Zero Harm and Sustainability Set to Reach New Levels at Bunbury
These hoppers, the first of their kind at the Port, are designed with environmental consciousness in mind and will be used to discharge a range of imported cargo including Pet Coke, Urea and Ilmenite (HMS). The Pet Coke and Urea will be used by local mining and fertilizer companies while the HMS, transported from the East coast of Australia, will be put through advanced refineries to increase the grade of the local product outputs.
The introduction of these new hoppers, fitted with grizzly and load-out dust extraction, will accommodate the handling of over 300,000 tons of bulk product per annum in an improved environmentally conscious way. In the past, the former hoppers, built in the 1970's, posed risks to both the environment and employees, while Qube's new hoppers feature an industry leading enclosed operator's cabin and a safety conscious truck engine speed of 65db, when idle.
"The old chutes involved manual operation which created the potential for injury from stiff opening handles and chutes. Our new hoppers eliminate this issue, featuring advanced auto raise chutes and baffle plates which keep all dust to a minimum…catching it inside the hopper itself…benefiting both our team and the environment," stated Glenn Gibson, Operations Manager at Qube's Bunbury facility.
The Qube hoppers meet the requirements of National Environment Protection Measure (NEPM) 0.1 mg/m3 or < 10 micron dust particles and reduce the total time of discharge at up to 250t per hour per hopper, resulting in less set up time, less noise and less dust risk.
"These new hoppers, designed and fabricated to Australian Standards, featuring remote controlled grabs with sealed leak resistant buckets, will ensure no dust and no spills, improving sustainability while minimising clean up time and increasing berth utilisation capabilities," smiled Gibson.
In addition to the environmental benefits of controlling the cargo within the hoppers Qube has also developed the revolutionary RotaboxTM system, which is being used successfully at Bunbury to load bulk cargo. Through the use of the RotaboxTM system, featuring its integrated automatic lid lifter, the cargo is contained in the bulk from the mine site to the vessel.
Qube Bulk is committed throughout its national operations to ensuring the upmost in employee focused safe working practices and environmental principles. All employees are trained to the highest health and safety standards, ensuring that they are aware of their obligations in relation to safe work practices and the environment. The commissioning of these new hoppers marks a positive step in ensuring that Qube's Bunbury operation meets the highest standards in HS&E in all areas, while discharging bulk products.
for more infomation visit: www.poags.com.au.
