Advanced control applications in oil sand processing

This system is a sand cooler in a high volume iron casting foundry producing manifolds for the automotive industry. The molds are made of highly compacted sand with binding clays. Molten iron at over 2,000 deg. F. is poured into the molds and allowed to cool to 500 deg. F or below, then the mold is broken apart and the sand cooled before being re-used. The returned sand is buffered in a silo and fed through a cooler in batches. The cooler is a rotating drum approximately 50 ft long and 10 ft in diameter, slightly inclined downwards from inlet to outlet with counter air flow and a water spray at the inlet. Baffles on the inside circumference of the drum ensure that the sand is broken up and is tumbled to maximize the exposure to the air stream. The air is ambient factory air, while the water is ordinary service water-i.e. tap water. One batch is processed in approximately 20 minutes