What’s new in the water world

McLanahan Corp.’s Cory Jenson says water treatment and the elimination of tailings ponds are part of the future. Photo: P&Q Staff

Yes, ConExpo-Con/Agg was once again the environment where washing and classifying equipment manufacturers could debut their latest plants and plant components.

But it also provided a place where manufacturers could discuss the direction of their companies and the changing nature of water management.

Among the companies leveraging ConExpo-Con/Agg to discuss such developments were CDE, EIW (Eagle Iron Works), McLanahan Corp. and Xylem.

Market development

Just a few weeks before ConExpo-Con/Agg, McLanahan acquired Diefenbach, an Italian manufacturer of filter presses and thickeners.

McLanahan’s Cory Jenson reflected on the deal during a press conference just ahead of ConExpo-Con/Agg, detailing the impact his company expects the acquisition to have on the U.S. market.

“With the Diefenbach filter presses, it gives us a differentiated product, a proven product [and] over 100 years [of history] of building filter presses available to the Eagle Iron Works network of dealers,” says Jenson, who serves McLanahan as executive vice president of sales and business development. “They have a few different styles of filter presses: overhead beam filter press [and] a side-beam filter press. There are a couple styles of thickeners.

“For the Eagle Iron Works dealers, this truly gives them the ability to offer the complete package – complete end-to-end washing solutions,” he adds.

According to Jenson, McLanahan first turned to Diefenbach in 2013 as a contract manufacturer of filter presses.

“We’ve been very happy with what they’re manufacturing for us, and we’ve been looking for how we get end-to-end solutions for Eagle Iron Works,” Jenson says. “We think water treatment and elimination of tailings ponds is part of the future.”

Where water management is going

Regulation is undoubtedly driving water management in a new direction, according to Jenson.

“When we go to some countries and some states in the U.S., that’s the way the trend is going,” he says. “No longer is it easy to get a permit for any pond. Maybe you have a deposit and you want to start mining. But if you want to wait for a permit for a pond, it takes five to seven years. That’s not great for getting a return on investment on that new land that you bought.”

McLanahan has a vision for how projects will be shaped in the future, as well as how producers will be expected to manage water.

“We see there’s a lot of projects moving toward closed-circuit systems where all water is recycled, all of the material is dewatered and it can be dry stacked for reclamation back in the mine,” Jenson says. “That is the future of the aggregates industry and the mining industry.”

Like Jenson, Xylem’s Ken Albaugh touched on the industry’s management of water when visited at ConExpo-Con/Agg.

“We’re talking to a lot of people about water quality monitoring at their discharge,” says Albaugh, director of sales and services at Xylem. “Also, they don’t want dirty water at their screening. They want water to be as clean as possible at their screens. All of those different ideas and solutions are coming into play.”

Related: Managing water with smart technology

Sustainability-minded

CDE’s Darren Eastwood addressed the trade press during a ConExpo-Con/Agg press conference. Photo: P&Q Staff

Similarly, CDE’s Darren Eastwood recognizes that the nature of the typical aggregate operation is changing.

“Demand for aggregates in our cities is now higher than ever, and the supply lines from our quarries are getting further away from where materials are required,” says Eastwood, business development director at CDE. “Legislation, too, means it’s harder than ever to secure approvals for materials. Sustainability – for both profit and planet – is essential but difficult to achieve.”

In line with the sustainability concept, CDE showcased some of its latest equipment at ConExpo-Con/Agg. In its booth, CDE presented recycling solutions such as the AggMax scrubbing and attrition system, the Counter Flow Classification Unit (CFCU) for density separation, ShearClean attrition cells and the EvoWash sand classification and dewatering plant.

“The latest upgrades to our AggMax, CFCU, ShearClean and EvoWash systems – staples of our next generation of recycling solution – represent the very best of CDE engineering excellence,” Eastwood says. “The future of waste recycling is here.”

Also, CDE unveiled its P2-168 Infinity screen. With a processing capacity of up to 750 tph, the company says the P2-168 is the largest model in its Infinity range and that it was designed specifically for the U.S. market.

Other equipment offerings

Washing and dewatering equipment was also on display in the McLanahan booth at ConExpo-Con/Agg.

Specifically, McLanahan showcased its horizontal screen-over-screw portable plant for the first time at any trade show. While not a new piece of equipment, McLanahan says it is a highly demanded configuration that its dealers requested be at the show because of its popularity.

The screen-over-screw plant contains a horizontal screen and a double screw washer, along with a McLanahan triple-shaft horizontal vibrating triple-deck screen that can size washed rock products for direct stockpiling. Built over a McLanahan double screw fine material washer, the company says the plant can size and wash three aggregate products and one sand product.

Along with the portable plant, McLanahan displayed its UltraDry dewatering screen. The UltraDry is a modular, skid-mounted dewatering screen that can be added to a new or existing system to create a drier, ready-to sell product that comes off the dewatering screen at a moisture content as low 7 percent.

Sand plant debuts

The Falcon is a sump-fed system from EIW that’s comprised of a sump, at least one hydrocyclone, a dewatering screen and a pump. Photo: EIW

EIW, which is part of the McLanahan family of companies, featured a brand-new plant at ConExpo-Con/Agg while highlighting its classic equipment.

According to EIW, the new Falcon sand washing plant offers high product yield in a compact washing system that produces a drip-free, stackable, easy-to-handle product.

“We’re talking about end-to-end washing,” says Mark Krause, managing director of North America at McLanahan Corp., which purchased the assets of EIW in 2012.

“Now, we have thickeners, filter presses, sand plants and fines recovery units that we never had before for Eagle Iron Works. It’s a pretty exciting time for that whole group.”

The Falcon is a sump-fed system comprised of a sump pump, hydrocyclones, a dewatering screen and a pump. A slurry feed is collected in the sump of the system, where it is pumped to hydrocyclones for classification.

Product-sized solids are discharged out the bottom of the hydrocyclone and onto a dewatering screen, while fines and excess water overflow out the top of the hydrocyclone, according to EIW. The dewatering screen then removes any excess moisture from the product and discharges a drip-free, ready-to-sell sand.