Uzwil, Switzerland -- Buhler recently designed and constructed a complete grain terminal including a grain mill and a 120,000-ton storage elevator for YIFICO, the Yemen International Food Industries Company. One of the special things about this project are its two fully mobile ship unloaders. Mobile units were a must in this case because they have to be moved off the pier after each unloading operation. The reason: The port of As Salif in the northwest of Yemen is also used by ships which supply materials other than grain.

As Salif is Yemen’s first port capable of berthing Panamax-size vessels. This is a ship size still just able to pass through the Panama Canal. Its maximum dimensions are a length of 294 meters, a width of 32 meters, a draft of 12 meters, and about 80,000 dwt. This is an ideal size for the pneumatic Buhler Portalift ship unloader, which has been designed to handle ships between 40,000 and 100,000 dwt.

High-powered vacuum cleaner

Simply put, a pneumatic ship unloader is an extremely powerful vacuum cleaner. A rugged Roots blower generates the negative pressure required to draw in the material and to move it through the conveying lines. The Portalift applied in the port of As Salif can handle 300 metric tons of grain per hour. The material passes through a purpose-designed conical airlock which ensures high operational reliability and uptime even if it contains a high proportion of foreign matter. All the system components are particularly wear resistant, minimizing spare parts requirements and cutting operating costs.

The bogie is equipped with four wheel pairs with pneumatic tires, of which the two front ones can be steered. The drive is hydraulic. This traveling gear enables the Portalift to move to any position on the pier and to be parked on a paved area. Designing efficient, customized grain handling systems for a wide variety of applications is a continuous challenge for system and component suppliers. Buhler has been a market leader in the supply of grain handling equipment for over 90 years now. During these nine decades, its ship unloaders have acquired a reputation for offering high dependability and uptime – whether permanently installed or mobile.

Buhler is a global Technology Group and System Partner for plant and equipment and for process expertise in the fields of Food Processing, Chemical Engineering, and Die Casting, with a worldwide payroll of about 6,300.

Source:  http://www.buhlergroup.com/

Minneapolis, MN -- Hosokawa Bepex has introduced a gas tight roll compactor that features enclosures around the compacting rolls and feeder assembly to isolate oxygen-sensitive materials from the environment. Available in various sizes and capacities, the machine is designed for use in the chemical, polymer, food and nutraceuticals industries where compaction, briquetting and granulation are common processes.

"The introduction of this enclosed compaction system eliminates the need to create room-size inert environments around such machines in order to protect sensitive materials," says Mike White, a design engineer with Hosokawa Bepex. "The enclosure system around the compactor rolls and feeder assembly can contain inert gas pressures up to 2 psig. This not only prevents exposing the product to ambient air but also eliminates leaking of the product into the surrounding area."

The new Gas Tight Roll Compactor can be fabricated from stainless steel or specialty metals depending on a customer's requirements. Available capacities range from 55 to over 200,000 pounds per hour (25 to 91,000 kg per hour). For example, the MS75 compactor will process 1,100 to 4,400 pounds per hour (500-2,000 kg per hour) while the MS300 will process over 30,000 pounds per hour (14,000 kg per hour). Models can be designed to meet special customer applications. The design of the feeders is determined by process parameters.

Source:  http://www.hmicronpowder.com/

Whitewater, WI -- Due to a desire to exceed the sanitary requirements of its Food and Pharmaceutical customers, AccuRate has integrated the HabaGUARD anti-microbial conveyor belt to its line of DEA Weighbelt Feeders.

Even the best cleaning practices in a sanitary processing environment cannot guarantee uncontaminated conditions in a food or pharmaceutical plant. As production begins, inevitably product material begins to accumulate on the conveyor belt surfaces causing bacterial build up. These microorganisms under the right conditions can grow very fast and create an unsanitary situation. While nothing replaces good sanitation procedures the use of the HabaGUARD conveyor belt containing an anti-microbial additive gives users of the DEA Weighbelt increased protection from bacteria causing agents.

The DEA Weighbelt Feeder comes in 300mm and 600mm belt sizes with feed rates up to 1,680 cubic feet per hour. Also available are open frame models for applications requiring easy wash-down capabilities.

AccuRate, a Unit of SCHENCK AccuRate, is a global supplier of bulk solids metering equipment and systems. For additional information on AccuRate® products, contact us at (800) 558-0184, by fax at (262) 473-2489 or visit  http://www.accuratefeeders.com/

Malvern, UK -- The Insitec Voyager is the latest addition to Malvern Instruments' range of on-line particle size analyzers. This mobile system, which won the Most Innovative Product award at the recent Asia Pacific Coatings Show 2003, can be attached to fixed sampling ports at a variety of points in a production line. It can also be used to sample from different production lines within the same manufacturing plant.

