B2. Commissioning of the process: obtaining the required sand quality
During the start-up and set-up periods of the prototype, the optimal operation conditions established in sub-action B3 have been adjusted to operational constraints stemming from the connection to the piping system of the foundry chemical sand circuit as follows: batch size: 42.3 kg (loading time = 15 s), rotation speed: 2235 rpm, residence time: 60 s. That results in a treatment capacity = 1.8 t/h. The reclaiming unit has been operating to produce 12-21.6 t/week of reclaimed sand that has been mostly conveyed (597.74 t) to the back sand silo to manufacture moulds in the automated line (application: backing part of moulds; as alternative to conventional backing sand mix in ESTANDA = 90% MR sand + 10 % new sand).
1.5 t of reclaimed sand have been collected out of the circuit and used to manually manufacture moulds for brake discs (facing sand = 100% ECO-SANDFILL reclaimed sand & 50% mechanically recovered + 50% ECO-SANDFILL reclaimed sand). Steel parts have been casted using those moulds to evaluate the casting quality in comparison with the conventional discs manufactured in ESTANDA.
