Submersible Pump Fulfills Quarry Stone Washing Requirements

Overview

Oldcastle Materials Group is the leading vertically integrated supplier of aggregates, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete, and paving services in the United States, annually producing 165 million tons of aggregates, 50 million tons of asphalt, and 10.5 million cubic yards of ready-mixed concrete at 1,400 locations nationwide. Oldcastle is the fourth largest aggregate producer in the United States and the largest producer of asphalt products.

Midsouth Aggregates, part of Oldcastle Materials, produces aggregates by quarrying naturally occurring rock deposits. Granite and limestone are extracted by carefully controlled blasting, then crushed and graded to produce stones of different sizes that are used in various applications from concrete, wallboard, and roofing tiles to roads and bridges.

Shane Horton, plant Manager for Midsouth Aggregates’ Alexander City, Ala., quarry operation needed to replace a submersible pump that pumped quarry water to a stone washing tower. He also wanted to increase the discharge flow of the pump. The existing pump had a 4-inch discharge. The new pumping conditions were 1000 GPM, 50 feet of vertical lift, and 500 feet of horizontal run to the water tower. The manufacturer of the existing pump would have to use a pump with an 8-inch discharge in order to meet the new conditions; BJM could accomplish the job with a 6-inch KZN.

Solution

Based on the high volume and harsh conditions of their Alexander City Quarry Operation, Midsouth aggregates was seeking a submersible pump that delivered reliability to the operation’s stone washing tower. Brownlee-Morrow recommended a KZN220, high head, hard metal agitator slurry pump, which was exactly what Midsouth Aggregates was looking for. The quality features built into the KZN series pump that helped make this decision were:

Optimum Wear Resistance – All wet end parts are constructed of abrasive resistant 28 percent chrome iron (600 Brinell, 71 Rockwell C) for maximum wear life
Maximum Solids Handling Capability – The semi-open impeller handles abrasive solids concentrations as high as 70 percent by weight
Class H motor insulation and built-in amperage (FLA) and temperature overload protection
Double silicon carbide mechanical seals in a separate oil-filled seal chamber

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