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From left to right Carl Lapointe, Product Engineer Pascal Tremblay, Assistant General Manager Denis Dumais, Vice-president, Innovation Director Éric Lavoie, Technical Director
Healthy and efficient self-cleaning cabin filtration By Carl Lapointe*, Denis Dumais**and Eric Tremblay*** “Working together” is the mantra that resonates within our own teams as well as the greater Quebec aluminium industry. Indeed, the market potential tied with our ambition to win value-added collaborations is a model of choice for small and medium-sized companies alike. Propulsa, an innovative filtration system company in the Saguenay, benefits from such a collaboration with EPIQ MECFOR – a manufacturer known for its specialised heavy equipment – and with Rio Tinto – notably through the support of Regional Economic Development (RED) and operations teams. The collaboration of these three players has allowed the installation of the very first EPURA self-cleaning filtration system with an independent carbon cartridge on a EPIQ MECFOR anode hauler. This innovation is currently being tested at Rio Tinto’s Grande-Baie plant over the next few months. A winning synergy In the process, one of the best possible uses for testing the performance of the EPURA filter was undoubtedly with a piece
of heavy industrial equipment such as an anode hauler. Anode haulers operate in an industrial environment where airborne carbon dust is omnipresent. Moreover,
since the anode hauler circulates in the pot rooms with aluminium dust, cabin filtration has to be efficient in order to ensure the health and safety of the workers at all times. This is why this type of vehicle is often subject to frequent filter and carbon replacement – to maintain good air filtration. There were no better conditions to challenge the performance of EPURA’s self-cleaning technology with the addition of a rechargeable carbon cartridge. After receiving a presentation on the product, the EPIQ Machinery team was delighted with the product and agreed to participate in advancing this new technology. “Within a limited area, we are located near EPIQ Machinery, a leading North American manufacturer of this type of equipment, and Rio Tinto, a primary aluminium producer well established in the region. Fortunately, all our partners have shown an uncommon openness to collaborate on this project,” says Denis Dumais, Vice President of Innovations at Propulsa and the visionary behind this invention.
*Product Engineer, EPIQ MECFOR **Vice President of Innovation, Propulsa ***Mobile Vehicle Investment Plan Manager P-155, Rio Tinto Aluminium International Today
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July/August 2022
06/07/2022 11:38:55
