IMS Group USA wanted to set up an R & D showroom to demonstrate an automated form, fill and seal solution.

“It’s not good enough to simply talk about solutions,” said Nico Nicoletti, President of IMS Group USA. “Processors have a real need to see the equipment in action to truly understand how it can benefit their process.”

Innovative Solution is ‘In The Bag’

IMS Group USA chose to demonstrate the TB 1200, an innovative solution that simultaneously forms, fills and seals bags. Using a reel of plastic film instead of individual, pre-formed bags, the TB 1200 can be programmed to create bags ranging in volume from 2 to 18 gallons (7.5 to 68 liters) and 13.5 to 29.5 inches (343 to 749 millimeters).

The bag shape can be pillow or gusseted (square shape) for more stable palletization. Once formed, the bag is filled and impulse thermo-sealed. Typical payback of the system is less than one year due to savings in bag material and labor through automation.

Simple, Reliable Feeding Solution Needed

In order to demonstrate an ability to fill up to 1,200 bags per hour (20 per minute), Nicoletti needed to integrate a conveyor to the TB 1200 filling hopper.

“You need quite a bit of material when demonstrating the TB 1200 to customers,” said Nicoletti. “I wanted a solution that was simple to use, affordable and reliable. Hapman was highly recommended as an industry leader in conveying solutions, so I turned to them for an answer.”

Helix Flexible Screw Conveyor Selected

IMS Group USA encourages customers to send their product to its showroom to try out the TB 1200. However, when customer-specific material is not available, IMS Group USA uses a plastic pellet that is representative of the type of bulk materials and solids suitable for this equipment as a general demonstration material. Hapman’s 300 Series Helix Flexible Screw Conveyor with polyurethane hopper and flat wire auger conveyor was selected to convey the material 28 feet (8.5 meters) to the filling hopper, which is 20 feet (6 meters) above ground level.

“We’re very pleased with the conveying solution,” noted Nicoletti. “In addition to being highly effective, it is a very economical solution. Combined with the TB 1200, we’re able to offer a turnkey solution that provides a real payback in under a year.”

Benefits of Hapman’s Helix Flexible Screw Conveyor

Hapman’s state-of-the-art Helix Flexible Screw Conveyor conveys bulk material and solids simply and easily. Some of the benefits of contacting Hapman for this equipment include:

Easy to clean

Disassemble the conveyor in 5 minutes for a thorough wash down.

Excellent for batch, intermittent and continuous conveying

An economical option for conveying powders, crystals, pellets, friable material, flakes, granules and much more.

Simple, yet rugged construction

This keeps costs low and reliability high. A helicoid screw rotates inside a fixed tube. Fewer components minimize maintenance. The conveyor’s stainless steel construction stands up to a continuous operation and flow of highly abrasive materials.

Conveys materials over distances of up to 80 ft (24.4 m)

The Helix Flexible Screw Conveyor can also discharge heights of up to 40 ft (12.2 m). 

Contact Hapman for a Helix Flexible Screw Conveyor

Hapman’s Helix Flexible Screw Conveyors are the most efficient, flexible and easy to operate and maintain conveyors on the market. With a single moving part, in the standard Helix, there will be minimal maintenance required. For more information about our Helix Flexible Screw Conveyors or to request a quote, contact Hapman today.

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The Art and Science of Handling Controlled, Functional Explosive Material
Dyno Nobel manufactures explosives and offers explosion management services to customers in mining, oil and gas exploration, fertilizers, construction, and concrete and building materials. The core of Dyno Nobel’s operation is manufacturing Ammonium Nitrate Prill in bulk and safely transporting it in specially designed trucks to the point of use. When the company decided to shift its plant in Donora, PA from a manufacturing facility to a distribution hub, plant engineers knew the transition would require a safe, automated way to o-load the bulk material from railcars.

The system previously used for the rail car unloading consisted of screw conveyors, bucket elevators, and belt conveyors. The system was very inefficient, created an unacceptable level of product degradation, and became a maintenance problem.

Partnerships Bring Project Success
To assist with this process, Dyno Nobel hired Venture Engineering, a multi-faceted engineering firm that provides clients with front-end feasibility studies through design and construction. “Very early on during our first visit and inspection”, stated Kevin O’Connor, Venture Engineering’s Project Manager, “we realized that their existing equipment was totally inadequate for the goals of the system and the rates required.” Several Venture engineers had experience with Hapman and the Tubular Drag Chain Conveyor for use in applications with demanding variables. Due to the schedules of product delivery, and the inadequacy of their existing system, Dyno Nobel was “truly in an emergency mode to find the right solution,” stated O’Connor.

