Louisiana Mid-Stream One (LMO) is a unique barge-mounted shiploading system operated by Louisiana Mid- Stream Terminals specifically designed to overcome the quality issues of traditional mid-stream transfers. The LMO provides coal and petroleum coke exporters utilizing the Mississippi River with the quality control features not found in other mid-stream loading operations, such as a magnet, a mechanical sampling system, a belt scale, and a system for water drainage and collection. Working in tandem with a separate barge- mounted feeder crane alongside the vessel, products from barge are directly fed into the LMO’s receiving hoppers, up a series of conveyors to a retractable loading boom with a rotational spout which feeds the vessel.
Operating on the Mississippi River (Mile Marker 134) at Cooper/Consolidated’s mid-stream buoy system in LaPlace, Louisiana, the LMO allows for the continuous collection of mechanical samples from the entire cargo loading to the vessel, whereas traditional crane-only transfers allow sampling for only a portion of the barge cargo. Located after the receiving hoppers, the LMO’s two-stage mechanical sampler (James A. Redding) collects a full stream cut primary increment from the LMO’s C2 conveyor belt. These primary increments are then processed through a crusher and a secondary sampler to produce the final laboratory-ready samples. This sampling system conforms to the ASTM D7430 Standard for mechanical sampling and provides a representative sample throughout the cargo and not just from a portion and/or top of a barge. The system is operated and maintained by the independent third party sampling and testing company, SAI Gulf.
The LMO can simultaneously feed and combine product from multiple barges to meet rigorous quality specifications, greatly enhancing the uniformity of export cargo. LMO’s two main receiving hoppers have four variable speed feeders that can homogenously combine different qualities. The two main receiving hoppers have grizzly screens on top to prevent oversized product or large contaminants from entering the system. The hoppers can also provide for water drainage of excessively wet cargo, which is collected and disposed through a pump and collection system. The rotation spout provides the ability to trim vessel hatches without delays and eliminates placing mobile equipment in the holds.
Another value-added service provided by the LMO is tramp metal collection. A self-cleaning magnet is mounted before the mechanical sampler on the C2 conveyor. This magnet removes tramp metal from the conveyor as the product passes under it, thereby reducing contamination and potential damage to the customer’s receiving systems.
These unique features of the Louisiana Mid-Stream One greatly enhance the control of quality for mid-stream loaded cargoes by providing more homogeneous combinations of coal qualities, control of moisture, contamination prevention, and the accurate measurement of the true cargo quality when customers specify an ASTM D7430-Part A-Condition B mechanical sampling requirement.