CHAPTER 2

PROCESS DESCRIPTION & PERSONNEL INFORMATION PROCESS DESCRIPTION

The following is a generalized outline of Gypsum granulation process. Equipment is explained in more detail in the mechanical start-up section and in the individual equipment manuals. The first step in the process involves loading the raw material hoppers which predesignated for each raw material. This is done with a front-end loader. The micronutrients are loaded in their respective hoppers manually. The next step is metered feeding of raw material into the system. Each hopper will discharge onto a weigh feeder which will supply each material at the specified rate. The mixed material is passed through the raw material hammer mill through an elevator and will be ground at this point. This is done to ensure two things; one that no lumps enter the system and two that the raw feed falls into general categories of sizing. The material is then fed onto a belt conveyor which will feed the raw material to an elevator. At this point, the recycle is also added back into the system. The raw material and recycle is then fed to the mixer. Thorough mixing is achieved before being fed to the granulator by gravity by a chute. The granulator is a rotating drum designed to form granules of the incoming material by agglomeration process (by adding layers during the rolling motion). In this process, densification and roundness also take place. Spray pipes are located in the granulator for spraying water & steam onto the material bed. From the granulator, the material drops into a rotary dryer wherein the moisture gained in the granulator is evaporated due to convective heat transfer to the material from high temperature co-current air flow. Oil fired Air Combustion chamber is used to generate the hot air. Depending on moisture levels and material properties, various drying parameters can be used. Exit air temperatures usually vary from 65oC to 90oC depending on loading. Generally, incoming material contains upto 15% moisture, which is reduced to a approx.6-8% by the exit. Flights are used in the dryer to induce a curtain motion of the material which results in increasing the surface area and hence better drying. From the dryer, the material drops onto a transfer belt conveyor where it is discharged into an elevator and then onto the screen. Here, the fines (granules < 1mm) drop out into a recycle conveyor where they are returned back to the mixer. The material is then fed to the cooler. The cooler is a rotating drum similar in design to the dryer. The cooler drum is used to cool the hot material from the dryer drum, so

as to avoid absorption of moisture from latent heat. The flights allow for proficient cooling by chilled/ambient air resulting in an outlet material temperature close to 40oC (Ambient+3oC). The outlet air temperature will vary with the conditions of the material in the drum. The cooler discharges into an elevator which discharges onto the final classifying screens where the product and over-size are screened. The on-size material is fed onto a belt conveyor series and discharged as a final product in curing shed. The over-size material is coarsely ground and returned to the recycle belt conveyor along with the fines. This balance has been proven to work very effectively for the granulation process. After curing, the finished product to be fed manually to the product bucket elevator for packing in 25/50 kg. bags. Process air from the granulator is collected and sent to cyclonic separator. Air from the dryer is pre-cleaned with a twin cyclone to remove the majority of dust. Then it is cleaned by a dry scrubber as a final step before discharge to the atmosphere. Cooler process air and fugitive dust streams are cleaned using a twin cyclonic dust collector. The dust is returned to the system recycle stream and the air is emitted to the atmosphere. Refer to enclosed drawings No.P6185-R1 for a Process Flow Diagram (PFD) illustrating the granulation system.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION
The gypsum Granulation Process requires a minimum ground crew of seven men for its operation: Granular Operator, Process Area Technician, Front End Loader Operator, Furnace Operator, Bagging Machine Operator, Stitching Machine Operator and a Laboratory Technician. A Foreman will supervise this seven-man ground crew. Other personnel will be required for raw material in-loading, bagging, and product packing, stacking out-loading and for housekeeping & crusher cleaning. It is important that employees are cross-trained; giving them the capability of performing each others tasks in the event that one is not present.

Duties of Personnel FOREMAN

The Foreman is responsible for the manufacturing operation. responsibilities as they relate to the granulation process are these: 1. 2. 3. 4. His duties and

Thorough training of each crewmember. Assignment of specific duties of each operator. Complete inspection of process before start-up. Periodic observation of each mans work during operating period.

