How do you contain fugitive emissions in soil washing plants?
Treating and recovering soil from remediation work requires specific processes to separate the soil fractions and handle materials according to their characteristics. In soil washing plants, handling, feeding and processing the material can generate widespread dust, while the presence of certain substances can contribute to odours.
When this work takes place inside an industrial building, the problem takes on particular characteristics: dust can remain suspended in the air and odours can build up or spread through the working areas.
This was the situation in the area known as Tunnel Terra, at a plant in the Milan area dedicated to treating and recovering materials from environmental remediation. The aim was to find an effective solution for the indoor environment, with a system able to cover the entire operating area and also help control odours.
How do you take action when there is no room to place cannons on the ground?
Inside industrial plants, available space is often a decisive constraint. Conveyor belts, process machinery, handling areas and vehicle routes make it difficult to find ground-level positions that are effective, accessible and safe at the same time.
Here too, the company had no suitable points to place the dust suppression cannons at floor level without interfering with production.
The solution was to mount them at height, using the bikini configuration of the Phoenix dust suppression cannon. Before defining the installation, we carried out a site inspection to analyse the geometry of the building, the layout of the equipment and the possible trajectories of the mist jet.
The plant was about 40 metres long and already had a dust suppression cannon installed on a central pillar, designed to treat the whole space. However, the previous solution had been taken out of service because of its high water consumption and insufficiently effective coverage.
So the system had to be rethought, not simply by replacing the existing machine, but by changing how the misting points were distributed.
Why install two Phoenix Bikini cannons at the ends of the building?
The technical analysis showed the need to distribute the misting along the entire building, rather than relying on a single central point for the treatment.
We therefore chose two Phoenix Bikini cannons, with automatic rotation and electric vertical tilt, both controlled by PLC.
The positioning was designed to achieve more effective coverage of the areas where work takes place. The first cannon was installed at the entrance of the building, on a projecting platform; the second, at the opposite end, on a custom-made corner bracket.
This layout makes it possible to distribute the jet from two separate points, adapting its direction to the needs of the plant. Rotation and tilt adjustment allow the misting trajectories to be set according to the geometry of the space and the areas to be treated.
The connections were also designed around the production environment: each cannon is connected to its own control unit, placed in a protected position, away from vehicle routes and easily accessible to operators.
How do you also control odours without increasing water consumption?
To tackle both problems, the two control units were fitted with devices for dosing a specific additive for odour control.
We supplied the additive on a trial basis thanks to our collaboration with Unira, a manufacturer specialising in additives for applications in this sector. This way, the system was set up not only for water misting and dust suppression, but also for targeted odour treatment.
Being able to dose the additive through the control units means this function can be built into the management of the plant, according to the settings and operational needs. The choice of solution must still go hand in hand with correct adjustment of the misting, so as to limit water waste and direct the treatment towards the areas concerned.
How do you automate misting and act only when it is needed?
The installed configuration combines direct control of the machines with the ability to programme how the system runs.
Each Phoenix Bikini can be operated by radio remote control, so misting can be switched on when needed. This is particularly useful while material is being handled: the loader operator can act according to the work under way, switching the system on when dust needs to be contained.
When the treatment needs to follow a set schedule instead, operators can use the PLC of the two control units to set switch-on and switch-off times and the related work cycles.
Scheduled operation makes it possible to organise running times around the plant’s shifts and activities, while manual control allows a response to immediate needs.
What is the advantage of designing the system around the characteristics of the plant?
The Tunnel Terra project shows how controlling dust and odours requires an assessment of the whole environment, not just the flow rate or range of a single cannon.
The site inspection, mounting at height, distribution over two points, additive dosing and PLC control made it possible to configure a system consistent with the constraints and needs of the plant.
With Phoenix Bikini, Cannoni-Conrad offers a solution for industrial environments where floor space is limited and misting has to fit in with production processes, keeping transit areas clear and allowing flexible management of the treatment.
