A company undergoing the production of food additives for animals and feed materials are using aeration pads from AKO UK to assist with the discharge of product from a silo.
Application Details Involving Aeration Pads
The media passing through the silo is calcium carbonate micronized (20 microns), at ambient temperature.The calcium carbonate is travelling through the silo at gravity feed, and the maximum size of the silo is 100 tons.
Aeration pads are fitted at the bottom of the silo cone/cyclone cone filter for pneumatic transport of the product on a current, to a conveyor belt. The company have 6 rows of aeration pads fitted to the silo in total:
- 3 rows of 4 pcs.
- 2 rows of 2pcs.
- 1 row of 4 pcs.
Aerator Pads used within this application: A730-0478
White food quality Silicon cone shaped pad rated to 200 degrees C. Complete with stainless steel stud, washer and hex nut, and white sealing washer.
The aerators are distanced approximately 200mm up to 1000mm apart from each other. A maximum pressure of 1.5 barg of air is fed to the aerators, with a degree of vacuum approximately 600 kPa used within this application.
How to Prevent Caking in a Silo
The white food grade aerators assist with this application by aerating the product, improving the gravitational flow of micronized calcium carbonate when the silo is being emptied in different doses. The aerators also reduce caking in this application, where the product was previously becoming built up on the internal walls of the silo due to temperature changes.
Before this company started to use aerator pads to assist with the emptying of the silo, they would try to solve the caking issue themselves by using a direct air supply into the cone part of the silo to blow the built up substance out. They had also tried using pneumatic and hand-held hammers and vibrators to release the product free, however this was causing damage to the silo, and taking up too much valuable time.
The company have been using aerator pads in this silo, dosing micronized calcium carbonate since June 2018, and are very satisfied with the products. They told us that they have not had any problems with them.
The Additional Benefits of Aeration Pads
There are other areas within this company that have potential for using aerators in the future. With their low cost, easy installation and lightweight but robust design, aerators are a key piece of equipment to a wide range of industries. They can be retrofitted to existing machinery and equipment and can be done so with ease.
In addition to keeping bulk substances moving with ease through a hopper, silo or bin after it has been held in storage for some time, Aerator Pads are also virtually maintenance free because they are self cleaning.