Dust Emission Measurement in

quarries with the FW 56D/T 10

FW 56

Market segment
The market segment referred In Europe exist (1997) more factured from large stones,
to is the determination of than 5000 quarries of this stone blocks or boulders. The
L I CAT I O N

dust concentration in
quarries using granulate
crushers with an annual
capacity of > 500.000 t.
APP
size. Crushers are used in granulates are used for
applications, where mineral processing mortar, concrete
granulates with a grain size or macadam for road and
of up to 80 mm are manu- railway construction.

Results
n Accurate measuring
values even for extre-
me dust concentrati-
on
n Parameter for sprink-
ler control
n Product quality control
n Limitation of enviro-
mental pollution
Process
The crushers are usually
mounted under a roof in open
halls.Dust emission resulting
from the crushing process is
extreme. Sprinkler systems
are often used to reduce the
dust content in the immediate
vicinity. The amount of water
passing the sprinkler system
Dust measuring equipment in a quarry
however must be controlled as the
water content of the product is
restricted for quality reasons. The water
quantity can be controlled directly by
mesuring the dust content above the
sprinkler system.

Measuring task ( Performance test )

The task was to measure in
a quarry site the dust
concentration above 6
crushers with extreme dust
emission in open path and
to feed the measured
values into the control
system of the sprinkler
equipment.
This installation was
considered as performance
test for the dust measuring
device FW 56 D/T10 for this
ambitious application.
Measuring solution
and test results
The FW 56 D/T 10 equipped
with long dust-protection
tubes to minimize
contamination on the optical
boundary surfaces was
installed above the crushers
in an open bay. The distance
between measuring head
and reflector was 6m. The
measuring range was set
from 0 to 100% opacity. Zero
point (4 mA) was defined by
the lowest dust level, i.e. with
no crusher in operation.
The dust burden with all 6
crushers in operation was so

FW 56 D/T10 with mounting brackets

extreme that it was difficult to

see the reflector from the
measuring head position.
After 2 weeks of operation
with 3 crushers the dust build
up in the protective tubes of
the FW 56 was extremely low
(only 4 mm at the tube outlet.
The optical boundary sur-
faces were completely free
of dust and the device
conse-quently full
operational, see diagramm.
After further one week of
operation with all 6 crushers
a dust deposit of 20 mm was
measured in the tubes, but
only in the front half of the
tube. The optical boundary
surfaces again were clean
and with that the device full
operational.

Plotter signal with 3 crushers

in operation

Advantages and benefits

The installation of the FW 56D/T 10D in quarries provides the
advantage to keep the dust burden automatically within given
limits even under extreme operating conditions. This is
achieved by controlling the water flow through the sprinkler
system by the measured dust concentration value.
The benefits – together with very low maintenance needs –
are:
• The sprinkler system output is automatically adapted to
the dust burden
• The product quality regarding water content is secured
• The dust emission into the enviroment is controlled and
reduced.

SICK AG • Environmental Monitoring • Nimburger Str. 11 • D-79276 Reute • Germany

Tel. (+49) 76 41/4 69 0 • Fax. (+49) 76 41/4 69 11 49 • www.sick.de