5. Check material flow rates to ensure proper formulation. 6. Supervise start-up of any fresh start operation. 7. Make hourly tours of the granulating process area to observe the functioning of all the equipment. 8. Go to granulation process area promptly in the event of unscheduled shutdowns to investigate cause and expedite re-start. 9. At the end of each operating period, supervise and inspect clean-up operation. IMPORTANT: The process is not to be shut down during lunch periods or shift changes. The Process Area Technician shall be trained to report promptly to granulator in case of unscheduled shutdowns of the granulating process. This saves time and confusion, thus minimizing duration of downtime. FRONT END LOADER OPERATOR The duties of the Front End Loader Operator are as follows: 1. Fuel and lubricate the front-end loader each morning before start-up and refuel thereafter as required. 2. Maintain material levels in all Raw Material Feed Hoppers. 3. Alert Foreman in the event that a raw material source is nearing depletion. GRANULATOR OPERATOR This man is directly responsible for the proper operation and care of the granulating process as directed by Foreman. His duties are as follows: 1. Make general inspection of process before startup. 2. Start all processes in accordance with Start-Up Procedure. 3. Set the flows of water and steam called for by formula and maintain proper agglomeration of the mass in the granulator by increasing or decreasing the flow of water and/or steam being added to the mass. 4. Observe the operation of the process from the M.C.C. watching the ammeters for motor overloads. ( Once every hour or two) 5. Keep close watch on liquid meters and keep flows precisely on target. 6. Adjust exit gas controller to give desired moisture in finished product. 7. Record accurate process information such as temperatures, pressures, flows. 8. Stop the process at end of scheduled run or because of equipment malfunction in accordance with Shut-Down Procedures. IMPORTANT: At the end of the production run, the Granulator Operator, assisted by the Process Area Technician, should clean the granulator. They also clean the product oversize mill, fans, chutes and hoppers, as well as ducts from the mixer, granulator, dryer, and cooler. PROCESS AREA TECHNICIAN

1. Carefully inspect process before startup including feeder belt, granulator, and chutes to dryer and cooler, interior of dryer and cooler shells, combustion chamber, cyclones, and fans. Close attention shall be paid to cleanliness of wire cloth on product screen. 2. After start-up, material must be kept flowing across the raw materials feeder belts. 3. Check cyclone dust flow every half hour to be sure it is still flowing properly. 4. Keep main floor clean at all times. 5. After shutdown, clean feeder belt with air and help with the general cleanup of the process required at the end of each production period. This includes the granulator, hoppers and chutes, cyclones, fans and product screen, elevator heads, boots, mixer, chain mill, hammer mill etc. 6. Draw 1 kg sample of product from the process belt every half hour. Threefourths (3/4) of the sample is taken to the Lab Technician for analysis. The other quarter (1/4) is kept in a dust tight container that makes a composite sample of the days run. IMPORTANT: Process Area Technician shall report promptly to granulator area in case of unscheduled shutdown of granulation process. This saves time and confusion, thus minimizing duration of downtime. LAB TECHNICIAN The Lab Technician is responsible for determining process and quality control. It may be necessary to utilize more than one laboratory technician in order to meet the testing requirements. The main focus of this employee is product quality control. 1. Analyze & record moistures, temperatures and screen analysis of each hourly sample. If any of the parameters are not desirable then the Process Area Technician should be alerted immediately. 2. Analyze & record product nutrient analysis. This should be done every 2 hours or as required by PPL for product quality control. Various methods exist for nutrient analysis. 3. Prepare, analyze, and record the composite samples of the days run. FURNACE OPERATOR This person will be responsible for ensuring the proper operation & care of the furnace temperature indicators and burning equipments. His prime responsibilities will be 1. Make general inspection of burning equipment and furnace before start-up. 2. Ensuring transfer of fuel from main storage tank to service tank and maintaining the oil consumption record from service tank. 3. Ensuring that the dryer suction fan and dilution fan are switched on and started before firing of the furnace.

4. Cleaning of the carbon deposition in burner block and oil nozzles. 5. Ensuring good house-keeping on the working platform of the furnace. 6. Ensuring fire extinguishers available all the time near the working platform of the furnace. 7. Checking the expiry of the extinguishers and getting them refilled/revalidated. PACKING PLANT OPERATOR Bagging Operator for fixing of the HDPE bags on the bag holder and checking the cleanliness and preventive maintenance of the bagging machine. STITCHING OPERATOR Stitching Operator for operating the stitching machine.

PLANT WALKTHROUGH AND PRE-CHECK

Normal start up should first begin with a plant walkthrough by the operators. Once finished, an alarm and siren should commence for a short period (a few seconds) before anything is started. Before equipment can be started, the necessary fuel tank & water tank in the system must be filled and to be topped-up at the end of every shift.