Fortis IBA Ltd has recently invested in a Liwell® Flip Flow Technology Screen for their A303 IBA Processing Facility in Hampshire. The A303 facility currently processes 120,000 tonnes of bottom ash from Energy from Waste Facilities each year, transforming the ash into a sustainable recycled aggregate which is used in construction projects.
Fortis IBA Ltd, resourced the project internally, undertaking extensive research within the European materials separation technology markets prior to the investment. It was critical to ensure that the investment would significantly increase metallic extraction rates and improve processing efficiencies, whilst enhancing the engineering properties of the final IBA Aggregate products.
A series of trials were carried out using a number of different screening and separation solutions from the UK and Europe. After a lengthy evaluation process, Tema (Machinery) Ltd were selected to carry out further detailed trials at the A303 IBA Processing Facility using their mobile version of the Liwell® Screener. The trials proved highly successful in meeting the expectations and requirements of Fortis IBA Ltd. The Fortis team were subsequently invited to the Liwell factory in Germany to negotiate and agree final specifications.
Supplied by Tema (Machinery) Ltd who are based at Woodford Halse, near Daventry, the Liwell® 2.0 x 6.0m double deck flip flow screening machine (Model LF2.0-5.76/18DD) was installed at the Barton Stacey site, close to the A303 in Hampshire at the end of December 2017.
The investment in the Liwell® Flip Flow Screener followed extensive on-site testing with the Hein Lehmann test facility with the design and build contract awarded to European Active Projects Ltd.(EAPL) of Southampton with final commissioning taking place in mid-January.
More efficient recovery:
Simon Parry-Jones, Sales Engineer for Tema (Machinery) Ltd, commented, “Initially, the remit was to clean the feed material entering the plant, but more specifically the feed to the -5mm Eddy Current Separators (ECS) which required frequent cleaning, which was impacting on process continuity and costs.”
Simon, continued, “We invited Terry Moore, General Operations’ Manager at Fortis to visit a similar facility in Germany to see many Liwell® screens operating on IBA and to draw on the German experience working at very small separations.”
“However, it became apparent to Fortis IBA that cleaning the feed on its own would not be justification for the investment and sought an improvement on the metals recovery at Barton Stacey. The test facility was again hired in to look at the possibility of separations much smaller than was thought possible with this material and the Liwell® screen proved they could make those reductions in separation size and recover more metals.”
Terry Moore, General Operations Manager – Fortis IBA, commented, “We are continually looking at new ways of developing our processes to improve our metallic recovery rates and overall processing efficiencies. We produce high-quality IBA Aggregates and the introduction of the Liwell® screen has refined our processes further. Successfully separating smaller IBA fractions improves recovery rates and reduces maintenance and downtime. We are delighted with the performance of the Liwell® screen and are achieving the anticipated improvements in recovery and efficiency.”
History of the Liwell Screen:
The Liwell® screen was the first ever flip flow screen, invented by Hein Lehmann some 45 years ago, the innovative technology has seen many attempts to copy it over the years, but this application highlights the advantages the Liwell screen still has over the competition. The Liwell® principle ensures the mat is subject to at least 50g’s acceleration, yet the screen itself is under very little stress, in fact just over 2g when operating. Liwell® machines are known for their longevity and it’s quite common to come across old machines in the second decade or more of their service life.
Hein Lehmann and Tema (Machinery) Ltd are sister companies within the wider Steinhaus Group of companies, Tema look after the interest of Hein Lehmann and the Liwell® screen along with Siebtechnik GmbH here in the UK and Ireland.
For more information regarding Tema, please visit our website at www.tema.co.uk
