ALSTOM POWER - WEST BURTON POWER STATION COAL PLANT

The coal plant at West Burton is over 30 years old and operates 43 conveyors in the system, the shortest being 20metres long and the longest being 280metres long. In all the conveying system there are 9,000 rollers of which 75% are troughing rollers and 25% bottom idler rollers.

Alstom Power have been involved with Coal Plant Maintenance at West Burton Power Station since May 2002.

Historically West Burton have used the normal steel rollers, experiencing normal effects of wear and failure, sometimes the result of these failures have been costly with respect to damage to the conveyor belt itself.

Due to the location of some of the conveyors maintenance proves to be very difficult, due to weight and size of the steel rollers - manual handling is an important consideration to prevent risk of injury to maintenance personnel.

At West Burton the conveying system is the means for transportation of coal from rail to the boilers. The constant movement and chute/diverter system generates a high level of fine coal dust. The atmosphere with coal dust is minimised, but sources of ignition have to be prevented to reduce the risk of fires. Failure of any of the steel rollers has to be kept to a minimum so as not to cause any heat generation connected with a failed roller, thus preventing a fire risk. The station was approached by Horizon Rollers and provided a means of reducing the risk associated with these problems by the introduction of their plastic rollers. The risks are reduced to a minimum. Also, as an added bonus, they have an extended lifespan. This reduces maintenance and costs. These results were obtained from a one year trial, closely monitored during arduous conditions on one of the outside conveyors.

In conclusion, Horizon have solved a number of major issues and manual handling problems across the coal handling system, which are valued at this power station.

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