The Insitec Voyager is the first ever standard mobile unit for real-time on-line particle sizing. It can be used on-line and at-line. The system is ideal for customers managing sites where there are many manufacturing lines requiring optimization, or for first-time buyers who would like to evaluate the use of on-line particle sizing for their application.

The mobile Voyager, which measures just 1.2 m x 0.8 m x 0.6 m, uses the same proven technology and rugged platform that is the foundation for all Malvern's Insitec range of on-line particle sizers. The Voyager unit houses all the instrumentation and software needed for on-line particle size analysis and can be moved easily around a plant. Voyager is suitable for use even in highly regulated environments. It meets current GAMP requirements, with a simple to clean cell and flowpath. The system features triclamping and 316 stainless steel parts for easy cleaning and its software enables full compliance with the FDA's 21 CFR Part 11 requirements.

On-line particle sizing facilitates real-time optimization of process parameters and configurations. Being a laser diffraction-based system, Malvern Insitec offers benefits in that the technique requires no calibration nor does it need the long data acquisition intervals that can mask true process behaviour.

With laser diffraction techniques, laser light is scattered by particles in the sample and the angular intensity is measured by a series of photodetectors. Smaller particles scatter light at greater angles than larger ones and the resulting diffraction pattern is used to measure particle size. By applying the rigorous Mie light scattering theory to the data, the complete particle size distribution can be ascertained.

Source:  http://www.malps.com/

People post their requests for help and offer their suggestions to others in our open forum.

Khaled needs help with a micro-ingredients:

Hello everyone, I am currently searching for a competitively priced micro-ingredient weighing and proportioning plant, new or refurbished, for producing vitamin and mineral premixes for poultry.

Production capacity of anywhere between 300-500 kg per batch is suitable. Seller must be willing to ship overseas.

Does anybody know a manufacturer/seller that may be able to supply such equipment? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
(Click here to post a reply)

Khaled
weightliftology@hotmail.com

Mr. Russell needs help with pellet blending:

We are polypropylene web film manufacturer and I would like to add some pellet blending capabilities.  Traditionally, our company has used gravimetric feeders to perform this function. However the models I'm looking at are intended to feed directly to our extruders. And they seem to be made by the same manufacturer. It seems to me, that there may be less labor-intensive designs available, specifically the maneuvering and efficiently emptying of the additive gaylords.

Does anyone have any different recommendations? The weigh scale accuracy of the gravimetric system is the most attractive feature.  

The material:
All materials are in pellet form at 35 lbs/ccf
Base pellets, plus up to three additives with similar properties.
Throughput to be approx 1,500 lbs/hr.
Annual volume is approx 5,000,000 lbs.

The process would be:
Base pellets: pneumatic convey from silo to blender
Additives: Vacuum load from (1,000 lb) cardboard gaylords to blender. Tilters used for the efficient emptying of gaylords.
Blend & discharge to either tote or discharge hopper
Dilute pneumatic convey to silo.
(Click here to post a reply)

Thanks for your time,
Bob Russell
robert_russell@toraytpa.com

Click here to share your expertise with others in our Help Forum.

For Sale - Best Offer:  Nisshin Turbo Classifier

Model TC-60- II, for classification of fine atomized aluminum powder and other powders allowing fine cuts below 10 micron.

The Turbo Classifier comes with complete system - dust collector, cyclone, screw feeder, air/gas flow controllers. It has a capacity 1,000 kg per hour and was built in 1992. 

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From shiploaders to sanitary conveyances, interesting news can be found in this week's issue, read on!

Also we are on the look out for an interesting guest article for this month's Ask Joe Column, maybe you have a suggestion?  Email me if you do!

Our goal is to provide information to improve your business by using the resources available on the Internet.

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Frequently Asked Questions on Feeder Performance
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This weeks photo is of a Buhler supplied batching system, in Siberia, making preliminary blend of animal feed additives where vitamins, minerals and other additives are intermixed with a carrier material.  Buhler is a specialist in the design and construction of premix plants, where hygiene and accurate blending are demanded.

Photo courtesy of Bühler AG

Send us your photos:  We would love to have your photo of a bulk materials process, packaging, conveying or handling "action shot" for our home page.  Send your photograph and description to: news@powderandbulk.com