Rotomite industrial applications
Crisafulli RotomitesTM - Self-propelled diesel dredges
Can dredge about anywhere without cumbersome cabling
Crisafulli Dredges
Industrial Applications for Crisafulli Rotomites-6000 and 180P
Above left, two Rotomite-6000s with PivotingTraverse System mounted on top of dredge. Above center, Rotomite 180P. Above right, Rotomite 180P in stainless steel. One of the application profiles below refers to this dredge.

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Applications discussed on this page include:
  1. Customer comparison of Rotomite to competitive products
  2. A dredging contractor's use of the Rotomite-6000 for a range of applications
  3. Dredging Benzyne at 12 foot depth in Wisconsin
  4. Dredging Caustic Soda from a Mud Lake
  5. Dredging 200,000m3 of 325 mesh goethite (pH 2.2 - 2.5 range; sulfuric acid) from a lined pond with dimensions of 120m x 253m.
  6. Dredging a toxic waste pond containing red mud from an aluminum production facility

Customer comparison of Rotomite-6000 to competitive products

Crisafulli Sales Engineer’s field report (May 2003)

The Rotomite-6000 was a pleasure to operate. We dredged bottom ash and silt. The Rotomite Cobra Cutterhead's down pressure and articulation capabilities make the Rotomite-6000 effective against crusted sludge.

The Customer hated competitor Y’s dredge which they rented last year; the hydraulics were plumbed wrong, not corrected for 3 weeks during which time they couldn't dredge. When finally fixed, customer Y’s dredge was ineffective because its cutterhead was on a cable with no down pressure, and no articulation. In addition, it was difficult to use competitor Y’s drive system. Y’s dredge had no traction in ponds without a solid bottom. When maneuvering it was a constant problem to keep the float line from getting tangled by the drive system. In addition, the customer found competitor Y’s float-line to be awkward to handle; it was 50' sections with floats clamped around it. The customer had to use a backhoe to move the long, heavy tubing sections; and the floats continually moved to inconvenient spots on the tubing.

Our customer was pumping through approximately 2 miles of pipe (the majority is down hill) with two booster pumps in the pipeline. The Rotomite-6000 pumped 1700 GPM of slurry through 220 feet of float-line with 10' of lift.

The customer remarked favorably regarding improvements Crisafulli made since the Rotomite 180P and was impressed with the Rotomite-6000’s production capabilities.

Application: Rotomite-6000 contract dredging of various materials

Customer: Georgia Dredging and Dewatering/ Eco-Vac
Contacts: Jay Matthews and David Grapengeter
Type of Facility: Environmental Services & turnkey Dredging & Dewatering services

Georgia Dredging and Dewatering developed out of the need to contract services other than those previously provided by vacuuming and jetting alone. David Grapengeter, President of ECO-VAC, Inc. and Jay Matthews teamed up to build a strong full-service dredging and dewatering company capable of meeting the needs of Industrial, Municipal and Agricultural applications.

Georgia Dredging came to SRS Crisafulli asking how to get into the dredging and dewatering business. Several meetings later Jay and David decided to invest in a dredge system and a dewatering device. The system had to be completely portable as they were intent on doing work anywhere they would secure projects.

The ROTOMITE-6000 was the perfect choice for their needs. The unit was ordered with the most durable floating discharge pipe available for long life under ‘load and unload’ applications. The polyethylene pipe with integral foam flotation system insured them a complete system that would be long lasting and durable.

The SRS – Sludge Removal System - provided by SRS Crisafulli is the backbone of Georgia Dewatering’s successful portable field operations. Eco-Vac President and Owner, David Grapengeter, reports that the ROTOMITE has the capacity to take out a large amount of solids in a short time. The ROTOMITE-6000 has remained busy since its delivery in the Spring of 2002 to a municipal job site in northern Georgia. Its owners are now looking at maintaining marinas, as well as municipal water and wastewater ponds, in Georgia and contiguous states.

Jay Matthews, President, says of his ROTOMITE-6000, “ It’s a great machine. Feel free to have anyone contact me for a reference.”

Brad M. Kaplan, National Sales Manager
May 22, 2003

Crisafulli Case History - Rotomite 180 Application - Dredging Benzyne at 12 foot Depth

Marshall-Bond Pumps
Jeffrey A. Simpson  
New London WI
Phone: 920 982-7709 
Fax: 920 982-7718
e-mail: simpson@pop.athenet.net

DREDGING CASE STUDY
Project Location: Northern Illinois
Dates: April-November 1992, 1993

Equipment Used: Crisafulli Rotomite 180P Self Propelled Dredge

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: To dredge benzyne from the bottom of a 12 foot basin approximately 1,000 feet long and 500 feet wide and discharge it into the water column so biologic treatment (BUGS) could work. Once the basin contained an acceptable level (%) of benzyne the basin could be closed down without having to dredge the exposed material and dispose of it.

