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SWA Coal - K-System
The K-System was developed in response to two conflicting problems. The public was complaining of dust problems near the terminals, requiring the terminals to employ water applied with manually activated "rain birds" to spray the coal piles. The coal purchaser, however, wanting the highest thermal value of the coal, required that the coal's moisture remain low and would impose a penalty if the moisture exceeded an agreed upon percentage. Manual operation of the rain birds proved ineffective. The sprays were usually started after emissions had begun, and often in weather conditions which rendered the spray ineffectual. Manual application also frequently allowed too much water to be applied, increasing the moisture percentage beyond the bounds acceptable to the coal purchaser. The K-System was developed to resolve these problems simultaneously. The K-System is based on an index called the K-factor which is used to determine when and how much water should be sprayed on coal piles to control fugitive dust emissions. The K-factor is an empirically derived quantity based on the physical and statistical relationships between environmental conditions and the potential for wind generated dust emissions from coal piles. The K-system adjusts the K-factor for rain and freeze effects to define the need for water to be sprayed by the computer-controlled suppression system. Based on the K-factor, the K-System will initiate one of the following actions:
The basic K-System equations and instructions have been packaged by SWA into a computer program called ProControl.
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