Engineering, operators, and management worked together to understand the needs and challenges the conveyor would face in the Ammonium Nitrate Prill unloading application. For this project, and for the material being handled, several considerations required addressing. First and foremost the system must handle the prill as gently as possible, maintaining the integrity of the product. The performance of the ammonium nitrate, for its intended purposes, requires that the material remain in prill form. Multiple transitions from conveyor-to-conveyor, or rough handling of the material will cause the prill to degrade thereby reducing the value of the product. The second consideration is that the system must be dust-tight. Allowing outside elements in, or inside elements out is not acceptable. Third, the system must be able to start and stop under a full load of material. And finally, the installed system must be absolutely dependable. “Due to the requirements of this project, we determined early in the feasibility process that the Hapman Tubular Drag system was the only way to go,” continued O’Connor.

Hapman designed a stainless steel Tubular Drag Chain Conveyor in a gooseneck circuit. The conveyor housing is constructed of 8” diameter sch. 40 stainless steel piping. Inside the fully sealed housing, the chain consists of stainless steel sealed-pin design with a 6” pitch and U.H.M.W. polyethylene flights on 12” centers.

The stainless steel provides the necessary corrosion resistance and the heavy-duty chain selection allows the conveyor to easily start and stop under full load, a critically important feature when unloading rail or truck cars. The process of loading and unloading of bulk material poses variables that may not exist for an in-plant operating condition. To ensure the material was not exposed to the open air upon discharge from the railcar, the engineers at Hapman sourced an air-driven interface assembly. With the push of a button, operators activate the sleeve and easily attach it to the railcar discharge. The interface assembly provides a safe, sealed discharge for material to flow. From the railcar the material flows into an 18“ dia. rotary feeder, located in the underground pit below the tracks, which control feeds the ammonium nitrate into the Tubular Drag. The conveyor then elevates the material nearly 83’ and moves it horizontally another 54’. The material is discharged onto a belt conveyor for final distribution in the storage building.

Hapman provided a complete turnkey system wherein fell the responsibility for the removal of the old system, the engineering and design of the new, as well as the installation, start-up and commissioning. “The system is living up to expectations and more,” notes Matt Graves, Plant Manager at Dyno Nobel. Upon arrival of the conveyor, Graves and others at the plant were unsure if the system would work in their application. “The flights were smaller than the pipe and I did not think it would work”, Graves explained. All operating concerns were quickly dispersed as the Tubular Drag Chain Conveyor began to e…ciently move the Ammonium Nitrate Prill from the railcar into the storage silo.

Delivering Effective Bulk Material Railcar O-Load
The railcar o-load system at Dyno Nobel is a success because each party involved in the engineering, design, implementation and start-up worked together to understand the challenges of the application. The engineers at Hapman took those challenges and applied more than 70 years of bulk material handling experience to design the most comprehensive, fully automated conveying system. The number of chain and flight options offered in the Hapman Tubular Drag Chain Conveyor allowed designers to select the chain that would be corrosion resistant and not permit material to get trapped in the knuckles of the chain. The conveying system provided the safe, gentle handling, trouble-free, and effective bulk material o-load which Dyno Nobel was seeking. “Hapman and their local representative worked very hard to ensure the successful completion of our client’s project,” stated O’Connor. “Their efforts helped identify and implement the optimum solution in order to meet our client’s needs on schedule, scope, and budget.”

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Guixens Food Group’s Tampa division, run by Manuel Guixens, specializes in processing and delivering specialty and imported dry food products to both chain and independent supermarkets. Guixens Food Group is a family owned and operated business, which first opened in 1993 in Miami, Florida. As business steadily increased, they made the decision to add a second location in Tampa to expand service to their growing customer base.

“We had already been using the Hapman Helix in our Miami facility for years, so we definitely knew we wanted it in the new location as well,” said Guixens, whose company specializes in such popular brands as Inca Kola soft drink, La Trigueña olive oil, and Madame Gougousse jasmine rice. “Our Tampa plant was all new from the ground up, and we spec’d in a Hapman from day one.”

