Metso specializes in technologies and services for stone crushing, mineral processing, and metal refining. The company aims to enhance its customers’ energy and water efficiency, increase productivity, and reduce environmental risks. Over the years, Tamtron has supplied various dosing and weighing solutions to Metso’s DRI pilot facility in Pori.
At Metso’s Pori R&D facility, the functionality of newly developed processes is tested and evaluated under industrial conditions. This requires precise and reliable dosing and weighing solutions and tailoring them to the facility’s specific needs.
“Tamtron has a long-standing partnership with Metso’s pilot facility in Pori. We have supplied numerous dosing devices for different projects. About three years ago, we expanded the mini flash smelting furnace at the facility, and now the projects have progressed to the smelting furnace area,” says Jari Haraholma, Sales Manager at Tamtron Precision.
A cost-effective solution to layout challenges
The most recent collaboration involved implementing pipe conveyors to transport processed minerals into the DRI smelting furnace (direct reduced iron). This type of furnace reduces carbon emissions by enabling electricity as the power source.
The pipe conveyors had to be placed in an area already housing numerous pieces of equipment. Additionally, positioning the dosing equipment in the DRI smelting furnace hall posed challenges due to space requirements for the furnace base, power supply, cooling, flue gas removal, and maintenance. Tamtron designed a layout where the conveyors run in straight lines, avoiding unnecessary turns or upward inclines. This solution also facilitates maintenance, as the equipment is thoroughly cleaned of previous materials between test runs.
“The dosing equipment was ready for use within a few months, meeting the pilot plant requirements,” Haraholma explains.
The varying relative densities of raw materials added complexity to the design process. Materials such as iron, copper, and nickel enrichments have high relative densities. Tamtron’s solutions accommodate a wide range of densities and masses.
Long-term collaboration
Tamtron’s dosing and weighing solutions are versatile and suitable for various industries, including metal refining. The precise equipment ensures efficient production processes at Metso’s pilot plant in Pori. While the raw material quantities handled at the pilot facility are small compared to typical industrial-scale operations, equipment reliability is crucial to ensuring accurate test results.
Long-term collaboration allows benefiting from prior experience and equipment knowledge in new projects, and enables comprehensive solutions, including equipment commissioning and calibration.
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