Cross Wrap Bale Opening in Cement manufacturing

One of the biggest benefits of the CW Bale Opener is its operation, which opens both the square and round bales. For this it is the perfect choice for LafargeHolcim.

LAFARGE HOLCIM COMPANY PRESENTATION

A global operator and one of the world’s largest building materials manufacturer LafargeHolcim operates in four different business areas: Cement manufacturing, Aggregates, Ready-Mix Concrete, and in Solutions & Products.

The company has spread its operations all around the world to 80 different countries and it has over 75 000 workers. The company´s growth is based on global population growth, urbanization and to improve living standards, and sustainable construction.

The quite new company has been founded in 2015 when companies Lafarge and Holcim merged and created LafargeHolcim. The company headquarter is based in Switzerland and reached a combined net sale of CHF 26 billion in the year 2017.

AUTOMATIC CW BALE OPENING FOR ALTERNATIVE FUELS

LafargeHolcim´s Villaluenga, Spain, cement manufacturing plant updated its alternative fuel (WtE) infeed system by purchasing a fully automatic Cross Wrap BO 3600 Bale Opener machine. The purchase was done in 2018 and the machinery was installed in April of 2019. The investment contacts and prework were conducted by LafargeHolcim company Geocycle which is responsible for all the waste management activities at LafargeHolcim.

By shifting to use the Cross Wrap Bale Opener the customer wanted to automate their alternative fuel infeed, where baled and wrapped SRF is used as an alternative fuel in the cement manufacturing process. The CW Bale Opener opens the bales automatically, separates the wrapping film and bale wires. It improves to steady the infeed process and maintains a higher quality fuel stream.

The cement kiln alternative fuel infeed system is depended on steady fuel handling. CW Bale Opener removes the wrapping film from the bale content and moves the baled material forward to the process. With the help of the CW bale opener, no bale tying material will end up among the fuel.

FLEXIBLE MACHINE FOR VARIABLE SHAPE BALES

One of the biggest benefits of the CW Bale Opener is its operation, which opens both the square and round bales. For this, it is the perfect choice for LafargeHolcim. This gives a great benefit for them, as they can receive all types and shapes of alternative fuel bales; store them wrapped on their premises, and use depending on their process needs.

As the CW Bale Opener operates automatically the loader only needs to place the bales to the feeding conveyor and the machine does the rest. The bale opening cycle speed is automatically adjusted according to the fuel infeed line speed or the bale loading speed, if the material is continuing to a bunker.

The option to choose feeding conveyors length helps to set a comfortable and safe pace for bale loading. A longer feeding conveyor helps to buffer the feeding and helps to slow down loading speed and helps the operator to work without a hurry, which increases safety and operation precision.

IN A NUTSHELL:

• Company: LafargeHolcim
• Material: Building materials
• 4 business areas: Cement, Aggregates, Ready-Mix Concrete, Solutions & Products
• Operations scale: 80 countries and 75 000 workers
• Cross Wrap reference: LafargeHolcim, (Geocycle), Villaluenga, Spain, Cement manufacturing plant
• Material usage: SRF, RDF, and Fluff burning in cement manufacturing, WtE-operation
• CW Machine: BO 3600, Bale Opener
• Capacity: 25 bales / hour