DEEP investigates diesel traps in underground mines - RFP

4 October 1999

The Diesel Emissions Evaluation Program (DEEP) has approved a project to investigate the effectiveness of particulate filter technologies and issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for diesel trap manufacturers interested in evaluating their products in an underground mine.

Recent studies, such as the VERT program in Europe, have shown that particulate emissions can be reduced with these trap technologies by as much as 98%. A project to investigate the use of particulate traps is currently underway at Noranda Inc. Brunswick Mine in Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada. The purpose is to demonstrate the efficiency and overall effectiveness of these new systems in an underground mining production environment.

The project has been planned for an on vehicle test period of 18 months. Four heavy production vehicles will be equipped with the traps along with monitoring instrumentation. This will permit the evaluation of four distinct trap systems. The phases of the project are:

• Engine Datalogging—Trap Evaluation and Selection
• Trap Bench Testing and Installations
• 18 Month Evaluation with Continuous Monitoring
• Trap Removal and Bench Testing
• Analysis and Final Report

Once the four systems have been selected they will each be bench tested according to the protocol established during the VERT program. This will serve as a baseline measurement in determining trap performance, efficiency, and deterioration. A Detroit Diesel Series 60 lab engine identical to the engines on the vehicles will be available for the bench testing at CANMET, Bells Corners laboratories in Ottawa, ON. Once the bench testing is complete the traps will be moved to the mine and installed by the project team on all four vehicles. The systems will be monitored closely over the entire 18 month production run. The majority of the instrumentation, measurement, and maintenance of the systems will be done by personnel of the mine under supervision and training from the project team and trap, engine and vehicle manufacturer representatives.

At the end of the 18 month production test the trap systems will be removed and sent back for identical bench testing to compare against the baseline. Once bench testing is complete the traps will go back to the manufacturers for final autopsy and evaluation.

The final phase of the project will be to consolidate all of the data from the measurement components and provide an analysis on efficiency and effectiveness. The final report will summarize this analysis as well as serving as a "How To" guide in the selection and implementation of trap technology on underground mobile equipment.

Request For Proposals

The Brunswick Mine Trap Project team is requesting proposals from the manufacturers of trap technologies to match their specific technology to our vehicle applications. By agreeing to participate in this project if selected, the trap manufacturer would be expected to:

• Supply 2 complete trap systems (1 spare) for the duration of the project at their cost
• Contribute to the cost of bench testing at start and end of project
• Actively participate from installation onward at the mine with technical staff at regular intervals (3-6 months)

Source: DEEP