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• BG Europa supply new KS55 Stabilisation Plant for O'Keefe Utilities.

1st March 2010 - BG Europa (UK) Ltd has recently supplied a bespoke version of their relocatable model KS55 Stabilisation Plant to O'Keefe Utilities Ltd to provide them with a compact high production unit to operate within the London area. The brief was to design a unit that could treat utility arisings that had previously been sent to land fill sites. The unit also needed to be suitable for relocation to various other job sites, without the expenditure of creating expensive mass concrete foundations. Other important considerations for location of the KS55 within city job sites demanded that the operating process had to be quiet and clean in operation.

Environmental awareness has always been at the forefront of the philosophy driven by the O'Keefe group of companies, this philosophy subsequently leading to the development of a process to recycle utility arisings.

The process O'Keefe Utilities have developed is called SMARTR® which is an acronym for: Stabilising Materials from Arisings - Re-grading & Treating for Re-use.

The SMARTR® process provides a material to replace a traditional MOT Type 1 which is designed to achieve the performance of a Structural Material for Reinstatement (SMR), as defined under the new Roads and Street Works Act 1991 in the second edition of the Street Works Code of Practice: Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in Highway.  This alternative reinstatement material is known by its trade name; PAVIMENTUM (PV1).

Two trailer transported units:

The solution provided by BG Europa comprises two trailer transported units both suitable for installation by crane on compacted level ground. The first single chassis contains the processing unit which makes no compromise on versatility and capacity, offering choices of operating mode and a processing capacity of up 250 tph.

Gradation is achieved through an integral Finedoor Twin Deck Finger Screen. This screen operates at a shallow angle and has a design capacity of up to 150 tph. The 10mm thick rigid side plates with heavy duty bolted in decks ensure durability with the coil spring mountings isolating vibration from the KS55 chassis. The Finedoor screen is particularly designed for vehicle mounting; featuring a narrow frame which fits comfortably within the normal transport criteria.

Graded material is then fed to the BG Europa KS55 mixer by a small charging conveyor plus the screen unit can be slid away from the belt feeder discharge and replaced by a feed chute directly to the mixer charging point. This allows the production capacity of the mixing unit to be increased to around 250 tph whilst reducing power requirements

The ubiquitous BG Europa KS55 processor produces a high quality homogenous mix in many varied applications. In this guise the unit is perfectly at home incorporating one or two fine materials within the marginal aggregate and soil mix.

To enhance operation on generator power a powder coupling on the 55kW electric motor reduces starting requirements to approximately three times full load current which allows a smaller capacity generator set to be utilised. The coupling and belt drive also provide a degree of shock protection to the drive components when operating under arduous conditions.

The second unit:

The second unit is a trailer transported relocatable 60m³ total capacity split fines silo with two integral 809 loss-in-weight, fines dosing systems.

The silo support structure features outrigger legs and ties the silo to the mixing unit. This allows the large capacity silo to be installed on compact level ground with a 200 kN/m² bearing capacity, without the need for a concrete foundation.

Two BG Europa model 809 fines feeder systems are each mounted from three load cells within the silo support structure to provide accuracy and surety of fines dosing control. Two fines screws then convey the fine materials from the 809 weigh pods to the KS55 mixer hood.

Production:

Since operation commenced in November last year, the plant has generated over 15,000 tonnes of PV1 which is manufactured in accordance with a British Standard for the production of a Hydraulically Bound Material.

The relocatable model KS55 Stabilisation Plant has been a great success; Lee Horsley - Director, of O'Keefe Utilities Ltd commented, "The ability to recycle excavated arisings at a hub facility has met our client's sustainability criteria, however surety of product was the essential ingredient in the success of our Pavimentum PV1 product. The bespoke plant provided by BG Europa has allowed for a consistent, well graded product with the ability to subtly amend the mix proportions to achieve the desired criteria for the introduction of PV1 into highways reinstatements"