“There has been a real issue for underground coal mining, specifically for conveyor rollers, where only metal ones can be put underground because plastic and aluminium do not meet safety requirements,” Duromer application engineer Aldo Mostacci told International Coal News.
“The problem with metal is that it’s very heavy and causes damage to belts when they start to wear out.
“So the coal mining industry has been looking for a plastic material for conveyor rollers for many, many years – one which is safe for underground use that won’t give off sparks and cause explosions.”
Enter Duromer’s corrosion and chemical-resistant nylon-based products – including two material grades approved to MDG 3608 standard relating to non-metallic materials for use in underground coal mining – which are suitable for materials handling components including conveyor rollers, roller components and conveyor accessories.
Available either as off-the-shelf product or custom-engineered solutions to individual needs, the material is also suitable for a wide range of materials handling and process engineering components including pulleys, brackets, diverse rollers, elevator buckets and pull switch accessories such as ‘pigs tails’
Mostacci said a good indication of just how much the industry had been looking for something like this was the fact that since he started telling people about this material in December he had just about every conveyor roller manufacturer in Australia say “we want to talk to you, we need this material”
“We’re talking to five manufacturers right now mainly in New South Wales and Western Australia, but there are some in Queensland as well,” Mostacci said. “I don’t think there are more than 10 companies who actually make the rollers themselves.
“Queensland, NSW and WA are the main states that manufacturer rollers. Conveyor manufacturers are elsewhere, who then just buy the rollers from the manufacturers.”
It turns out WA is quite a hot spot for the manufacturing of rollers, although it is not a strong underground coal mining state.
“The manufacturers in WA don’t have underground coal mines but they have manufacturers of conveyor rollers and sell them around Australia,”Mostacci said. “They sell the non-FRAS (fire retardant anti-static) for above-ground applications in WA, and underground coal mines mainly in Queensland and NSW.”
The benefit of using FRAS technology also has possible applications in oil and gas. Mostacci said Duromer was first chasing the Australian market to sell the technology, when once it had success here, the company planned to go to overseas markets, most probably Europe and North America.
“In prime applications such as coal, these FRAS-approved and MDG 3608 compliant materials have significant advantages in addition to high performance and durability in aggressive environments,” he said.
“These include weight savings, cost savings and flexibility in manufacture.
“As a replacement for metal, their FRAS rating and resistance to chemicals and corrosion make them suitable for use across a range of confined spaces applications and a broad range of industries.”
It can be applied to situations where designers contended with aggressive environments, including primary and food product processing, minerals processing, ports and maritime materials handling, infrastructure and energy projects, oil and gas installations and water and waste water plants.
Duromer has mechanical and polymer engineering expertise, as well as chemists and service personnel with many years of experience in polymer moulding.
It also offers assistance with finite element analysis and mould flow analysis, to support the entire manufacturing process from design to part manufacture.
