by Jon M. Casey

A sunny and beautiful spring day is the perfect setting for a demonstration of how to clean dirty aggregate using less water, less electrical power with a unit that requires less maintenance, right? Well, for the atten­ dees of Kemper Equipment’s field demonstration of the Tyler Hydro-Clean Mobile Test Plant from Haver & Boecker at the Pennsy Supply Millard South Quarry near Annville, PA, Tuesday April 21 was the ideal time and place for just such an event.

While between 30 and 40 attendees observed the cleaning of several test samples of clay laden, dirty aggregates of varying sizes, they witnessed a simple process that effectively cleans a variety of challenging materials. While some materials were more challenging than others were, it was evident that the Hydro­Clean, high pressure washing system could be the best solution for producers who need a unit with a smaller footprint than conventional log washers and screens, and who are looking for lower operating costs with higher returns on investment. With production rates between 18 and 360 tons per hour depending on the size of the unit, the crushed stone industry, along with sand and gravel operations and recyclers may find the answer in a Hydro-Clean unit. According to Greg Donaker, president of central Pennsylvania’s Kemper Equipment, sponsor the morning event, the Tyler Hydro-Clean offers quarry operators an alternative to traditional aggregate equipment, technology that has evolved from designs that were invented more than a century ago. With this new style of washing technology, several kinds of material including clay bearing aggregates, mixed sand and gravel materials and other more exotic materials like recycled glass, can be cleaned with the Hydro-Clean unit. Additionally, producers are able to turn formerly unmarketable or undesirable materials into higher quality, more profitable products for consumers who might not have been able to use the previously dirty material.

Michael Honea, Haver & Boecker’s process engineer explained how the Hydro-Clean’s design is simple. lt uses water and stone on stone agitation to clean the incoming material in a cylindrical washing chamber. The cylinder contains a rotating spray bar that begins the cleaning process as material descends from the infeed down to the discharge screen. A second group of high pressure nozzles directs a 2000 psi spray of water onto the aggregate as the final step of cleaning before the material departs the Hydro-Clean unit. With a total contact time of approximately ten sec­onds, material is thoroughly washed quickly and efficiently.

The portable test unit is a model 350 Hydro-Clean, the smallest of the three production models that are currently available through Haver & Boecker. Model numbers are designations of the diameters of the washing drums in millimeters. The HC 350 has a capacity of up to 18 tons per hour. The two larger units, the HC 1000 and the HC 2000 are capable of handling 180 and 360 tons per hour respectively.

While Pennsy Supply was hosting the event and using this demonstration to evaluate several sizes of aggregate contaminated with naturally occurring clay that can be mined with cleaner aggregates, other pro­ducers were invited to bring in material from outside facilities for testing of their specific products. Surprisingly, batches of recyclable glass and coal slag used in sand blasting applications were two of the more unusual items that arrived for consideration. Ultimately, Honea requested that his team take the samples to Haver lab for further testing. In this way, he could make an ideal recommendation to achieve the customer’s desired results. Unfortunately, a run of the material at the demonstration was unachiev­able because the test samples were in too small a quantity to process the material through the Hydro­Clean unit. Without sufficient infeed quantities, the team would be unable to provide satisfactory results for evaluation.

Honea noted that test samples needed a volume of several cubic yards if the test results were to be accu­rate. The interested producers understood the need for larger quantities and agreed to allow the Haver & Boecker team to analyze the material in their test labs and make appropriate recommendations once the material had been analyzed.

John Whitehead, sales representative for Kemper Equipment, advised the group gathered, in his expe­rience of working with this product and the Haver & Boecker engineers, that when they evaluate a materi­al for cleaning or screening and then make recom­mendations, they will provide an honest assessment of what the customer needs. They will not recom­mend equipment that is not capable of doing the job.

For more information on the Tyler Hydro-Clean, visit the company website at www.wstyler.ca/hydro­clean .