Tag Archives: Arjan Boogaards

Nalco Water leverages technology, service and digital tools to introduce Flotation 360

Environmental, IoT, Mineral processing, Mining services, Mining software, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , ,

Nalco Water, an Ecolab company, has announced the launch of Flotation 360, a holistic approach to flotation in mineral processing.

The solution combines Nalco Water’s advanced frother and collector chemistries with a worldwide technical service team and digital diagnostic tools that monitor the chemical, operational and mechanical levers influencing performance, Nalco Water says.

The company explained: “Mineral processing plants face the dual pressures of responding to growing demand while also adapting to increased variability. Variability can come from many outside influences, including changes in the orebody itself, shifting customer demand or quality requirements, natural resource constraints and more. To manage increased demand and minimise the impacts of variability, mining companies must be more agile than ever, continuing to evolve their production strategies.”

The Flotation 360 solution combines existing chemistry programs, new digital diagnostic tools and a cross-functional service team in a comprehensive package that includes:

  • A variety of advanced frothers and collectors;
  • Digital diagnostic tools that tap into existing IoT at customer sites and use algorithms to give both real-time diagnostics and predictive analytics on several flotation factors, which enables Nalco Water to offer actionable insights on performance;
  • A service team with a global network of service engineers, consultants and lab personnel that measure and monitor a variety of performance indicators, then recommend and implement changes to customer systems.

When combined, these three elements enable Nalco Water to give customers end-to-end support for their flotation circuits – customers have a partner to supply the chemistry and then monitor its efficacy, as well as overall system performance, the company says.

Arjan Boogaards, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Global Mining, Ecolab Industrial, says: “Flotation 360 is a game-changing innovation. The solution is unique in its combination of advanced chemistry, technical expertise, digital innovation and predictive, actionable insights to achieve the highest level of flotation optimisation. This ultimately translates to a positive impact on product recovery and grade.”

In addition to the improvements for overall recovery and grade, the increased visibility offered by Flotation 360’s real time and predictive analytics can help a customer achieve multiple benefits, such as reduced float cell valve failures, reduced troubleshooting time, optimal chemical reagent dosage and fewer product quality violations or smelter penalties, according to the company.

“At Ecolab, we are always striving to deliver new solutions that combine chemical and technical expertise with the knowledge that only experience can bring,” Boogaards said. “By combining our existing chemical solutions with new digital tools and teams with cross-functional expertise, we are creating a comprehensive, end-to-end flotation solution that is unique in the mining market.”

Ecolab uses mixed reality to troubleshoot process water problem at phosphate mine

Communications in mining, Energy minerals, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Mining software, Water management, , , , , , , , , ,

Ecolab’s Remote Assist program has leveraged mixed-reality technology to overcome COVID-19 restrictions and provide critical, speedy customer support to a mining company in the Middle East.

The company, a customer of Nalco Water, an Ecolab company, was suffering from an unknown mechanical issue, which impacted chemical dosing for process water treatment. As a result, the phosphate mine was facing a potentially costly disruption of its activities.

“Not too long ago, the mine’s remote location of approximately 1,400 km away from the nearest technician might have led to operations being curtailed for several days,” Ecolab said. “Challenges created by the pandemic further hindering the technician’s ability to travel could have made the outcome even more bleak. However, by leveraging mixed-reality tools that combine elements of virtual reality and augmented reality to create a blend of the physical and digital world – in this case, a hands-free tablet-class wearable computer – Ecolab’s mining division was able to come to the rescue in a timeframe that would have been unthinkable just a few short years ago.”

Connecting with a senior engineer at the treatment plant, the Nalco Water technician was able to communicate in real time, inspecting the equipment to gain an understanding of the operational challenges on site. Safely working together in a virtual environment, the two associates were able to quickly diagnose the issue and replace the component that was ultimately behind the problem.

“Service that would otherwise have required two days of travel was completed in just one hour, saving travel costs, maintaining social distancing and reducing the carbon footprint,” Ecolab said.

As well as offering mining and mineral processing programs that combine chemistry, automation and control technology to help plants optimise production, Nalco Water’s proprietary 3D TRASAR™ smart water treatment system has enabled the company to offer the benefits of remote monitoring and troubleshooting on over 40,000 units installed worldwide, Ecolab said.

Arjan Boogaards, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Global Mining & Mineral Processing, Nalco Water, said: “We have greatly optimised productivity for our customers with these innovations, but, inevitably, the occasional mechanical issue will call for service and support that is outside of the scope of smart controllers and automation on site. That’s where we can apply mixed-reality technology and continue to transform the future of service and support by enabling expedient, accessible issue resolution. We can help connect our customers to a global infrastructure of research, innovation, engineering and digital experts in a faster and more efficient way.”

Ecolab’s Remote Assist program incorporates mobile applications that can connect to a remote collaborator. Through live video calling, annotations and sharing high-resolution snapshots with the remote collaborator, users can co-operate to troubleshoot problems quickly, according to the company.

Use of the latest mixed-reality technology enables Ecolab to gain remote access to its customers’ facilities in several beneficial ways. Its sales and technical representatives in the field can wear mixed reality devices for a “digital focus first, real-world focus second” approach to basic digital training in safe environments, Ecolab said.

Mixed reality also enables them to virtually connect to Ecolab’s scientists, engineers and cross-functional teams for support. This enables them to remotely diagnose and troubleshoot issues around contamination, oversee chemistry usage, guide the installation of new equipment, monitor water and process conditions and, ultimately, implement solutions that maximise customer productivity.

“This is most definitely an approach both we and our clients will continue with, even after COVID-19 has become a bad memory,” Boogaards said. “The pandemic has sped up the process for many companies to adopt digital tools, and they are dramatically improving their operations. The time and money savings are undeniable, so companies that do not make use of these tools could place themselves at a competitive disadvantage. We’re clearly entering a new era.”