Laserfiche WebLink
mills, hammer mills, or jet mills. The ground material then is classified by wet screening,dry <br /> screening,or air classification.At some plants, after initial crushing and screening, a portion of <br /> the sand may be diverted to construction sand use. <br /> After initial crushing and screening, industrial sand and gravel are washed to remove unwanted <br /> dust and debris and are then screened and classified again.The sand(now containing 25 to 30 <br /> percent moisture) or gravel then goes to an attrition scrubbing system that removes surface stains <br /> from the material by rubbing in an agitated, high-density pulp. The scrubbed sand or gravel is <br /> diluted with water to 25 to 30 percent solids and is pumped to a set of cyclones for further <br /> desliming. If the deslimed sand or gravel contains mica, feldspar, and iron hearing minerals, it <br /> enters a froth flotation process to which sodium silicate and sulfuric acid are added. The mixture <br /> then enters a series of spiral classifiers where the impurities are floated in froth and diverted to <br /> waste.The purified sand, which has a moisture content of 15 to 25 percent, is conveyed to <br /> drainage bins where the moisture content is reduced to about 6 percent. The material is then dried <br /> in rotary or fluidized bed dryers to a moisture content of less than 0.5 percent. The dryers <br /> generally are fired with natural gas or oil,although other fuels such as propane or diesel also may <br /> be used.After drying, the material is cooled and then undergoes final screening and classification <br /> prior to being stored and packaged for shipment. <br /> Emissions from the production of sand and gravel consist primarily of particulate matter(PM) <br /> and particulate matter less than 10 micrometers (PM10) in aerodynamic diameter, which are <br /> emitted by many operations at sand and gravel processing plants,such as conveying, screening, <br /> crushing, and storing operations. Generally,these materials are wet or moist when handled, and <br /> process emissions are often negligible. A substantial portion of these emissions may consist of <br /> heavy particles that settle out within the plant area. <br /> Emissions from dryers include PM and PMIO, as well as typical combustion products including <br /> CO and NOx. In addition,dryers may be sources of volatile organic compounds(VOC) or sulfur <br /> oxides(SOx)emissions, depending on the type of fuel used to fire the dryer.With the exception <br /> of drying,emissions from sand and gravel operations primarily are in the form of fugitive dust, <br /> and control techniques applicable to fugitive dust sources are appropriate. Some successful <br /> control techniques used for haul roads are dust suppressant application,paving, route <br /> modifications, and soil stabilization; for conveyors, covering and wet suppression; for storage <br /> piles, wet suppression, windbreaks,enclosure, and soil stabilizers; for conveyor and batch transfer <br /> points, wet suppression and various methods to reduce freefall distances(e.g., telescopic chutes, <br /> stone ladders, and hinged boom stacker conveyors); and for screening and other size <br /> classification,covering and wet suppression. <br /> Wet suppression techniques include application of water, chemicals and/or foam, usually at <br /> crusher or conveyor feed and/or discharge points. Such spray systems at transfer points and on <br /> material handling operations have been estimated to reduce emissions 70 to 95 percent. Spray <br /> systems can also reduce loading and wind erosion emissions from storage piles of various <br />