Environment
Safer, cleaner operations for a more sustainable business and community
Not just a chute, but a long-term transfer point solution
Weba is the go-to engineered transfer solution because we custom-design our products to fit the client’s needs and expectations. We also minimize health, safety, and environmental risks without sacrificing performance. Our engineering excellence combined with our environmental principles deliver a valuable environmental engineering approach. This helps our clients achieve their goals and live their values protecting the three Ps: people, planet, and profit.
We help clients follow new environmental regulations, provide jobs to the local communities, protect workers' health, and ensure the surrounding population is not exposed to harmful air pollution. This includes Mpumalanga pollution from coal mines, which creates the worst air quality — worse than Beijing.
We don’t just make promises, we hold ourselves accountable with measurable results
We collect all transfer point data to ensure we have full visibility of the conditions around the chute so you receive a complete transfer point solution
The majority of dust in mining is generated during the transfer of material on conveyors and through chutes. We do a full analysis of the dust particles and all their consequences, focusing on human health. This scientific data proves how Weba reduces the risks of dust pollution, while ensuring the chutes always perform optimally by indicating maintenance needs and timing.
With state-of-the-art technology measuring dust/material particles, Weba provides clients with the following information:
- Material information
- Transfer point descriptions
- Environmental conditions
- Conventional chute baseline information
- Weba-engineered design baseline information
Our strong statistical process control and the latest technology allow us to provide clients with a holistic solution that reliably meets performance, health, safety, and environmental requirements
Excessive dust not only damages parts, increasing maintenance needs, but metals, metalloids, and spores in atmospheric dust increase human exposure to toxic contaminants and infections.
By engineering and designing our chutes according to specific transfer and ore applications, our systems ensure ultimate flow control to better manage the velocity, direction, and impact of the material. This minimizes noise, dust pollution, energy consumption, and spillage while extending the equipment life cycle. Spillage control is the main focus because it offers the most significant reduction in dust particles around the transfer point, and the biggest benefit to health, safety, and performance.
Our dust analysis begins by using the latest technology to provide an accurate baseline profile of the dust secretion from the conventional chute, and then comparing it to the dust particles of a newly installed Weba chute. This comparison allows us to demonstrate the significant improvement our chutes bring to the planet as well as the employees around the transfer point.
Our models focus on 0.3 micron-sized particles, as these smaller particles have the most serious impact on human health. With this vital information, clients can rest assured that the Weba chute will adhere to mining regulations for dust particles in a closed environment.
Picture 1 – Modeling the conventional chute vs the Weba chute particle measurements. The Weba design has got a more steady state profile with efficient flow design.
We then generate a baseline model of two Weba profiles: one indicating scatter data and the other indicating a normalized profile, to give a clear indication of particle levels present.
We gather data at 30-second intervals, with 0.003 split seconds per measurement over an agreed-upon duration, and profile that data into a scatter plot, considering factors like lump size, belt speed, relative humidity, wet-bulb temperature, wind conditions, and material type.
Picture 2 – The scatter data will indicate the maximum and minimum dust point in the profile.
We can then create a normalized profile demonstrating how dust increases with lump size.
Picture 3 – The normalized profile will provide the client with data on how dust levels increases with larger lump sizes that are introduced into the system.