Archive May 2019

Avoid dust explosions with RHEWUM technology A dust explosion can have devastating consequences. Especially in the USA, the number of grain dust explosions in 2018 increased by more than 70 percent compared to the previous year. When a dust explosion occurs, entire production facilities are usually destroyed. What remains are expensive damages, injuries or even fatalities. In 2017 the number of grain dust explosions in the USA was only 7. In 2018 the number increased up to 12 (Source: news.bulk-online.com). In a dust explosion the particle size is critical, i.e. the explosive potential increases with decreasing size. Size reduction results in very large surfaces, whereby the dust particles oxidize very quickly on the one hand and absorb ambient heat very well on the other hand and can ignite themselves. In order to avoid such devastating dust explosions, it is very important to keep the screening plant dust-free, to ensure that the staff on site is well trained and that the equipment is properly maintained…

Typhoon offers total solutions A producer and supplier of bakery raw materials invested in a new infrastructure for the storage, packaging and bulk loading of their finished products (various varieties of white and dark flour). The various types of flour coming from the mixing plants are sieved and checked again in the new building before being stored in one of 50 new storage silos. Typhoon supplied and installed the necessary pneumatic conveyors (between 11 to 20 tons/h) from the mixing plants to the new building, as well as the pneumatic conveyors to the packaging silos or bulk silos after sifting and screening. The 50 stainless steel silos were also delivered and installed via Typhoon. Compact, low-maintenance and reliable dust filters are also integrated inside the building for the ventilation/extraction of separating cyclones, silos, packaging machines, loading bellows for the bulk trucks, etc. In view of the complexity of the installation, everything was developed in 3D so that the silos,…

RHEWUM GmbH at the ESST Congress 2019 from 26 - 29 May 2019 in Poznan, Poland From 26 - 29 May 2019 we will be exhibiting as a sifting expert for sugar at the 6th congress of the European Society for Sugar Technology (ESST) in Poznan, Poland. Come and visit us at booth no. 2. This year's ESST conference and exhibition will focus on topics such as beet quality and its impact on the sugar production process as well as digitization and green energy in the sugar industry. We will be on site as screening experts with our mobile WA(U) 50x100 sifter, demonstrating the benefits of direct excitation of the screen cloth during sugar sifting. RHEWUM has always been looking for the perfect solution. With us you not only get a product, but a solution that is perfectly tailored to your needs. Let our sifting experts on site advise you on your challenge. Do you have any questions? Get in touch with us. We are looking forward to your inquiry.

4 - 6 June 2019 at Chatham, Kent, UK A popular course for engineers using pneumatic conveying systems in their plant. Learn about the various different components of pneumatic conveying systems, system selection and design techniques as well as different techniques for reducing product degradation during conveying. The course also covers ways to reduce maintenance, repair and unplanned stoppages to pneumatic conveying equipment and looks at methods of reducing energy consumption amongst other topics. An optional third day is offered to those wishing to see demonstrations of the in-house pneumatic conveying systems and relevant test equipment in Centre's laboratories. Course fees start at £825 with discounts offered for multiple registrations.

2 - 3 July 2019 at LPW Technology, Cheshire, UK Course fees £825 per delegate with discounts for multiple registrations Be guided through the critical aspects of powder management for powder-based AM processing by experts from the Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology, LPW Technology and Fraunhofer IFAM Institute, Bremen. The course will look at vital areas of the additive manufacturing process such as powder recycling and quality issues, contamination and oxidation issues, standards for AM powders, flow behaviour and characterisation of powders as well as an introduction to the handling processes.

Last year, a tea & coffee merchant in the United Kingdom contacted Vortex Global to discuss a process need. Various types of tea leaves were being fed into a blending drum. Because tea leaves have explosive potential, a solution was needed to control fine material particulate. As tea processing is also held to the highest food and beverage safety standards, the solution must also be compliant with these regulations. Features: This Vortex retractable spout is actuated pneumatically by three Vortex air cylinders, replacing the Vortex Loading Spout’s standard electric motor and 4-cable hoist drive system. For beverage safety, the spout’s material contact areas are constructed from 304 stainless steel, with all welds ground and polished to a 52RA/#3 finish. The spout utilises a stainless steel tube-in-tube design, with all welds ground and polished to a #3 finish (52RA). The blue neoprene-coated outer sleeve is ATEX-approved and is static dissipative to address the…

RWE Generation's Eemshaven power plant is the largest coal and biomass power plant in the Netherlands. Covered conveyor belts ensure dust-free transport of the coal from ships to the power plant or the storage yard. This process was always accompanied by jerks and jolts due to frequent belt mistracking. The constant downtime of the conveyor belts caused delays in supply and additional costs. RWE consulted TBK Group, after which it was decided to install our CenTrax tracker rollers for a trial period. Within a month, it was already clear that CenTrax was the solution to their mistracking problem. Gert-Jan Arkema, Maintenance Engineer Bulk Handling at RWE Generation Eemshaven, explains “We use several conveyor belts at our power plant. We use a hopper to transfer the coal from one conveyor to another, but coal from the US and Russia is often damp, which means it sticks to the walls of the hopper. As a result, the load is then skewed when it reaches the conveyor belt,…