KEY ELEMENTS OF JOB: The customer had an existing conventional cable hydraulic dredge doing the work for about two years. The problem was that the discharged dredged material would only stay suspended in the water column for about 10-15 minutes and then settle back down to the bottom of the basin. Therefore the exposure time for the "bugs" to react with the benzyne was poor. Another problem was the layout of the basin. The basin was irregular in shape making complete dredging impossible with a conventional dredge. Additionally there were a number of floating aerators in the pond suspended and secured by cables making maneuverability hard and costly to reposition the conventional cable dredge.

SOLUTION: The customer procured a Crisafulli Rotomite 180P self propelled dredge on a lease/purchase option basis. The Rotomite 180P was equipped with a 180 horsepower turbo-charged diesel engine, hydrostatic hydraulic power/control unit and a special cutter head with an "agitator" head. The agitator head would shear the dredged benzyne material to a much finer degree and therefore increase the surface exposure to the "bugs" and provide a much longer exposure time for the "bugs" to work.

RESULTS: The self propelled feature allowed the operator to dredge in areas where the conventional dredge could not. Also the operator could traverse the basin in any direction at any time without waiting to reposition the cabling system as with the conventional dredge. The labor cost alone saved the customer about $250.00 per day not to mention the increased productivity time of the Rotomite 180P. Additionally, the special "agitator" head was estimated to increase the solids suspension /exposure time by 200%.

Report prepared by: Jeffrey A. Simpson, Marshall-Bond Pumps

Crisafulli Case History - Rotomite Application - Dredging Caustic Soda from a Mud Lake
Alumina Partners of Jamaica
Construction Department
June 25, 1996
Gary Benson, Fax 809 962-4114

Letter addressed to Jeffrey K. Munsell, Sales Engineer, SRS Crisafulli, Inc.

"The Rotomite 180P has performed very well for us to this date. Our application is a very bad environment dredging in a caustic soda mud lake. All components are fine to this point except the few aluminum parts which we expected to be sacrificial.

This dredge is highly recommended by us for our operation and needs. It is well suited for a two man operation and does not take a competent person very long to get the feel of operating the cutterhead under thick mud."

Crisafulli Case Histories - Two Stainless Steel Rotomite Applications - Dredging Caustic and Abrasive Materials in South Korea and Venezuela

Customer: Zinc mining & processing facility, South Korea.

Problem: How to remove 200,000m3 of 325 mesh goethite (pH 2.2 - 2.5 range; sulfuric acid) from a lined pond with dimensions of 120m x 253m. Since the material had settled and was resting on the pond bottom, dredging was selected as the appropriate removal method.  No standard acid-resistant dredge was in production which would enable the client to consistently feed a dewatering process down-line from the pond. 

Solution:  Crisafulli was selected based on Crisafulli's ability to design and manufacture for specialized applications and experience in aggressive dredging environments, including caustic, corrosive and abrasive sites.

The Crisafulli 180P Rotomite Dredge was selected as the dredge of choice, capable of removing the customer’s settled solids at a rate of 50 - 80 m3/hour. The dredge's hull and all wetted parts were fabricated of stainless steel to deal with the extremely corrosive environment in which it would work. High-grade acid resistant coatings were applied to all components above-deck which might be subject to incidental contact with the low pH material. The dredge's cutterhead was fitted with a protection system to prevent accidental penetration of the pond's liner.

Bound for Venezuela

SRS Crisafulli, Inc., founded in 1966, is one of a few select manufacturers of specialized, engineered dredging systems in the United States.  The company is now, and has been since its inception, located in Glendive, Montana.  From its beginning, SRS Crisafulli has served agriculture with pumping equipment for irrigation, flood control and dewatering.  The past decade has been a period of carefully planned, controlled growth for this Montana company, as it moved into international industrial and municipal markets for liquid waste handling.

The Company shipped its first order to the South American continent in 1996.  Valued at approximately $400,000, the dredging system comprised the Crisafulli Rotomite-180P self-propelled dredge, floating discharge line, a trailer-mounted booster pump, and accessories, as well as spare parts for a 2-year period.  In December 1996, Crisafulli engineers followed the dredge to Matanzas, Venezuela where it was installed in a toxic waste pond containing red mud from an aluminum production facility.  The purchaser requested that Crisafulli work diligently for the earliest possible delivery so that hazardous waste could be removed from holding ponds before wastes overflowed into a nearby river. Crisafulli's manufacturing team responded by working many evenings and weekends to avert what the client called a potential environmental catastrophe.

The dredge system was unique, custom-engineered, and Made in Montana -- to solve the urgent problems associated with hazardous waste remediation -- around the world.
Pumps - Dredges - Power Units - Custom or Standard
Manufacturers of reliable Crisafulli products supported by superior service worldwide
SRS Crisafulli, Inc. - 1610 Crisafulli Drive - P.O. Box 1051 - Glendive, MT 59330 - USA
Phone: 406-365-3393 - Toll free: 800-442-7867 - Fax: 406-365-8088 - E-mail: srsc@crisafulli.com
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