New construction of the gravel processing and concrete mixing plant (Thalgau, Austria)

Challenge the practice is addressing: Due to necessary replacements of equipment used for exploitation and processing, innovations have been implemented to reduce emissions and costs of the site.

Concrete practice to achieve the expected goal: The first step was the change of the internal transport from tracks to conveyor belt. The preliminary separation of grain size, using a tipping grate, was moved to two bunkers in an enclosed building, which completely eliminated the noise emissions. The combination of the gravel processing and the concrete mixing plant was built on a omitted sedimentation basin to position it optimally in terms of noise and operation. The sand processing was changed from four sand traps to three cyclones to increase the efficiency of recovering fine particles. The larger concrete mixer reduces the loading time of the tracks (customer) and thus reduces CO2 emissions. Through the combination of the mineral processing and the concrete mixing plant, internal transport distances were shortened, which in turn saves CO2. The truck compressor were replaced with an electrically operated low-pressure screw compressor to reduce CO2 emissions. Combination of raw material processing and concrete mixing plant to reduce CO2 emissions.

Expected impact/goal of the practice: The aim of the investment is to achieve emission and cost savings. Noise emissions have been reduced to a minimum through extensive structural measures. The combination of the gravel plant and the concrete plant saved around 300,000 kg of CO2 per year. In addition, the deposit output has been increased by using the latest processing technology while the quality of the product remained at the highest level.

Who is the target user group of the practice/intervention or implementing the practice/intervention? This practice is for companies in the extractive industry.