Project Description

In cooperation with Strongco Engineered Systems, Lassing Dibben was the design engineering company for the first pipe conveyor in Canada at Reynolds Aluminum (now Alcoa Canada) in Baie-Comeau, Quebec.

Alumina is very fine and dusty which made the enclosed pipe conveyor the ideal means of transport to the 10,000 tonne receiving silo.

A single horizontally curved 350mm diameter pipe conveyor was selected as an alternative to having 3 conventional belt conveyors in galleries with 2 additional transfer towers required.

Technical Data

• Distance between pulleys: 500m
• Conveyor Belt Speed: 1 m/s
• Conveying Capacity: 230 MTPH

The pipe conveyor was enclosed in an integral truss supported in an open gallery with a walkway on one side and was far less expensive than the alternative while at the same time avoiding 2 additional transfer points that would require higher maintenance and power/electrical cost.

Besides the cost advantage of more than 3 to 1, the pipe conveyor provided the following operational advantages.

• Lower overall horsepower
• Enclosed material transport
• Components are protected from product build-up
• High availability
• Dust controlled transport

This was a highly successful project on time and budget with client satisfaction to this day. Pipe conveyors are becoming a more popular choice for both environmental and operational reasons around the world.