Hapman’s Helix flexible screw conveyor consists of a fixed tubular housing with an electric motor that drives a screw (also called an auger). The stainless steel screw is the conveyor’s only moving part as it rotates within the casing, creating directional force that conveys material either horizontally or with inclines of up to 60 degrees at heights reaching 80 feet. Due to their relatively low cost and straightforward design, flexible screw conveyors are one of the most common types of conveyors used by manufacturers, conveying a variety of materials from rice and beans to nacho seasoning and pancake mix. When plans for the facility were being created, Guixens contacted Mike Zeluff – Hapman’s Helix Product Specialist – for advice on which flexible screw conveyor options would work best for his process. “Manny’s challenge was that he wanted to be able to use one conveyor to handle all of his materials, from an ultra-fine corn flour, to fragile dry beans,” said Zeluff. “After comparing the bulk densities of the various materials, we determined the Helix series 500 was the best suited conveyor for the job. Using two interchangeable flat wire augers of different sizes allowed Manny to successfully convey all his materials with a single conveyor without sacrificing any product quality.”

Zeluff went on to explain how changing augers is a fast and easy-to-do process. The Helix is designed with exclusive T-handle couplings that allow operators to fully disassemble the conveyor from the hopper and motor in minutes. This makes it the ideal choice for facilities like the Guixens plant that need a cost-effective conveyor that’s simple to use, requires little maintenance, is easy to clean, and has the operational capabilities to convey a vast array of materials.

“We convey eight different products with eight different consistencies,” said Guixens. “The Hapman is very versatile and we can tailor it to whatever process we have. The integral controls also allow us to run the screw faster for finer materials, and slower for the more fragile items such as dry beans and oatmeal. Plus, it allows us to reverse the screw for easy cleaning.”

The Helix has a variety of interchangeable augers, including flat wire, beveled wire, square wire, and round wire; each designed to handle specific material characteristics without product degradation or binding. The new Guixens Foods Group facility in Tampa interchanges two types of flat wire augers with different diameters to accommodate their specific material challenges. The larger diameter screw is used for rice, oatmeal, fine and coarse cornmeal, and ultra-fine corn flour. The smaller screw is used specifically for beans to prevent breakage and ensure high product quality. “A smaller auger provides an increased allowance between the screw and the casing, decreasing friction and creating a more gentle conveying process for fragile materials like beans, corn, coffee beans, and pasta,” explained Zeluff, who added that the smaller augers are better for starting up under load and offer a smoother running cycle.

An Innovative Packaging Process Improvement

The Hapman Helix is also at the center of Guixens innovative process improvement for the Tampa facility where operations are set up in a series of work stations; each packaging a specific dry bulk material. Inspired by how meat packing plants use a trolley to easily move product about the facility, Guixens designed his own trolley system that suspends the Helix motor from the ceiling. The trolley allows employees to use a single flexible screw conveyor for multiple stations, moving it quickly from one machine to the next with very little effort.

The Tampa Guixens facility also customized the sanitation system; eliminating cross contamination between materials. The system consists of a large PVC pipe capped on both ends and plumbed to a hot water source and drain. Horizontally mounted to the wall, the system effectively uses none of the facility’s valuable floor space and is completely self-contained. Operators place the Helix’s UHMW polyethylene food grade conveyor casing pipe and stainless steel screw in the cleaning station, fill it with hot water and add sterilizing chemicals. The concentration is carefully monitored using test strips for verification and quality assurance. Once the process is complete, the tube and screw air dry in place and are ready for the next material application.

“I don’t think any other conveyor system could give us the flexibility, ease of cleaning, and simplicity of the Hapman,” said Guixens, who has been using a Helix in his facilities for many years. “It’s so simple, there’s nothing to go wrong.”

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CHALLENGE

A plastics manufacturer needed a bulk bag filler that could be adjusted to fill a variety of large bag sizes (tall as 72 inches). In addition, the customer required a means to accurately weigh the bags to an accuracy of 1 pound.

SOLUTION

They relied on Hapman’s years of experience for and effective solution. Hapman provided an extended height frame with a motorized, cantilevered hanging frame to accommodate all of the bag sizes. Weighing the bags to an accuracy of one pound was accomplished using base mounted load cells and a programmable batch controller. Hapman also provided a venturi style bag pre-inflator / de-aerator (to remove folds and wrinkles) along with a pneumatic densification system to assure consistent, properly filled FIBC’s.

RESULT

The customer’s needs were fulfilled. The Hapman supplied bulk bag filling system performed flawlessly. Efficiency was increased even when switching from one bag size to the other.

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CHALLENGE

A major pharmaceutical company came to Hapman for assistance in providing them with a vacuum conveyor system to meet their specific requirements. It was to take their finished product from a dryer and discharge it into a mobile bulk material handling system, which was scale mounted for precision metering and batching. The problem was that it needed to incorporate an efficient cleaning system which totally eliminated any possibility of cross-contamination with product change overs.

