back to basics

Handle with care

Andy Dean
describes a
variety of
powder
handling
systems
commonly
used in the
process
industry

Top: Aeromechanical
conveyor
(see page 34)
Below:
Bevelled screw

THE complexity of modern process

plants can make the selection of a
materials handling system a daunting
prospect, with the need to balance a
variety of specific application conditions and demands with such considerations as hygiene and operator safety.
Many chemical powders are very fine,
invasive and difficult to handle but the
industry requires both a stringent
standard of hygiene and containment and
ways to meet business demands for
increasing productivity.
In addition there is also a need for
great precision in metering and dosing
exact amounts of material. And on top of
this, companies have recently had to seek
methods of eliminating heavy manual
lifting tasks in order to reduce injuries to
operators.
There are several different methods of
materials handling used in the chemical
industry, primarily built around conveyors
of the flexible screw, vacuum or aeromechanical types. This article will discuss
these choices and the issues surrounding
the selection of each one.
Traditionally, processors received many
products in 25 kg sacks, which required
time-consuming and dusty manual tipping
into a hopper. Operators would be
required to wear expensive safety
equipment in order to interact with the
products and the whole process could be
very labour intensive.
Then came the advent of bulk bags
capable of very high levels of
containment. This
allowed

processors to handle larger quantities of

product, which both increased
productivity and reduced costs as raw
materials could be purchased at lower
bulk prices.
In a drive to reduce industrial injuries,
many chemical and other manufacturers
no longer use 25 kg sacks for the
handling of material. Many pieces of
processing plant have been converted so
that hopper loading is no longer
performed manually with sacks but by
means of conveyors directly linked to
silos, rigid IBCs and bulk bags.
Not only have injuries been greatly
reduced in number but also considerable
amounts of material saved through elimination of spillage previously frequently
incurred where sacks were used.
Constant development of the range of
flexible screw, aero-mechanical and
vacuum conveyors allow materials
handling systems based around these to
meet ever more stringent operating
requirements. These three types of
conveyors have their own advantages and
are widely used for a variety of products.
A preliminary product feasibility test is
always advisable to determine the most
suitable conveyor for the materials being
handled, the distances involved and the
throughput required. However, the
following guidelines can be used as a
starting point.

flexible screw conveyors

The simplest and lowest cost solution is
the flexible screw type, comprising a
stainless steel spiral rotating within an
ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene
(UHMWPE) tube. It suits materials with a
bulk density up to 2.5 kg/l and while an
individual screw conveyor can carry
material to a maximum distance of 20 m,
multiple linked units can extend to
greater distances as required.
The Spiroflow flexible screw conveyor is
inherently sanitary as it may be
completely sealed from the stage at which
material is accepted all the way through
to the point of processing. All metal
contact parts can be stainless steel and
the plastic tube is of a polymer approved
for pharmaceutical use.
Ambient air or moisture does not enter
the conveying tube and the product is
therefore protected against
contamination. Similarly, in the converse,
any moisture content in a product is
maintained as absence of contact with
ambient air prevents it from drying out.
Materials with particles of different
size are conveyed without separation of
fines and no size reduction or thermal
degradation occurs. Much development

has been done with flexible screw

conveyors and associated equipment
including mixers to allow them to be
quickly and easily stripped down for
cleaning and reassembly.
The term flexible means that the tube
and the spiral within it can be curved to
some extent. This creates installation
flexibility for a system to convey product
around any obstacles between the inlet
and outlet. The spiral itself has a round
cross-section in most applications but a
flat or profiled version can be used for
cohesive or fine materials.
It is desirable to have a generous head
of material in the feed hopper, as this
assists the elevation of material when
starting. Also, the conveyor is designed to
run full of material and empty-running can
lead to excessive noise and wear.
Cleaning-in-place reduces downtime
on recipe changes. Equipment incorporates
quick release clamps and easily separable
sub-assemblies, and can be fitted with
sealed motors to whatever standard may
be specified by the user.
Flexible screw conveyors have advantages over other types of conveyor as the
delivery of material at the outlet is maintained at a continuous and consistent rate
with minimum pulsation or fluctuations.
Whereas other types of conveyors deliver material in a series of separate parcels,
the effect of the rotating spiral is to
smooth out the flow of material to a
steady stream, particularly when its rate of
rotation is slowed down for the final
metering or dosing phase.
This enables much more accurate
weighing to be achieved when batching a
number of materials for mixing. A precision of 1% of weighment is normally
achievable and greater accuracies up to
0.1% may be attained for more demanding
applications.
Manufacturers can also incorporate
electronic metering and dosing equipment
into a flexible screw conveyor and such
systems are widely used in the chemical
industry.
Another main advantage of the flexible
screw type is its inherent simplicity that
results in quick installation times and low
maintenance over the long term. USDA/3A
accepted designs for pharmaceutical use
are available and the whole system can be
stripped down for cleaning in minutes.
Wear is a problem only with abrasive
products and life with other materials is
almost indefinite. Tubes and spirals can be
easily replaced.
Flexible screw conveyors have even
proved advantageous simply to elevate
material in a bin at floor level up to
benchtop height, but they are mainly used

back to basics

to lift to hoppers located at a height of

about 4 or 5 m or more. Various sizes of
conveyor are available along with two new
models capable of throughputs up to
40 t/h.
The most recent development of
Spiroflow conveyors is for continuous
mixing, as powders can be mixed in the
rotating spiral conveyor and elevated
simultaneously. The equipment is much
less expensive than plant of the traditional type. Variable speed motors are used
for the delivery of individual ingredients
at specific rates and the memory of the
microprocessor-based control allows
recipe changes to be quickly implemented
with minimum downtime. Liquid additives
can be introduced in the flow path of bulk
material if required.

