Aumund makes Biomass breakthrough in Japan

The German firm will deliver three Aumund Bucket Elevators and an Aumund Drag Chain Conveyor to Taiheiyo Engineering Corporation, Japan’s largest cement producer.

Taiheiyo fires its new power plant in Ofunato with both biomass and coal. Until now, conveying of biomass in Japan has been dominated by domestic manufacturers. However, the Aumund Hong Kong team convinced Taiheiyo of the merits of the German firm’s conveying technology solutions for both of these types of fuel.

Taiheiyo chose two identical Aumund Bucket Elevators with Central Chain type BWZ and an Aumund Drag Chain Conveyor of LOUISE TKF type for its biomass conveying, all with capacities of up to 150 tph.

The Aumund machines transport palm kernel shells (PKS) and palm empty fruit bunches (EFB), which are used as alternative fuels in the Ofunato power plant.

The conveying concept is designed so that the different materials are kept apart and enter the silo buffer tanks separately.

For coal handling, Taiheiyo opted for an Aumund Bucket Elevator with Gravity Discharge, type BWZ-S, with a capacity of up to 35 tph.