World Grain - January 2013 - 79

GRAINOPERATIONS

groscopic products as fertilizers, salt and others.
A conveying inclination of up to 60 degrees is possible.
The equipment is lightweight since it consists of a plastic tube
with no idlers. The free span between supports is possible up
to 50 meters and no sidewalks are needed.
SYSTEMS COMPARISON
It is difﬁcult to make a simple comparison between alternative technologies, as the factors that inﬂuence their performance are extremely dependent on each application. However, a few key parameters can be analyzed to show indicative comparisons. Conventional belt conveyors and Ropecons
have a clear advantage in the large capacity range.
There are over 1,000 overland conveyor systems above 1
kilometers long operating around the world, while there are
about 500 pipe conveyors and 4,000 Manutubes. The Ropecon is a new development.
Pipe conveyors are more competitive when there are several
curves of short radius, and there is a need to avoid transfer points
and spillage. Manutube is the solution when there is a need to
convey capacities up to 2,000 tph and materials with explosion
risks, contamination risks and strong environmental issues.
Depending on the terrain proﬁle and soil properties, the
civil works can be a determinant factor in the cost equation.
There are projects located on difﬁcult terrain, with large earth
movement requirements and poor soil conditions.
The need of using elevated structures to allow free passage
of people and/or vehicles or to deal with ﬂooding and drainage issues can also inﬂuence the decision of the type of system to be used. In this type of application, the ability of pipe
conveyors and the Ropecon system to adapt to difﬁcult terrain
might be the best alternative.
Transfer points are very expensive, generate wear and tear
in belts, require support towers, electrical controls, more energy consumption and dust control systems.
Manutubes reduce and simplify transfer points, as they do
not need dust control, can go steeper (up to 60 degrees inclination) and are lighter units, with less support towers. They can
weigh half of the conventional conveyors, allowing bigger
spans between towers.
Pipe conveyors present higher power consumption due to
the increased number of idlers and the higher forces involved.
Manutubes have fewer moving parts so there are almost no
idlers. Ropecon systems and ropeways present the lowest speciﬁc power consumption among the alternatives compared, on
average about one third of conventional conveyors.
Roberto Hajnal is the international business director of Tecnologia em
Movimentação SA (TMSA), Brazil/Bulktech Argentina SA and board officer
of Asociación Argentina Poscosecha de Granos (APOSGRAN). He can be
reached at robertohajnal@bulktech.com.
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sosland.com. For reprints of WG articles, e-mail reprints@sosland.com.
For more information, see Page 98.

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