SOLUTION

Hapman engineered its pneumatic vacuum conveying system with individually controlled spray wash ports placed throughout the interior of this material handling conveyor. This self-contained design allowed the customer the ability to reliably clean and sanitize the conveyor’s interior without the need for timely external procedures. Further time saving enhancements included a side access door for quick filter cartridge change outs, and a clean-in-place rotary valve which allowed disassembly, cleaning and reassembly within minutes. The entire sanitary finish assembly was 304 stainless steel with sealed motors and controls rated for explosive atmosphere and wash down applications.

RESULT

All of the companies requirements were met – their efficiency and processing rates were subsequently increased.

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Deliver measured amounts of four powdered ingredients, received in bulk bags to slurry tanks. Some materials are hygroscopic, flow poorly in humid environments and may contain small agglomerations. Whereas some materials do not mix readily into solution, the delivery must be metered so as not to exceed the mixers ability to force it into suspension. System must be automatic and fit into an existing manufacturing space with a very limited footprint. Housekeeping is a concern- provision to minimize the escape of airborne product is essential. Control system must be open architecture and comprised of commonly available, highly dependable components to minimize downtime.

IMPROVEMENTS WITH AN AUTOMATED APPROACH

The Hapman solution involved four extended height bulk bag unloaders which allowed vertical integration of various components, each aimed at addressing a specific need while making the most efficient use of available space. The hoist and trolley mechanism first moves the bags into position. The access chamber (untie box) includes an integrally filtered dust collector (see image below) which maintains ambient air quality while enabling the captured particulate to remain within the system so as to avoid generation of a separate waste stream and lost product. Pneumatically actuated bag agitators fluidize the material and cause it to flow freely from the bulk bag and through a lump breaker which continuously breaks up incidental agglomerations. The free flowing, conditioned material is then delivered to a PosiPortion loss-in-weight screw feeder to precisely measure the amount of product and regulate the rate at which it is delivered. Finally, a pneumatic conveyor was used to transfer the rate controlled batches and a system of diverters directed the batch to the appropriate slurry tank.

POSITIVE RETURNS

Hapman provided a system that addresses all material handling challenges, while consuming the least amount of available floor space. Metered delivery of powders assures efficient downstream mixing to optimize overall process performance. User friendly controls and monitoring equipment minimizes operator interface time, freeing plant personnel to address other process concerns.

The post Bulk Bag Unloading Stations with Integral Pneumatic Conveying System Accurately Delivers Metered Materials appeared first on Hapman.

Based on the above specifications, the flexibility of an eductor system proved beneficial for several reasons. An eductor type mixing system can be used on a batch or continuous basis. A continuous process can control the concentration based on outside requirements, such as pH, conductivity, flow, pressure, temperature, and rate of reaction.

A batch system can also be adjusted from one batch to another varying the concentration of the solution or slurry (see Figure 2). The bulk bag unloader was included in the system and put on load cells to correctly measure how much material was delivered over time. To help EP Minerals design an optimal system for their application, Hapman first established a materials rate to determine the most efficient size for the feeder and the eductor. The bulk density of the diatomaceous earth was stated as 16 lbs/ ft3. The rate was determined to 22 ft3/hr to successfully achieve a concentration of 7.15%. The following steps were used to determine feeder and eductor size:

1. Determine the feed rate required (22 ft3/ hr) and select the feed rate, (see Table 1).
2. Select the maximum discharge pressure required (5 psig). NOTE: Using the standard educator, the maximum pressure drop allowed is 5 psig.
3. If the feed rate is in excess of 24 ft3/ hr, or the maximum discharge pressure is not acceptable, then find the appropriate multiplier and divide that multiplier by the actual rate, (see Table 2).
4. Use the multiplier to find the required liquid flow rate.

The data from the EP Minerals application is shown in tables 1-3. The selected eductor is 1”, to meet a feed rate of 10 gpm, with a not-to-exceed 5 psig back pressure on the discharge of the eductor. Because of the abrasiveness of diatomaceous earth, stainless steel construction was selected for the system.

Next, the auger size of the feeder was determined, based on feed/dosing rate, (see Table 3.). An appropriate nozzle was then selected to match the screw.

The final step was to determine if the system should be controlled by volume or by weight. Because of the application’s need for accuracy, a weight-based system was selected. Though more expensive and complex than standard volumetric controls, a weight-based system allows for ± 0.5% accuracy. A volumetric control has an accuracy margin of between ± 2% to 5%, and would not have worked with this application’s process specifications.

