Bulk Bag Conditioning - Hydraulic Bag Squeezer

Ingredients Handled
Trimethoxyamphetamine (TMA), Phthalic Anhydride and Adipic acid.

Control and Metering's Customer
Our Customer offers a complete spectrum of vinyl, polyethylene, thermoplastic and related compounds with over 50 years of polymer development.

Customer's Reason For Using Bulk Bags
This customer was replacing their old process where 50 lb. bags were hand dumped into a pneumatic conveying system that fed directly into a charge tank. Switching to bulk bags would not only be a cost savings on ingredients but would reduce operator contact as well. This system would be relocated to a hazardous location above the charge tank. As well, the TMA would require a completely dust free discharge system to meet OSHA requirements.

Control and Metering Application Solution
Control and Metering offered the Flo Easy Super Clean discharge system, utilizing an Isolation Chamber to guarantee containing any emissions to 0.01 PPM over an eight-hour period. A support base was custom designed to allow integration on a new mezzanine that was being constructed above the new charge tank. The TMA and Phthalic Anhydride ingredients flow fairly well, however the Adipic acid can set-up into a hard block. Control and Metering included a Bag Squeezer as an integral component of the Bag discharger to break up the set of the adipic acid bags.

Application Challenges and Their Solution
The Flo Easy Super Clean discharger utilizes a Patented clamping arrangement that allows for clamping the bulk bag outlet spout to the down stream process thereby creating a closed discharge system. The system supplied to this customer incorporated pneumatic actuation of the clamping mechanism. The clamping arrangement is enclosed in our isolation chamber, which ensures that any ingredient that becomes airborne when the bag outlet is unclamped and the bag removed, is drawn completely out of the chamber. The chamber is maintained under a negative pressure via a single connection to a dust collection system. The combination of the Flo Super Clean and the isolation chamber completely eliminates emissions into the atmosphere. The Isolation Chamber utilizes a pair of openings with "letter slots" in a gum rubber membrane for operator access. The ingredients being discharged are supplied in either lined or unlined bags. The clamping arrangement supplied could be used for either type of bag.

The adipic acid has a tendency to form into a solid block that is impossible to get out of a bulk bag. A hydraulic bag squeezer is integrated as part of our support frame that allows the operator to squeeze the bag, thereby breaking up the ingredient in the bag, as it is being placed into the discharge hopper.

Why The Customer Chose Control and Metering
Control and Metering were successful in being awarded this project due to our ability to guarantee containing emissions to meet OSHA requirements and supply a single discharge system, which will properly discharge a wide variety of ingredients. Of great value was the engineering expertise to design a support structure to meet the customers needs, as well as integrate additional equipment such as the bag squeezer, the isolation chamber and pneumatic clamping mechanisms.

For further information on Hydraulic Bag Squeezer contact contact us at info@spiroflow.com or call 1-704-246-0900.