Plant Engineering

We can look back on an overall successful year in the JOEST group‭, ‬during which we achieved‭, ‬improved‭, ‬and developed a lot‭. ‬With‭ ‬these positive developments and optimism‭, ‬we would like to look forward to the new year‭.‬

JOEST delivered several types of machines from its product portfolio for castings for a customer‘s complete system. To simplify and enhance the original process of storing casting parts in boxes for the cooling process, a JOEST Casting Cooler was installed downstream the existing shakeout.

For several years, JOEST has been working on the optimization of thermal treatment plants with regard to energy consumption.The optimization of energy consumption is the main focus in thermal treatment. The JOEST Fluidized Bed Dryer is already equipped with an exhaust air heat exchanger to preheat the process air. In specific cases, the drying systems can be designed with exhaust air recirculation. In this case, the exhaust air is partially returned to the drying system after being cleaned by a filter or cyclone. This reduces the energy consumption by more than 40 %. Such measures were previously not available for the JOEST Fluidized Bed Cooler, as the warm exhaust air cannot be recycled in the cooling process itself.

In collaboration with the subsidiary JOEST China based in Peking, JOEST designed and manufactured a Vibrating Fluidized Bed Heater and Cooler for thermal processing of highly pure plastic granulate this year. Both machines fulfil different tasks and are located at different stages of the overall process. In the production process from LDPE to XLPE, granules must be heated in one processing step and cooled down in another. The Vibrating Fluidized Bed Heater with 6 m² of surface area is discontinuously operated (batch operation) and is equipped with an energy-efficient Recirculating Air Processing System. The recirculated air is tempered by an electric heater, freed from dust after running through the Fluidized Bed Heater and recirculated in the process. The product is brought to a temperature of 80-85°C at a throughput rate of 4.000 kg per hour in two batches, before being passed on to the next processing step.

After several vigorous meetings with the client from the Netherlands, JOEST was given the order to manufacture a large drying system. Extruded Cereal Products B.V. is a large producer of extruded cereal and protein products for the food- and animal feed industries. The client was looking for a plant to dry wheat-based extrudates which vary in size and shape, composition, moisture and temperature. The existing factory offered very little room for the plant. As a solution, JOEST delivered an extremely compact plant that was based on previous deliveries and optimizations in 2004 and 2014. The system covers four levels of the factory and uses a sophisticated pipeline layout to make the most of the available space. Its main components are a JOEST Fluidized Bed Dryer, a downstream screen, the required processing technology, ventilation equipment and the electronic control featuring a process visualization. The ventilation equipment includes fans, a steam air heater, cyclones, pipelines and an exhaust air heat exchanger.

This year, JOEST manufactured a 42-meter-long Casting Cooler for a client. The cooler was designed as a mass compensated resonance machine for the shock-free cooling of truck motor blocks in a continuous production flow. It is located after a green sand molding plant that produces 60 parts an hour with a weight of up to 550 kg per piece. The Casting Cooler cools these motor blocks from 400 °C down to 100 °C. A radiation pyrometer measures the temperature of the parts. From a machine dynamics standpoint, the Casting Cooler is equipped with active, synchronized vibration dampers. They are sub resonantly harmonized and feature an eccentric slider-crank drive. Open at the feed and discharge ends, the machine has a near airtight hood that forms an ideal flow channel. The air injection nozzle creates a strong air flow through this channel. The counter flow principle enables a direct convective heat exchange between the casting parts and the cooling air, resulting in a shock-free cooling process.

Last year, JOEST got the order for the third cooling line of the Melos GmbH in Osnabrueck, a manufacturerof EPDM-granulates and cable compounds. The first order of this sequel was placed back in 2016. Melos is a leading manufacturer of plastics for sport- and playground surfaces. They use their know-how to develop custom solutions for various plastic applications including the cable industry and many more. The core of the plant is a JOEST Fluidized Bed Dryer, a Markus Dieckmann, Project Engineer, Melos GmbH GERMANY. Third order in a row for JOEST. Large plant for cooling and screening of EPDM-granulates processing and exhaust air system including pipelines, and a JOEST Feeder. For the demanded cooling of EPDMand EVA-granulates as well as PE-compounds, JOEST designed and manufactured a Fluidized Bed Dryer that is tailored to the application.

Max. Metal Recovery from ASR Fines or Incinerator Bottom Ash with a Purity of > 98%…

BPS – Best Process Solutions, Inc. and their German partner JOEST are supplying a complete processing system in the USA for the recovery of fine metal with a grain size smaller than 12 mm…