Berms and Buffers

It is no secret that quarry operations are noisy. Blasting, crushing, conveying, loading, and hauling material is inherently loud; At SRM Materials we are committed to reducing the noise impact on our neighbors in the community. One of the most common and effective methods of noise reduction we leverage is the use of berms and buffers. A berm is a tall, man-made barrier that surrounds a quarry site. They are typically made from the overburden excavated from the quarries and are often topped with trees and other native vegetation. Berms reduce potential noise by both absorbing and redirecting it, minimizing the impact on the local area. Where berms are not possible, other measures are employed to reduce noise. At our Panama City port we retrofitted our wheel loaders with white-noise backup alarms. These alarms significantly reduced the noise associated with the loading aspect of moving product.

Although necessary in everyday life, most people view quarries as unsightly. Because our quarries often being positioned near highways and main roads for logistical purposes, we utilize large vegetation-filled spaces around our quarries called buffer zones. When used in combination with berms, these zones not only reduce sound, and the visual impact, but are also a means for native wildlife to travel. We strive for our quarries to blend in with the surroundings to avoid being an eye-sore in our communities.

Geothermal Home Office

When it comes to renewable energy, there are many types that can be employed to be more sustainable. Many industry professionals believe Geothermal Systems are the greenest and best form of renewable energy. When SRM Concrete decided to build their new Home Office, they knew that a highly sustainable geothermal system was the right choice.

The geothermal system at SRM Concrete's new home office in Smyrna, Tennessee rejects heat below the Earth's surface during the warm summer months and harvests that same heat in the winter. The equipment is designed to regulate the temperature of the 85,000 square foot office building allowing SRM to eliminate all carbon-based fuels for comfort-heat generation.

All exhaust in the office is routed to the Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) which allows for pre-conditioning of outside air before reaching occupied zones. Exhaust air and fresh air supplied to the building via the ERV are metered through Variable Air Volume boxes that sense occupant conditions. This ensures a higher indoor air quality while sharing outside air into the space according to the current occupants and activities in each space.

Many office buildings of this size typically have a boiler installed to provide hot water. SRM opted for interlocking the heating system with the geothermal system via a heat pump chiller. These units can supply hot water to the facility by harvesting heat from the geothermal wells.

Additionally, SRM's investment in the facility has removed the need of cooling towers. This is expected to lower the facility's water main usage by approximately 35,000 gallons per year.

Geothermal systems are high-upfront-cost investments that can potentially take many years to yield substantial returns. Fortunately, SRM Concrete plans on being around for decades to come.

Water Conservation

Water is vital in the production of concrete, not only in the final product, but in every step of the batching process. From pre-soaking aggregates before they hit the mix to washing trucks down before they hit the road, water is utilized in every step. Since our concrete plants consume such high levels of water, we care about its conservation.

Most of our plants are equipped with closed loop water containment systems that reclaim our used water through a system of multiple settling pits that allow suspended solids to settle to the bottom. Water flows through the series of settling pits that allow the solids to settle, while the clean water continues to flow. After flowing through 3-5 pits, the water is naturally filtered and ready for reuse on the yard, trucks, equipment, haul roads, and aggregate piles. Additionally, the material that has settled to the bottom of the pits can be used for berm material, soil additives, and road base.

Recycling water in this way ensures we are stewarding our resources while maintaining our high standard of production quality.

Controlling Particulate Emissions with Wet Suppression

One of the environmental challenges aggregate producers face is particulate emissions. SRM Materials, the aggregate division of SRM, has taken extensive measures to keep our air and product clean. We utilize several different dust suppression systems at our quarries depending on the topography, capacity, and resources of the sites. One of the most common systems implemented at our sites is the use of water spray nozzles strategically placed in areas where there is potential for particulate emissions.

Due to a unique set of water resources our quarry in Perry, Florida takes a different approach. The material mined at this site originates underwater and is continually sprayed with water through the entire process. The water is recycled by allowing particulate to settle to the bottom of ponds leaving the clean, particulate-free water on top. This clean water is utilized to prevent particles from becoming airborne and polluting the air.

Preserving & Harnessing

At SRM, we understand the value of our waterways. Our materials division, SRM Materials, uses a system of rivers to deliver and receive materials to and from our plants. Hauling materials to our concrete plants via barges and waterways requires significantly less energy than other methods like truck or rail.

In addition to utilizing the strength of our waterways, SRM is committed to preserving them for future generations. Our concrete plants and quarries treat all processed water by using settling pits. This allows us to recycle our processed water and limit the amount of water discharged off-site.

No Concrete Left Behind

We produce a large amount of concrete at SRM, wasting it is not something we like to do. SRM Concrete strives toward zero concrete waste by utilizing precast applications and recycling returned concrete. Each of our plants have barrier block forms that we pour concrete into. These concrete blocks can then be used in many ways, but typically are stacked on each other creating large walls.

Another way we reduce concrete waste is by recycling it. SRM Concrete is equipped with five portable crushers. We use these crushers to break up and process returned hardened concrete for re-use in road base, driveways, berm material for erosion control, and in some cases fresh batched ready-mix concrete.

Dust Suppression in Ready Mix Production

One of the most important ingredients in the production of ready-mix concrete is cement. Cement is the binding material that when mixed with aggregates and water create concrete. Cement is pneumatically transferred from tanker trailers to overhead silos. The dust from this process is controlled by using fabric filter container houses. The fabric filters we utilize in this process are at a minimum 99.5% effective to one micron (0.001 mm). These fabric filter controls allow us to capture and recycle nearly all potential particulate emissions.

Once the cement is loaded into the silos of the plant, it is ready to be weighed and loaded into our mixers. Most of our plants are equipped with central dust collectors. Dust collectors control the potential particulate emissions during the mixer loading process. Like the controls on our silos, dust collector filters are also effective to a minimum 99.5%. All particulate matter captured in the dust collector is then pneumatically transferred to a supplementary cementitious material silo to be used in concrete production.