Today, many factories that produce different products involving different processes use bulk trailers in raw material transfer. Having provided its customers with innovative compressors, compressed air systems, nitrogen and oxygen generators, and service plans, Atlas Copco offers solutions to its customers in every issue, from measurements to the selection of suitable products, especially in the unloading of bulk trailers, which are oftenly used by companies producing glass, cement and soda.
Materials such as dolomite, colemanite, kaolin, burnt lime, which are produced in the blending facilities in the glass sector, and the products of cement and soda producers in the cement sector are transferred by bulk trailers and these trucks are unloaded with compressed air at their destination.
Unloading Bulk Trailers with Compressor Causes Energy Loss Up To 28%
Companies prefer to unload cement trucks, which bring raw materials to their fields, with compressors they already have, and since the cement trucks are suitable for a maximum compressed air input of 2-3 bar, they at first have to pass the air they take from compressors through a pressure reducer.
This method causes energy loss. At each pressure reduction with reducer, 7% energy is lost, while compressed air taken from a compressor operating at 6 bar is reduced to 2 bar with pressure reducer, resulting in an energy loss of up to 28%.
Underlining that this process should be done before required flow rate is calculated precisely in order to unload the silo, Low Pressure Sales Engineer Taner Kasarcı of Atlas Copco Compressor Technique Oil-Free Air Department, said, “In operations performed without calculating the flow rate, unloading times can often find 45- 60 minutes. As Atlas Copco Compressor Technique, we can support our customers from engineering calculations to the selection of the right equipment for unloading of bulk trailers. Bulk trailer unloading is a pneumatic conveying process. Regarding the material our customers want to transport; we can calculate optimum flow and pressure by obtaining information such as micron diameter, density, amount of material to be transported, requested transportation time and line information. We can support our customers with different blower solutions suitable for this capacity. In this way, we prevent both the loss of energy and time. In addition, we prevent loss of air that is taken from compressors and needs to go into production,” he said.