Heyl & Patterson Blog

Bitterly cold temperatures keep people indoors, but it's largely business as usual for the unloading of bulk materials.  Even in the extreme cold, the work still needs to be done.  As temperatures drop, materials such as coal, coke, lignite, iron ore and wood chips tend to clump together as the water moisture they contain turns to ice.  In the case of coal, a load can freeze nearly solid if the haul is more than one day away from its receiving station.

Power generation comes from a variety of heat-producing sources:  oil, natural gas, nuclear, geothermal, wind, solar and of course, coal.  The heat boils water and creates steam.  The steam, under high pressure, spins a turbine.  The turbine interacts with a series of magnets to produce electricity, which is transmitted as moving electrons through a series of wires to homes and businesses.

Coal is primarily used as a solid fuel to produce electricity and heat through combustion.  World coal consumption was 7.99 billion tons in 2010, and is expected to increase 48% to about 9.98 billion tons by 2030.  Coal can be delivered by truck, rail, barge or ship, and some power plants are even situated near coal mines so coal can be delivered by conveyor systems.

Railways have existed in India since 1853, and several organizations have enforced standardization among the various railway systems over time.  Since 1957, the Research Designs and Standards Organization (RDSO) has been the sole authority operating under the India Ministry of Railways.  The latest rule to standardize Indian railways is the RDSO's G-33 Rev 1 Requirements.  The "G-33" part of the title represents a mix of new and existing rules that are specific to Wagon Tipplers along the railroads.

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Pittsburgh, PA – Heyl & Patterson Inc., a world leader in thermal processing systems and bulk materials handling, has received a Golden Triangle Award from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Pittsburgh Chapter during its annual competition.

Bulk cargo is a commodity that is transported unpackaged in large quantities.  The main purpose of bulk material handling systems is to transfer the material as quickly and cleanly as possible as it is moved from one place to another.  Loading and transporting are just two stages in the process of transferring bulk materials from the producer to the consumer.  When transporting by rail, they must be unloaded from railroad cars, which is usually done with rotary dumpers or turnover dumpers, which discharge loads parallel to the rails.

Coal-fired power plants continue to be the largest source of electricity generation in the United States, but their market share is declining.  About 15 percent of the coal-fired capacity currently active is expected to be retired by 2040.  Existing coal plants that have undergone environmental equipment retrofits will continue to operate throughout the projection, with natural gas, renewables and nuclear power steadily growing in the years to come.  The American energy mix is changing, and the U.S. can learn from growing pains occurring on foreign soil.

The words "built to last a lifetime" are overused in today's world.  There are few examples of products that actually hold true to that promise.  One of the few is Hammerhead Crane 110 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyards, constructed by Heyl & Patterson in 1940 and instrumental in America's effort during World War II.  More than 70 years after it helped build the fleet that won the war, it is still standing.

In the past, the large export facilities in New Orleans traditionally used unloading devices known as "marine legs."  Quite different in size and capacities from the modern Continuous Barge Unloader, or CBU, these machines are equipped with small buckets that travel at high speed.  Their maximum capacity is usually in the range of 20,000 to 25,000 bushels per hour, roughly 600 to 750 tons per hour.

Ferrous alloy production can trace its origin to as early as 2000 BC, based upon manmade ferrous metals found in ancient China and India.  More than 4,000 years later, modern iron and steelmakers still use the same carbothermic processes.  However, this industry continues to develop technology improvements that are more efficient, productive and inexpensive than longstanding processes to produce high quality ferrous alloys with a wide range of properties and applications.