Fife Silica Sands Density Monitoring Review

A measurement review for slurry and process-water duties around the silica sand washing and classification plant at Burrowine Moor Quarry.

Discuss this quarry duty

Silica sand density monitoring at Burrowine Moor in Clackmannanshire

The Burrowine Moor site in Clackmannanshire processes specialist silica sand using screening, attrition, spiral separation, hydrocyclones, dewatering and water recovery. The SDM ECO can provide continuous non-nuclear density measurement on a suitable pumped stream, giving operators a live view of solids loading between laboratory samples. The exact duty depends on the current particle range, hydraulics and process objective.

Application note: This guide uses published process information to identify where SDM ECO measurement may be useful. PMA would confirm the current process, pipe conditions and calibration range before recommending an installation.

Installed Rhosonics SDM ECO display operating at a quarry.

Representative Rhosonics quarry application image. It is not presented as a photograph of Fife Silica Sands at Burrowine Moor Quarry.

Quarry process and SDM ECO opportunities

Product consistency is important, but density alone does not define silica quality or contamination.

Local process and material

The plant produces specialist silica sands through staged washing, classification, desliming, dewatering and water recovery.

Where SDM ECO can help

A review could consider stable pumped feeds around hydrocyclones or water-recovery circuits where solids loading is meaningful to performance.

What to confirm

Confirm the product stream, cut point, density range, particle distribution, water chemistry, flow and the existing quality measurements used by operations.

Application considerations

Density cannot independently resolve grading, mineral contamination or chemical purity. It should complement rather than replace the plant’s established quality controls.

A practical SDM ECO review pathway

These four steps show how PMA would assess a potential SDM ECO duty, from selecting the process stream through to validating the measurement against representative site data.

1. Choose one duty

Separate product-quality questions from water-management questions.

2. Define the range

Document normal and excursion solids loading and temperature.

3. Align references

Match online readings with the same stream and sampling time.

4. Review usefulness

Confirm the trend improves a real operational decision.

Where continuous density may add value

Continuous density context may help explain changes in cyclone loading, desliming performance or recovered-water solids and provide earlier visibility between laboratory checks.

What PMA would verify on site

PMA would agree the specific question with operations, screen for abrasion and air, confirm fitting and pipe constraints, and design a comparison against existing plant and laboratory data.

Sources and application guidance

Public facts used for this site profile are linked below. Process descriptions can change, so PMA would confirm the current flowsheet, operating range and measurement objective directly with the operator before proposing hardware.

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