An important client in Southern Perú contacted CPS to evaluate rollers at their new oxide plant, where sulfuric acid and seawater is used in processing. These highly corrosive elements caused various failures on frames and rollers along the length of the conveyor, leading to wider operational issues. CPS provided the solution, delivering a 12x improvement in roller life.

The Challenge

OSince the start of their operations, the client’s existing conveyor rollers were proving unreliable, with life-spans proving unpredictable due to heavy corrosion.

Many rollers lasted up to three months, with problem rollers lasting as little as two to three weeks before needing to be replaced. This led to excessive shutdowns and productivity bottlenecks on-site.

Prior to contacting CPS, this client had experimented with a range of steel and polymer rollers in an attempt to address the issues, but saw no improvement in performance.

The Solution

After an extensive technical consultation with the client to understand the specific corrosion qualities of sulfuric acid and seawater, CPS proposed using Yeloroll-HD for the client’s conveyor ‘vee-return’ areas, where all polymer and steel idlers to dte has been failing. The Yeloroll-HD Roller’s heavy-duty, fibre-reinforced, high-density polyethylene shell features increased strength, stiffness, creep resistance, dimensional stability and three times the abrasion resistance of other polymer shell rollers on the market. In short, delivering increased roller life and increased productivity due to fewer roller change-outs and overall downtime.

For the flat return idlers located near the head end of the pulley, the existing customer design was changed to incorporate CPS premium Polyurethane Disc Rollers—a roller manufactured using a steel shell and highly wear-resistant polyurethane discs. These rollers are an excellent alternative to plain steel and rubber disc flat or vee-return rollers in critical high-wear areas, such as the head and tail end.

The Results

Since re-installation, the CPS Yeloroll-HD and Polyurethane Disc Rollers have been successfully operating, with limited corrosion and no change-outs for over six months—representing a 12x improvement in roller life. Overall roller performance has also improved, leading due reduced downtime and increased overall productivity.

Existing Rollers dealing with High Corrosion