10/07: Astec Double Barrel® Green System: Success with Simplicity
(Langley, British Columbia, Canada) - Work is steady for Columbia Bitulithic, a division of Lafarge Canada. To help take advantage of a building boom, spurred in part by the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics, they recently installed a facility in Langley, just outside the city of Vancouver. This is the second facility for Columbia Bitulithic in the Vancouver area. The new location is strategically located right on the Fraser River, a prime location for aggregates coming in by barge. It is also close to the new Golden Ears bridge project, connecting Langley to Maple Ridge and helping to direct traffic around the Port Mann Bridge. There is a big push in the area to complete road projects before the 2010 Olympics.
The new Port Kells facility began operating in April 2007. Before the plant was installed, the space it now occupies was an empty green field. The compact footprint of this facility is one of the smallest ever installed by Astec. This facility also includes one of the first Double Barrel Green systems that Astec produced and installed.
Plants Manager, Reynold Amey, explains that the simplicity of the Double Barrel Green system drew Columbia Bitulithic to it. He says that Columbia Bitulithic had been "talking about warm mix for quiet some time", but did not decide to invest in a system until they learned of the Astec system. As Amey explained, "all others add another oil." The beauty of the Astec Double Barrel Green System is that only the addition of water is required.
Amey goes on the say, "Double Barrel Green (system) is a huge thing and being on the leading edge is exciting."
The Double Barrel Green system is an option that can be included with any new Astec Double Barrel® drum mixer/dryer or added as a retrofit. The system uses water to produce a foamed warm mix asphalt that is odorless, smokeless and longer lasting. The Double Barrel Green system is a major break through in warm mix asphalt technology because it does not require the addition of expensive commercial additives. Instead, water is injected into the mix along with the liquid asphalt cement. The injection of water causes the liquid asphalt to foam and expand in volume. The foaming action helps the liquid asphalt coat the aggregate at a lower temperature.
The benefits of the Astec Double Barrel Green system for producers are clear:
There is no smoke and no smell because the light oils in liquid asphalt never reach the boiling point
The Double Barrel Green system has the ability to run high percentages of recycle mix with a standard grade of asphalt
Due to 50°F lower temperature approximately 14% less fuel is used corresponding to a 14% increase in production
After producing several batches of mix with the Double Barrel Green system, Reynold Amey notes that the workability of the mix is no different than traditional hot mix. However, one big difference could be observed with the first mix the Double Barrel Green System produced -- there was no smoke.
Even though the Double Barrel Green System was installed as a retrofit, it fit very well. Says Reynold Amey, "The hardest part of the job was changing the Double Barrel Green decal."
The Columbia Bitulithic Port Kells facility in Langley, British Columbia is rated at 400 tons (363 tonnes) per hour. Typically it runs at about 275 to 300 tons (250 to 272 tonnes) per hour. Four 300 ton (272 tonne) storage silos provide ample storage. And because operators wanted to go totally electronic, they opted to run the facility with the Astec TCII control system with a WM2000.
