Steel Screens Stand up to Canadian Winter

15 July 2004

flat deck linear motion screen

Leading Sydney based process equipment manufacturer, Schenck Australia has beaten international competition to supply two screening machines to an oil sands extraction plant in Canada.

Canada's oil sands are spread across an area about the size of Ireland, and contain an estimated 1.7 to 2.5 trillion barrels of bitumen. Using available technologies, 300 billion barrels are considered to be recoverable, which makes Canada's oil sands one of the largest oil deposits in the world.

Schenk was awarded the contract in an international tender. "The client actually contacted us in Australia and asked us if we could design and manufacture the screens," explains Robert Shelston of Schenck Australia. "They had investigated suppliers world wide and eventually decided on us."

With 80 employees working from its head office in Sydney and manufacturing works in Thornton, Newcastle, and Perth, Schenck has been supplying vibratory screens and feeders, process and weighing equipment, crushing and quarry equipment, and train loading systems to the Australian mining and process industries since the early 1950's.

A subsidiary of its German parent company, Schenck Australia was formed in 1996 to consolidate and expand the Schenck range of process equipment. Schenck Australia's commitment to superior design, quality products, and outstanding service has resulted in a healthy outlook for the business, both locally and overseas.

"We have a significant international business," says Robert. "We ship about 100 vibratory machines out of our Perth workshop to China each year, which means about 1,200 tonnes per year. The majority of the steel we use to fabricate our products is XLERPLATE® hot rolled plate from BlueScope Steel."

Schenck has designed and supplied two flat deck linear motion screens for the Canadian oil sands plant. Assembled and tested in Schenck's new manufacturing facility in Henderson, Perth, the screens are approximately 3.6 metres wide and 9 metres long. The total finished weight is around 30 tonnes per machine. Three Schenck DF601 exciters power each screen.

Completed in June last year, the screens were installed and commissioned in October 2003 and have now successfully operated throughout their first Canadian winter. "They are used to screen oversize product from the feed to the plant. The project has been very successful, in the three months since installation, the screens have reduced waste from 13% to less than 1%," says Robert.

The oil sands extraction plant is located near the Arctic Circle and the screens have been installed in the open, unprotected in incredibly harsh conditions. A major challenge in the design and manufacture of the screens was the extreme temperature and environment that the screens would have to withstand.

"The ambient temperature of the region where the screens are installed is about -50°C," says Robert. "The machines must screen corrosive slurry that is about 90°C. As the extraction of oil involves an acid component, the material is extremely acidic. So, basically the screens have to cope with extreme temperature variations and acidity."

"Designing the screens to withstand conditions not normally experienced in Australia did present a challenge. It was also one of the critical conditions that factored in our choice of steel," he adds.

According to Robert, about 80% of the steel used for the screens was from BlueScope Steel, including two tonnes of a special grade of XLERPLATE® steel. "After an initial investigation into steel suppliers from Canada and Europe, we came to the conclusion that BlueScope Steel could do the job and do it reliably. The machines have operated extremely successfully, and we're confident that we made the right decision to use BlueScope Steel."