DST Demonstration Plant

1 tpd to 15 tpd scale-up.

700°C design temperature.

Brownfield development.

Challenges

DST required a demonstration plant to further prove its patented gold-extraction process at an industrial scale of 15 tons per day. It wanted to show that its process could operate successfully at a much larger throughput than its pilot plant had been able to produce. As well, the pilot plant had operated in batches. This demonstration plant was being constructed to illustrate that the process could lend itself to continuous operation.
This brownfield project had to be undertaken within the layout constraints of an existing facility.

Designed and installed a new pyrite fluid bed roaster, off-gas cyclone, and solids transfer system at the pilot plant site.
Conducted complete thermal and structural modeling for the roaster shell, roof, tuyere plate, grillage beams and windbox, and the off-gas cyclone.
Designed the fluid bed roaster to include a moist-feed introduction system, simple bed cooling for temperature control, and cyclone fines recirculation.

Fluid bed roaster removes the sulfur, arsenic, and carbon in the feed material.
The final design also offered a versatile and flexible operation, permitting the process to be adjusted to test a number of configurations.
Roaster and feed system started up smoothly and within a week.

640°C roaster
70°C product screw cooler
15 t/day demo plant
3,500 engineering hours LTI free