The Facility

Rail Car Thawing facility in Chesterfield VA - For Dominion Utility

The Heating Challenge

During the winter months, a fair percentage of raw materials are frozen inside of the railcar, creating a strong bond between the raw materials and the railcar's inner walls. Unloading can be challenging and inefficient.

Implementation

Tim Seel, US Sales Manager, was approached by Dominion for assistance. The issue was coal delivered from West Virginia travelled 24-32 hours in uncovered rail cars, collecting snow and ice along the way. They had a tunnel structure where six train cars would be defrosted at a time. The existing equipment was poorly implemented, and they wanted to know what SRP could offer to thaw cars for quick and efficient unloading.

Tim assisted in designing and providing an energy efficient heating method of thawing the railcars by utilizing 72 SRP heaters (200 MBH each), all controlled by a custom control system which cycles equipment automatically until cars are satisfactorily deiced. Installation also included gas detection and thermal overload (for the rail cars) safety sensors.

Results

SRP heaters efficiently thaw frozen coal in these uncovered railcars enabling a quick unloading process during harsh winter months, as well as, conserving energy and reducing energy costs.