Equipment Report

Bosstek Cannons deployed at Texas transfer stations

Peoria, Illinois-based BossTek, the maker of DustBoss dust suppression equipment, says DB-30 Injektor mist cannons recently installed by the North Texas Municipal Water Department (NTMWD) are helping that organization create a safer work environment at the transfer stations and recycling depots it operates.

BossTek and its customer are crediting the mist cannons for having “significantly” reduced the amount of dust emissions during the offloading of construction and demolition (C&D) and municipal solid waste (MSW) materials for transfer and recycling, initially at just one of its locations.

Equipped with dosing attachments for odor control, BossTek says the NTMWD facility has been its ability to stay compliant with air quality regulations and become “a more pleasant workplace” with the installation of the mist cannon.

The results from the initial installation, the company says, include better relations with the surrounding property owners and the installation of mist cannons in the rest of the department’s facility portfolio.

“From now on, any new transfer station will have a DustBoss as part of the original design,” says Mike Friesen, assistant deputy of solid waste for the NTMWD. “Safety is our No. 1 priority, and this equipment provides a significant upgrade for us,” he adds. “The technology will be an integral part of our operations moving forward.”

NTMWD serves 930,000 people by providing solid waste disposal services to Allen, Frisco, McKinney, Plano and Richardson, Texas, as well as to Collin County and surrounding suburban Dallas and northeast Texas.

Solid waste is picked up from residents and businesses and delivered to one of three transfer stations (two in Plano and one in Richardson). The locations process up to 3,370 tons per day of MSW and C&D materials.

At the NTMWD facilities, loads are deposited onto the 33,000-square-foot tipping floor and sorted and repositioned by wheel loaders

One dust emission point occurs during the initial waste drop-off, and the sorting and pushing of material can cause dust to become airborne. As outbound material is dropped into trailers, the turbulence from the impact and the vertical airflow through the tunnel below forces the particulates back up through the shaft and into the building.

The first two DustBoss DB-30 Injektor units were mounted at the NTMWD Lookout Transfer Station approximately 10 feet above the tipping floor. They were positioned to reach above the piles and cover much of the tipping floor area.

Water in the cannons is mixed with an odor neutralizer by a dosing pump before it reaches a misting ring with 30 nucleating nozzles. The nozzles fracture the pressurized water into millions of tiny droplets.

With a throw of 100 feet, the DB-30 Injektor mist cannons’ 50-degree vertical adjustment and 70-degree oscillation range increase their coverage area to 6,100 square feet.

ScrapTrader offers CRM platform for the recycled materials industry

ScrapTrader says it offers a unique trading and customer relationship management (CRM) platform for the recycled materials industry, with the goal to digitize the metals sales process by leveraging technology regularly used throughout other industries to collect data, organize processes and create efficiencies. 

ScrapTrader was founded by Jay Mentzel, owner of Ruby Recycling in Lincoln Park, Michigan. He has more than 15 years of experience in the scrap metal recycling industry. Prior to striking out on his own with Ruby in 2022, Mentzel worked at Roseville, Michigan-based GLR Advanced Recycling.

He says ScrapTrader is his vision for improving the chaotic nature of the nonferrous sales process. It offers a way to do business more efficiently with a company’s existing suppliers and consumers, streamlining the metals sales process. The ScrapTrader platform allows users to focus on the relationship and customer service aspects of the buying and selling process.

ScrapTrader says its software makes buying and selling metal 75 percent more efficient. It allows users to document, track and analyze bids and offers, communicate and negotiate with suppliers and consumers using their preferred methods, captures a more comprehensive perspective of sales data for the user’s company and does not entail startup or switching costs as it works with existing systems.