clean up.

The need for innovation is there , there will be few opposed minds to a coomprensive solution to the supply of large human concentrations. Local mini nuclear or thermocouple generators will also be required to supply the population without the requirement of large generation centrals and cabling .

Probably micro wave or high frequency vibration will take the place of electrical cconductors fopr ilumination and power.

Vibration activated or agumented pipelines will help convey the products into confined spaces where surface land will be contested by other users .

waste handling and recycling will take a new dimention even the extraction of remanent energy on human or municipal wastes will prove to be econoimoically viable, amd will be provably unavoidable. by the way the letter size of this reply spaces will be larger , much larger as the body of Bulcaholics grows older . ■

hi,

In present senario bulk material handling around the world will slow down untill world economy improves

rk ■

I am interested in your recipe for edible coal. ■