SUMMARY

This case study demonstrates how an eductor-based mixing system can effectively handle a wide range of materials, and how overall process optimization can be achieved. In addition, the eductor mixing system offers increased efficiencies over a conventional system of mixing by allowing solutions and slurries to be made on demand – as opposed to pre-mixed in large holding tanks. Another important benefit is the system limits exposure to operators, and mitigates issues of delivering solid material in a large vapor space.

The design flexibility of an educator-based mixing system offers a high level of customized configurations. This allows process design engineers the opportunity to efficiently and effectively meet the demands of a facility’s many different raw material handling needs.

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Manually shoveling sand to fill cope and drag boxes (casting flask) for sand casting is a physically demanding process for mold makers, who on average shovel 20 tons of casting sand weighing 100 lbs. per cubic foot into 70-80 molds per day. This demanding operating condition creates a high level of physical strain on the mold maker’s body. The result of this strain was a multi-million-dollar-per-year workers compensation obligation for an aluminum foundry. The financial impact not only hit the company’s bottom line but slowed overall worker efficiency. Company leaders knew that keeping workers safe and healthy was not only important for their people and profits but also for their customers. They knew if they could improve productivity through process improvements, they could reduce lead times and improve customer satisfaction, which in turn would continue to grow their business. After many searches on Google and conversations with various materialhandling companies, foundry management discovered Hapman.

Effectively and reliably moving foundry sand is a challenge. The sand carries a high-moisture content and does not move easily when conveyed. Initially the foundry tried a Helix^® Flexible Screw Conveyor; however, even with modifications and flow aids, the right combination of auger type and speed could not be achieved to move the sand. After numerous discussions, site visits and extensive material testing, it was clear the solution to this material-handling challenge would be a conveyor engineered to fit the exact requirements of the application.

INDUSTRY

Metal

Manual Labor Eliminated

The result of the testing and trials was a Single Strand Top Carry Drag Chain Conveyor with integral hopper. The engineered material-handling assembly allowed front-end loaders to empty foundry sand into the hopper as the drag conveyor reliably metered the sand into the molds. This process eliminated the need for the slow, back-breaking process of manually shoveling sand into molds.

Manually shoveling sand to fill cope and drag boxes is physically demanding for mold makers.

The redesigned mold-filling process begins as prepared moist foundry sand is introduced into the hopper by a small skid steer loader. The dense material is screened as it enters the hopper to eliminate aluminum tramp metals or larger pieces from entering the process. To provide consistent material flow to the conveyor, the hopper is constructed with an electro-polished stainless steel finish, a pin-style agitator, and a vibrator to keep material from bridging. The drag chain moves the sand in a consistent, metered flow to the discharge point where the mold maker controls the filling of the casting flask.

The redesigned mold-filling process begins as prepared moist foundry sand is introduced into the hopper by a small skid steer loader. The dense material is screened as it enters the hopper to eliminate aluminum tramp metals or larger pieces from entering the process. To provide consistent material flow to the conveyor, the hopper is constructed with an electro-polished stainless steel finish, a pin-style agitator, and a vibrator to keep material from bridging. The drag chain moves the sand in a consistent, metered flow to the discharge point where the mold maker controls the filling of the casting flask.

The Hapman Drag Chain Conveyor features a design that offers minimal maintenance requirements and abrasion-resistant construction. The Hapman drag chain is engineered in a CrMn alloy and drop-forged construction. The chain is machined, carburized and case-hardened for strength and durability. The bolted UHMW polyurethane flight design reduces the possibility of sand sticking on the flights while also resisting wear and providing a quiet operation.

Increased Production, Lower Operating Costs

The foundry started with one Hapman Drag Chain Conveyor and was so pleased with its performance that it added 14 more. Now all of the foundry’s mold-filling lines feature a Hapman Drag Chain Conveyor system. This has increased production capacity by more than 30 percent and resulted in a 100-percent return on investment in less than 6 months. Automating the foundry sand transfer process also significantly lowered ergonomic risk factors and eliminated the daily physical strain on mold makers, which has significantly decreased costs. Because the foundry is now able to take on more jobs and deliver shorter turnaround times, overall business has increased considerably. The Drag Chain Conveyor, along with all Hapman equipment, comes with an exclusive Performantee^®, a true performance guarantee that ensures the equipment achieves the specific results it was designed and manufactured to deliver.