aero-mechanical conveyors
The aero-mechanical conveyor has the
alternative and more descriptive name of
a rope and disc conveyor. Applicable to
vertical conveying up to 25 m without
affecting throughput rates, the conveyors
continuous rope is looped and travels
through a tube with a series of equally
spaced discs secured to it.
A major advantage is that degradation
to the material is almost negligible. This
is because it creates a moving current of
air in which the material is borne, similar
to the effect of a vacuum or pneumatic
system. But the aero mechanical conveyor
does not need a cyclone or filter to
separate the product from the air.
Also, the air carrying the material is
not expelled at the outlet. The material is
separated from the air that carries it and
the unloaded air current is directed down
the return section of the tube. It is thus
retained in the tube circuit.
Typical maximum rates of throughput
are: oats 40 t/h; milk powder (26% fat)
20 t/h; and granulated sugar 80 t/h. If
installed vertically, the throughput of the
aero mechanical is unaffected and
material can be lifted at those stated
rates of throughput to 20 or 25 m.
On the other hand, throughput of the
flexible screw conveyor will diminish the
steeper the angle at which it operates.
The extent of this depends on the nature
of the material. The problem is caused by
fallback of material back through the centre of the spiral, which can be checked by
the provision of a central core or tube.
Single flexible screw conveyors of up to
6 m in length can then be used in the
vertical.
An aero-mechanical conveyor should
always be started empty and stream fed.
In some cases a controlled feed device
such as a rigid screw or flexible screw

conveyor will have to be used.

Maintenance needs are moderate to
high. The rope must be tensioned
occasionally. Rope life depends on
conveyor length, the number of starts and
stops, solids loading and whether routine
inspection and tensioning are properly
performed.
Specialist bulk bag discharge systems
are available for handling titanium dioxide
and other poor-flowing, cohesive products
using aero-mechanical conveyors. The
system comprises a bag support dish with
tensioned side arms to retain the bag in a
taut position, ensuring total emptying of
bag contents. A number of dust control
features are included in the system. Product from the bulk bag discharger feeds
into the aero-mechanical conveyor via a
rigid screw which serves to regulate flow.

vacuum conveyors
The main advantages of vacuum conveyors
are their simplicity of operation, inherent
reliability and hygienic transfer of
materials. Their use is usually restricted to
throughputs of around 10 t/h over 100 m.
Vacuum conveying is made under
negative pressure. The basic principle is to
use the application of air pressure
supplied by a vacuum pump to create
enough air velocity and low enough solids
to air ratio to convey the product.
This motive air force is provided by
either a roots pump or side-channel high
efficiency fan sited at the receiving end of
the system. Air powered venturi systems
are also used for low capacity conveying
however, despite their comparative low
capital cost, they can prove more
expensive to run.
The material is taken from a feed or
supply source into a delivery point suspended in a relatively uniform stream. This
means that the ingredients are not in
contact with any surface or moving parts,
hence the high levels of hygiene.
For this reason, vacuum conveyors are
often preferred by the fine chemical and
pharmaceutical industries. They also offer
distinct advantages in terms of good
product flow rates and the lack of moving
parts lead to low maintenance costs.
Advanced manufacturing techniques are
also key elements in ensuring that all of
the conveyors components are of the
highest quality, which allows for the most
finite tolerance of machined parts.
Seamless welds are used throughout
construction of critical parts, which
ensures smooth, crevice free joints.
This is especially important in the
transfer of pharmaceutical powders and
also facilitates ease of cleaning. Dust-free
operation also makes it particularly

suitable
where the most rigid standards
of plant hygiene need to be met and
maintained.
Vacuum systems are regularly used to
transfer material from sack tip units, open
containers, drums, silos and big-bag dischargers, where longer transfer distances
and excellent route flexibility are needed.
Many thousands of materials, including
particularly poor flowing products, are
transferred regularly by vacuum conveying
systems. Complete multi-functional
systems can be designed, manufactured
and installed with acceptance of integral
responsibility.
Recent times have seen changes in fine
chemical handling systems due to the
increased use of bulk bags to replace rigid
IBCs. This is because bulk bags have now
developed to the point where they can
provide proven advances in hygienic and
high containment discharge, while
eliminating the need for cleaning and revalidation procedures. Systems with
containment levels as low as 0.025g/m3
are now available.
These factors have led to a world-wide
acceptance of bulk bags by many chemical
plants, prompting manufacturers to
provide a range of dischargers to suit.
Such things as pneumatic bag spout
stretching and sealing devices assist flow
of product through the bag spout and
provide total dust containment.
Innovations include a liner retention
clamp to seal and hold the bag liner in
place to prevent it from becoming entangled in any downstream equipment such
as a take-off conveyor and also aiding
total bag discharge. A liner remover and
tensioner separates the liner from the bag
after discharge and compacts it for easy
disposal without any emission of dust.
Choosing the correct conveyor becomes
easier if you first select the most suitable
supplier to work with you. Very few
manufacturers have expertise in all three
of the above conveying methods but those
that do can specify systems that are fit
for purpose, taking into account all
relevant product, installation and
application considerations.

Vacuum conveyor

Andy Dean is
marketing
manager at
Spiroflow