Coal Mine Wash Plant

Coal fines and sediment in the service and gland water put pumps and seals at risk across a Queensland coal wash plant. Four Filtaworx automatic filters now keep that water clean without operators isolating and cleaning strainers by hand.

Coal wash plants are a harsh place for water. Service water picks up suspended solids, sediment and coal fines, and at this plant the same supply also feeds the gland water system.

Gland water goes straight to pump seals, so whatever the filtration misses ends up in the equipment the plant depends on. Conventional strainers catch it, but they have to be isolated and cleaned by hand, again and again.

The replacement had to survive mining conditions, keep the water supply running, protect pumps, seals and downstream equipment, and run automatically with minimal operator intervention.

Four Filtaworx Automatic Self-Cleaning Screen Filters: two FW200 and two FW150.

Mixing the two sizes let each filter be matched to the service water and gland water demands at different points in the wash plant.

Each filter cleans its screen automatically and keeps delivering filtered water through the cleaning cycle. Operators no longer isolate strainers to clean them, which suits a plant that runs continuously.