To prevent hazardous liquid and bulk solid leakages, Kinder Australia’s K-Magna Range provides exceptional, quick and easy repair for worn-out steel equipment in a mining plant.
In a minerals processing plant, corrosive materials are a significant hazard that operators are required to control.
Often these plants produce millions of tonnes per annum of material, making it inevitable that wear and tear is going to occur with plant and equipment.
When this is combined with Australia’s intense environmental conditions, holes, punctures and abrasion can appear on ferrous metal equipment
While this may be part of a site’s predictive maintenance schedule, it is often a timely and laborious process to repair or replace the equipment with a permanent solution.
To avoid any potential risks, mine operators are often required to perform a plant shutdown until a permanent fix is provided.
Kinder Australia, however, has provided a solution that can fill in the gap between the wait time of a permanent repair, without having to commence a plant shutdown. This is achieved through the company’s K-Magnaseal and K-Magnaplug solutions.
The K-Magnaseal, Leak Patch and Drain Cover solution is capable of preventing a number of hazards on a mine site that have significant risks to an operation if not addressed, Pratt continues.
K-Magnaseal, Drain Cover is made to be flexible, ultra-thin, highly chemical resistant and available in four sizes.
“If a leakage is not patched up on a site, the number one risk would be the risk to the staff being exposed to a hazardous material,” Kinder operations manager Charles Pratt tells Safe to Work. “You also have environmental concerns, loss of production and downtime.”
According to Pratt, the K-Magnaseal can prevent up to 100 per cent of the risks associated with ferrous metal equipment abrasion on a mine site.
K-Magnaseal, Leak Patch can hold 25 PSI of pressure at temperatures up to 200 degrees Celsius. It is available in five sizes, from 8×8 inches up to 36×36 inches. No tools are required to fit the K-Magnaseal, Leak Patch, allowing for it to be magnetically ‘snapped’ on and off.
“For example, if you have a tank filled with acid that suffers from a leak, and you wanted to weld something over the hole that’s leaking, you have to drain the tank and you have to wait for that to happen,” Pratt says.
Applying the K-Magnaseal, Leak Patch has also been developed with safety in mind. Rather than applying the seal by hand, rods and poles can be used to apply the leak patch.
“We have enabled the K-Magnaseal, Leak Patch to be applied from distance – you can even use a broom handle. The patches have got straps so you can hook them onto a broom handle if required,” Pratt says.
“If you have a hazardous toxic chemical leaking from a pipe or a tank you don’t want to be near it for any period of time.”
Patented rare earth magnets and urethane material is used for the K-Magnaseal, which protects the magnet from direct heat, cracking, rusting and sparking that may cause additional risks.
The K-Magnaseal has been “welcomed with open arms” by the industry, Pratt adds. “The uptake has been incredible it’s been a bit of a gamechanger,” he says.
“Some of our biggest customers have jumped onboard and bought them just by review and video demonstration on YouTube, while we have had many customers use them when responding to emergencies on site.”
The K-Magnaplug solution implements a reusable wear repairing magnetic patch that can provide a temporary fix for a worn-out area on ferrous metal equipment.
Pratt says the K-Magnaplug can prevent common causes for wear on a processing plant.
The K-Magnaplug is effective against bulk solid leakages and suitable for a wide range of ferrous metal equipment, including steel pipes, elbows, silos, chutes, bins and hoppers.
“In a tank, it might be corrosion, or it might be wear on an elbow in a pipe or pressure when the pipe changes the direction,” Pratt says. “These situations all lead to accelerated wear and potential spills.”
With its high chemical resistance, flexibility and high magnetic strength, the seal remains locked into place, allowing a site to continue operations as usual. For Pratt, installation is a key advantage of the K-Magnaplug.
“With the K-Magnaplug, you don’t have to wait – you just apply the magnetic patch,” he says.
“It means that you don’t need to use straps or bolts or welding to secure the patch. It’s much faster to apply.”
While the K-Magnaplug is not advised as a permanent solution, the high magnetic pressure allows it to withstand regular operations.
By preventing hazardous and production-impacting leakages, the K-Magna Range provides a safer and more immediate solution to keep mine sites up and running.
“Due to the high pressures the K-Magnaseal and K-Magnaplug can withstand, it means that potentially the piece of equipment can remain online and operational,” Pratt says.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean in all cases the site needs to be shut down in the short term.
“Most people would put it on until they can schedule more permanent repairs to the pipe or tank structures.”
This article appeared in the May issue of Safe To Work.