The post Drag Chain Conveyor Aluminum Foundry Automates Transfer Process with a Dependable, Heavy-Duty, Single Strand Top Carry Drag Chain appeared first on Hapman.

A large oil company sought to expand refinery operations at one of their global locations. The expansion required an effective way to handle the filter cake at a new refinery. The high-volume of filter cake coupled with the system redundancy required by the producer meant numerous conveyors would be needed to meet specifications. In addition, the corrosive environment required conveyor design to provide reliable, long-term, 24/7 operation.

INDUSTRY

Chemical

ENGINEERED MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEM

The filter cake handling process involved automatically taking the cake from the discharge of each of four filter cake presses and transferring the material to two multiple hearth furnaces. Figure 1 is a 2D schematic of the filter cake processing layout for a single system; the entire system had 4 identical units totaling 64 individual conveyors. The requirements of the material handling system involve effectively moving filter cake from the filter presses to a series of multiple hearth furnaces (MHF) where the material is used to fuel the burning process.

The material handling system starts with dual strand drag conveyors at the discharge of each of the four filter cake presses and transfers the filter cake material to either of two collection conveyors. The collection conveyors then feed the filter cake into either of two main elevating conveyors (#1). After the filter cake is elevated 150 feet at a 40° incline the filter cake material is transferred into the main horizontal conveyors (#2). The main conveyors deliver the filter cake material to either of two filter cake surge bins. Dual strand metering drag conveyors located at the bottom of the surge bins controlled by VFD’s then deliver a determined rate of filter cake material. The rate is determined for optimum burn efficiencies to either of two transfer conveyors via a diverter chute which then feed the two multiple hearth furnaces. The furnaces burn the filter cake as a reclaimed energy source. The furnace requires the pressed material to meet specific standards for dryness and material consistency. If the filter cake contains too much moisture or is too dense, the burn process will be less efficient. To achieve optimum processing within the MHF, an inspection process at the discharge of the filter cake press allows for off-spec material to be discharged separately. The off-spec material required a separate hopper and conveying system to effectively and automatically transfer the unusable material to a storage container.

To achieve the material transfer rates of the system and to provide reliable operation in a corrosive environment the oil producer, working with a general contractor looked to the Hapman drag chain conveyor as the optimum selection for the project.

A HIGH-VOLUME APPLICATION REQUIRES THE RIGHT CONVEYOR

The cake trough, collecting, and the main dual-strand conveyor have a required capacity of 53,000 lb/hr (24,000 kg/hr). The cake bin conveyors each holds a material movement rate of 11,023 lb/hr (5,000 kg/hr). The drag conveyors were selected with dual strand and cross flights to achieve the required capacity with a material bulk density of 575Kg/M3. The exclusive Hapman CrMn forged steel alloy chains have a core hardness of 300400 BHN and are machined and carburized for a case of 550-650 at .030” to .040” effective depth (Figure 2). This configuration, coupled with the thickness, height, width, and spacing of the flights minimized chain pull and mitigated unplanned downtime risk. To support longevity in a 24/7 refinery operation the housing was constructed of a Ferritic Stainless Steel.

CONVEYOR RELIABILITY INCREASES PRODUCTIVITY

A refinery, like many large scale chemical and mineral processing facilities, rely on the 24/7 operation of the conveyors to carry bulk material. This is true of raw materials for process or process by-products for recycle and/or reuse. When a conveyor goes down unexpectedly because of design failure the productivity of the facility is compromised, and workers and the company are exposed to unnecessary risk. Large-scale production facilities have many confined space environments, hazardous material components, and dangerous utilities and operations that when exposed for emergency downtime and repairs have the possibility for injury or extended outage. Engineering and selecting the best conveying technology in the design phase for a given application is critical to longevity of equipment and productivity stability.

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CHALLENGE

EPA standards required this company to feed Enviroblend® into their dust collection system at a precisely controlled rate of 30 pounds per hour so the emissions would be at an acceptable level. They also required a digital verification that the material was accurately discharging

SOLUTION

Hapman used a bulk bag unloader with bag agitation to discharge the material into a feeder. The feeder meter-fed the Enviroblend into an eductor. A 4 HP Roton blower then conveyed the material into the bag house. The use of load cells and an IQ Plus® 510 Batch Indicator verified that the feeder was constantly discharging the material. The digital readout provided up to the second information and a low level sensor in the feeder would alarm them when the bag was empty.

RESULT

This system provided the customer with a very accurate automated system. The only manpower required was the replacement of the bulk bag every 2½ days.

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