RST Formula Speeds Up Haulage Operations During Construction of Perth’s New Airport Link Tunnel by Removing Super-Sticky Clay from Tip Trays

The spoil excavated from Perth’s new airport link tunnel had been causing a major headache for haul trucks, with tonnes of high-grade clay sticking to tipper trays, requiring a tailored solution from leading fine particle specialists Reynolds Soil Technologies (RST).

WA Sand Supply & Haulage had been carting away the spoil from boring machines carving out the tunnel and were returning to the collection point with up to 50% of their last load remaining as carryback.

By applying RST’s advanced formula Release-It, the cartage contractor achieved a 100% reduction in carryback, an average saving of 10 minutes per haulage cycle and a noticeable reduction in operation costs. 

Following this success, WA Sand Supply’s tip trucks are now all equipped with spray systems to apply RST’s Release-It formula and increase productivity across its haulage operations. 

Prior to using Release-It the trucks either had to wait in line for an available water cart to wash out the carryback, or return to collect another load with tonnes of spoil stuck in the tray. 

Release-It is a recent addition to RST’s suite of material handling solutions, which have been tested and proven to be completely bio-degradable, non-toxic and environmentally safe. 

Sprayed onto surfaces to stop material sticking to equipment, Release-It increases the payload size of each haulage cycle, resulting in fewer cycles per job and greatly reducing or totally eliminating expensive and time-consuming cleaning processes.

Haul truck driver David McDougall said WA Sand Supply had been contracted to cart the rock, sand and clay carved out by boring machines digging Perth’s new airport link tunnel. 

He said the clay was of a very high grade, which was so porous it stuck to the tip trays and slowed haulage operations dramatically. 

“Carryback generally causes a lot of problems for haulage operations, from trucks tipping over to major time delays,” Mr McDougall said.

“When we applied RST’s Release-It, the clay slid easily off the metal surface, improving the release incredibly.

“We started to get full releases, but then ran into trouble with cold, wet weather affecting the formula, so RST sent us an additive and from the next 100 loads we achieved 100% removal of all material.

“Release-It saves us around 10 minutes per truckload, so for an average of 12 loads per truck a day, that gives us two extra hours of productivity.

“Having that support there from RST has made all the difference – we now use Release-It every day.”

Release-It is accomplishing exceptional results with all material types and in a variety of applications that are improving efficiencies in the materials-handling processes.

A Queensland quarry operator reported that Release-It was saving around two hours each day by removing the buildup of sticky material in the primary crusher and reducing the time spent cleaning it.

RST Operations and Technical Director David Handel said Release-It was an advanced film-forming release agent developed for the complete emptying of bulk materials from haul trucks and equipment such as excavator and loader buckets, conveyor belts, crushers and hoppers.

“At RST we specialise in customising our products to suit the many different issues that can arise,” he said.

“Excavated materials and environmental conditions are different for every site, which is why we modified the Release-It formula to suit the conditions at Perth’s airport link tunnel.

“It was during winter and the cold, wet weather started to have an effect on the solution, with the carryback starting to build up in the trays again.

“We sent over an additive to WA Sand Supply and they started achieving a 100% reduction in carryback for every load.

“This is another great example of RST’s continual product development and commitment to clients.”

Release-It is a recent addition to RST’s suite of material handling solutions, formulated using food-grade technology and tested and proven to be completely bio-degradable, non-toxic and environmentally safe for use in both above and below ground applications.

There is no negative effect on material quality, equipment or downstream processing, with users reporting improved productivity, significant decreases in maintenance costs and much greater machinery utilisation.

Release-It is also highly effective on heavy clays and asphalt and has even been proven to prevent ore from freezing to truck beds and rail wagons, as well as clay and mud build-up on vehicle undercarriages, which dramatically reduces the need for personnel to manually clean equipment, removing the potential for injuries.

RST is a market-leading global environmental specialist company that offers high-performance products, tailor-made mechanical equipment, engineering services and total-managed systems for carryback reduction, dust suppression, water and sediment solutions, road stabilisation and erosion control.

Three decades of extensive research and development of formulas and customised mechanical equipment for a broad range of site issues has equipped RST with the expertise and knowledge to provide cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solutions for improved material handling.

RST is an Australia business operating internationally in the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Timor, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Africa, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates.

For more information, contact Reynolds Soil Technologies on (07) 5522 0244 or visit www.rstsolutions.com.au.