Poeth Airbelt Conveyor Poeth announces the AirConveyor for 40% more energy-efficient and 75% less maintenance when transporting powders and granulates Poeth has designed its new AirConveyor specifically for companies that want to transport powders, pellets and granulates cost-effectively and efficiently. This innovative system offers companies 75% less maintenance costs after approx. 3 years operating time and consumes 40% less energy. The air-supported conveying system from Poeth is suitable for damage-free transportation of bulk goods over short or extremely long distances. The AirConveyor generates low noise emissions and is dust-tight. As a result, the new conveying system from Poeth also has a minimum impact on the environment. Powerful air cushion supports the conveyor belt without the need for rollers Poeth has developed a new and efficient generation conveying systems where the conveyor belt floats on a cushion of air. Poeth's AirConveyor features a perforated channel and…

Brady Corporation offers new, innovative SafeKey Lockout Padlocks to achieve the safest Lockout/Tagout procedures during maintenance operations. With 100 000+ unique keys, the new locks can support large, company specific key hierarchies in which no 2 locks can be opened with the same key. Highest lockout padlock safety and security The new SafeKey Lockout Padlocks offer 700% more key possibilities than a standard safety padlock thanks to their innovative lock mechanism. With 100 000+ different keys, SafeKey Lockout Padlocks can optimally support custom hierarchies of large sets of keyed different padlocks that can be opened by a manager's master key or grand master key when needed. Charted key numbers ensure no two keys in the same company will open the same lock if so required. Both non-conductive and anti-corrosion padlock designs are available for additional safety. Increased Lockout/Tagout efficiency With colour coded keys that match the colour of their…

For dust-free sieving of large volumes of fine to very fine powders. When sieving or classifying very fine material two problems often occure: - Powder that gets stuck in the meshes of the screen cloth, reducing the capacity of the screen. - A lot of dust is blown into the production area Rhewum has solved both these problems with the WAF powder sieve. In the WAF powder screens, RHEWUM combines two movements: 1.The screen cloth is directly exitated from below by knocker bars (like in the Rhewum wa machines). So the screen goes up en down. 2.At the same time, two motors, rotating in the opposite direction, ensure a linear movement of the screen (as is the case with a vibrating feeder). The linear movement ensures the transport of the powder over the sloping screen cloth. In the meantime, since the screen cloth is frequently struck from below, the powder particles constantly jump up, and the particles that have settled in the screen holes are loosened. As a result of this direct exitation of the screen, the screen cloth remains…

Explosion Isolation is absolutely necessary for a comprehensive safety concept. If a dust explosion occurs in one equipement, this also enhances the risk of flames and pressure propagation to other parts of the plant. Pre-compression and flame jet ignition exacerbate the explosion severity in interconnected vessels. The result is a series of secondary explosions that may cause even more catastrophic damage. An explosion isolation system prevents deflagrations from propagating and thus minimises the effects of an explosion. Adjoining plant components are optimally protected. A distinction is made between active and passive systems: Passive isolation systems such as explosion isolation flap valves make use of the overpressure of the explosion for their operating principle: Passive explosion isolation - this is how it works Passive explosion isolation systems respond purely mechanically to the propagation of pressure through its constructive design. Under normal operation,…

A patented compensation system has been built in, not only compensating for acceleration and deceleration but also providing an automatic adjustment to the local acceleration of gravity. Knowing under all circumstances what is on the hook, regardless of movements and wherever, this instrument takes care of it. A patented compensation system has been built in, not only compensating for acceleration and deceleration but also providing an automatic adjustment to the local acceleration of gravity. The compensation uses PENKO’s specialty, fast measurement with a high internal resolution. Thanks to this provision, this instrument is suitable for all free-hanging mobile applications, both in freight transport, shipping and fishing as well as on hoisting equipment. AFAK form Katwijk (NL) took care for the mechanical part, a solid stainless steel enclosure with protection class IP68 and galvanized, partly also lacquered, hoisting link and hook, so an entire version designed for the mentioned applications. Despite the robust design, the instrument only weighs 25 kg. Vulnerable connection cables are unnecessary. The transfer of the weighing data takes place wirelessly…

Since already a few years, palletless filling of bigbags for products like milk powder, baby milk powder, starches,...has become a hot topic and even a standard. Filling bigbags without pallet inside the clean room means off course that the bigbag must be positioned on a pallet in the basic care zone. Delaere has now launched a second version of its successful Bag on Pallet system. The big difference with the first generation is that the pallet is never in contact with the position the filled bigbag is transported to coming from the clean room. With the first generation Bag on Pallet, the filled bigbag was gripped by gripping arms and the pallet was moved under the hanging filled bigbag. The Bag on Pallet GEN2 is picking up the filled bigbag by means of gripping arms which are integrated in an electrically driven movable frame. This movable frame is shifted towards the pallet with slipsheet and is thus avoiding cross-contamination. Another innovation is the adjustable…

Effizientere Aufbereitung von Kalkstein-Siebschutt: Trocknen und Reinigen in einem Schritt During the extraction of limestone in quarries, so-called pre-screening debris are yielded. Up to 90 % of this pre-screened material consists of good limestone rock, which is frequently heavily interstratified with clay and loam impurities. Therefore, it could only be sold as a low-grade product without being cleaned correspondingly. Usually wet washing processes are used, e.g. rock washing plants known from sand and gravel processing, to remove the pollutants adherent to the limestone. Then the washed materials have to be dried before further processing (crushing, screening, classifying, burning). The use of rock washing plants requires an expensive sewage and sludge treatment and, only for this reason, cannot be used unproblematically everywhere. The required capital spending and power for such plants, above all combined with drying, is considerable, also because the washing of the rock leads to the a higher water content exceeding the original rock moisture. It would…