New burner suspended from a crane in front of the KWS asphalt mixing plant.

State-of-the-art upgrade in Eindhoven

Precision planning – collaborative implementation

Benninghoven and KWS Infra have levelled up their collaboration by completing their first major joint Retrofit in years. The dryer drum and burner with the latest technology from Benninghoven have brought the asphalt mixing plant in Eindhoven back to the cutting edge of technology, providing high productivity and competitive strength while ensuring the long-term viability of the site.

KWS Infra is a subsidiary of VolkerWessels Infrastructure, the Netherlands’ leading infrastructure specialist. Located on the outskirts of Eindhoven, the asphalt mixing plant has been in operation since 1990, supplying both public construction projects and the company’s own installation crews with a wide range of asphalt mixtures. Due to the age of the plant and the advanced wear on both the burner and the dryer drum, the company decided to Retrofit both components and directly contacted Benninghoven – the specialists in burner technology and drying systems.

Tolles Produkt

Focus on productivity and functional reliability

When replacing the dryer drum and burner, KWS Infra pursued two key objectives: Increasing the drum’s volume to optimise production and drying performance, and ensuring the burner’s extended service life and functional reliability. The company also hoped that the retrofit project would improve product quality, offer economic benefits and reduce energy and resource consumption.

The dryer drum being towed to its new location.

Perfectly coordinated components and clearly defined interfaces

The Benninghoven dryer drum and burner form a perfectly coordinated system of machinery that maximises efficiency gains. The Benninghoven engineers developed a tailor-made overall strategy for the Eindhoven plant that accurately reflected customer requirements and took all the necessary interfaces into account.

Larger dryer drum to boost thermal process efficiency

With a length of now 10 m (instead of previously 9 m) and a diameter of 2.4 m, the new Benninghoven dryer drum offers a significantly larger volume. Modern frequency converter control enables precision fine adjustment of the setting range during the drying phase. This ensures optimal control of heat transmission from the burner flame to the virgin material. The perfectly adjusted setpoint in the drying process directly affects process optimisation and fuel consumption. If less fuel is needed – because the continuously variable drive is more energy-efficient – carbon emissions are reduced. This fine adjustment benefits the production of low-temperature and warm-mix asphalt. The drying process for the virgin material in the drum can be reduced by up to 30 °C – a significant step towards greater energy efficiency. A newly integrated louvre damper also regulates airflow within the drum.

Dryer drum in front of the asphalt mixing plant in the sunshine.

Delivery of the complete dryer drum, including base frame and feed/discharge endwall.

Delivery of the dryer drum

Delivery of the complete dryer drum.

Man in construction site clothing working on the dryer drum.

Preparatory work on the dryer drum.

The dryer drum is positioned with a crane.

Dryer drum positioning prior to installation.

The dryer drum is moved into the mixing plant enclosure with a crane.

The dryer drum is moved into the mixing plant enclosure with a special jig.

The dryer drum is moved into the mixing plant enclosure with a special jig.

The dryer drum is moved into the mixing plant enclosure with a special jig.

The dryer drum is moved into the mixing plant enclosure with a special jig.

The dryer drum is moved into the mixing plant enclosure with a special jig.

The dryer drum is moved into the mixing plant enclosure with a special jig.

The dryer drum is moved into the mixing plant enclosure with a special jig.

The dryer drum is moved into the mixing plant enclosure with a special jig.

The dryer drum is moved into the mixing plant enclosure with a special jig.

Benninghoven dryer drums

  • Different drum sizes (virgin mineral and/or RAP dryer drum) from 8 to 12 m length possible
  • Diameters from 2 to 3 m in various increments
  • FC control system (continuously variable drive)
  • Very easy to maintain, thanks to optimised access
  • Can be used for a wide range of cold feed recipes
  • Economical and efficient virgin material drying

Functionally reliable burner

The new burner features a compact design and can be operated with up to four fuels, including hydrogen. This project used natural gas, which is widely available in the Netherlands.

One real benefit for the customer is the new burner control with remote access, which enables user-friendly online diagnostics via remote management. Experts from the main Benninghoven factory can access the burner directly at any time to identify and locate faults. This allows the factory team to provide direct support, eliminating the need for local service callouts – a significant boost for plant availability and rapid response times.

Burner – also available as a Retrofit

  • Modular setup
  • 4 fuels possible
  • Compact design
  • Easy maintenance
  • Long service life, low wear
  • Frequency control for fuel-efficient consumption
  • State-of-the-art control technology minimises emissions
  • Good all-round access
  • Control system with remote access

Additional work packages

A number of additional work packages were also completed at the customer’s request – some by Benninghoven and some by the customer. Precise coordination of the various responsibilities and handover points was crucial to ensure that all the components fitted together – and the KWS-Benninghoven team achieved this with ease.

  • Natural gas safety section up to the handover point to the existing gas grid
  • New raw gas duct, including a separate feed nozzle for emissions-reducing aggregates
  • Side staircase with platform and railings leading to the service door of the dryer drum to facilitate maintenance work

“Coordination with the customer was smooth and efficient throughout. This was truly a textbook project!”

Sebastian Heil, Regional Sales Manager Benninghoven

Many interfaces – perfectly coordinated

Ensuring the precise definition of all interfaces was critical to the project’s success. For a Retrofit in particular, the various interfaces present within the components of an asphalt mixing plant need to be properly taken into account. Multiple trades are involved here, from structural work to machine leasing, as well as specialised firms that may be engaged for conveyor belt adjustment work or dismantling the asphalt mixing plant emissions enclosure. However, thanks to the seamless coordination with KWS Infra, Benninghoven and its customer worked together like precision-engineered gears throughout every phase of the project. Both teams knew exactly what needed doing, provided mutual support and ensured a polished result.

Emissions enclosure – flawless dismantling and assembly

In the Netherlands, plants are always fitted with an emissions enclosure to minimise environmental impact from dust, noise and other pollutants. In order to install the dryer drum and burner, the enclosure therefore had to be opened up in many places and resealed afterwards. KWS Infra decided to have this work package completed by an external specialist firm. This solution was practical and economical, as dismantling and reassembling the enclosure is most certainly a job for experts. To ensure that all interface handovers run like clockwork, the Benninghoven site supervisor monitored the process and provided support where required.

Dismantling of the emissions enclosure by specialist firm.

The burner unit is already installed in the mixing plant.

The side staircase and the raw gas duct are prepared for the installation of the new dryer drum.

Direct sales team keeps things simple

No intermediaries or branch offices, only direct communication between the mainBenninghoven factory and the customer. From the initial enquiry through to negotiations, planning and execution, the project was delivered on schedule. At this level of interface complexity, this direct approach has proven to be the simplest and most efficient solution. The project was officially awarded only a few weeks after the initial enquiry. This enabled swift and efficient decision-making – to the customer’s complete satisfaction.

The result: a retrofit project that delivered on all counts, elevating the Eindhoven plant to the state of the art and ensuring its future viability.