13 May 2021
Industry: mining
Project: railcar spraying to avoid ore freezing and carryback when unloading
Project specifications: harsh winter conditions (northern Quebec)
Main customer challenges
- Loss of product through ore carryback in railcars during the winter
- Risk of derailment from the weight of railcars (ore carryback)
- Minimizing the material and labor costs required to protect the railcars: approximately 1,500 railcars were equipped with plywood and insulation, which are short-lived, nondurable, and lose their effectiveness quickly
- Risks to employee safety, material damage (load weight), and time loss when ore clumps together, which employees then have to break up
Solutions recommended by Somavrac C.C.
- Semi-automated system that sprays 29.6% concentration calcium chloride on railcar walls and top (includes a flowmeter to control amount of spray)
- Following services: ship unloading, product warehousing in customer tank (pipeline), solution preparation in the tank, and railcar transfer (using the pipeline) performed by the Somavrac C.C. team
Results and customer impact
- Less product loss at unloading (prevents the product from clinging to railcar side walls)
- Safe railcar travel
- Lower costs (material and labor)
- Simplified management: product and service included, to avoid having to deal with 2 or 3 separate suppliers.