“Successful conveying and handling of chemical powders requires much more input than understanding a material’s properties, the desired convey rate and distance. Today’s manufacturers are faced with tighter margins, leaner operations, shorter lead times and greater environmental concerns. Maintaining plant and worker safety is paramount.”
Dust Control
Dust is the No. 1 issue most processors face with handling bulk chemical powders. And for good reason, too – dust threatens both plant and worker safety. Dust explosions are an obvious concern, with ignition resulting from electrostatic discharge, friction, hot surfaces, or open fire. Depending upon the level of dust control required by the process, many options are available when conveying.
Conveying methods that move material en-masse (like tubular drag conveyors) can minimize dust. Because the tubular drag conveyor’s components come into contact with a smaller percentage of material compared to other conveying methods, it is less likely to create dust. Tubular drag conveyors also create less friction as the chain and flight mechanism moves the material at a relatively slow velocity.
When handling bulk bags, dust collectors are an effective way to minimize plant and worker exposure to powders. Such systems can be configured to filter material down to 1 micron. The system can also include glove box access to further assure worker protection from dust and other hazardous materials. Adding a bag compactor to these systems can extend dust control to the bag disposal process, as well as enhance operator efficiency. In addition, dust-tight connectors can be employed with bulk bag handling equipment to minimize dust entering the plant environment.
Contact us today to ensure that the ignition of hazardous dust explosions does not take place and that you’re maintaining safety in your plant or job site.
Equipment Design and Material Construction
Other factors to consider when handling chemical powders deal with the design of equipment and materials used in their construction. For example, does the process require sanitation or washdown? Is the chemical powder corrosive or will it react in some way with equipment handling it? Is the powder abrasive? All of these considerations should be used and considered with the design of new equipment and materials.
There is a wide range of options available to effectively meet sanitation standards, which may include various materials for construction and finishes. Likewise, materials for construction and the design of the conveyor can reduce wear from abrasive materials.
Easy to Operate
Material handling equipment that is easy to operate alleviates environmental concerns and promotes health and safety in a processing facility. Operators who may have only worked with one part of a process in the past may now be responsible for multiple pieces of a process as organizations have found ways to increase productivity.
As the baby boomer generation exits the workforce, they take their important knowledge and experience with them. To reduce training required to effectively and safely operate equipment and reduce errors that can result in wasted materials or operator injury, equipment will need to be intuitive and employ safeguards for new workers. One example of this would be the use of programmable logic controls (PLC) to ensure batching consistency. However, depending upon the equipment and process, a number of design elements are available.
Conclusion
Handling chemical powders is more complex than simply moving products from point A to point B. The use of systems and processes that assure the safe and efficient processing of chemical powders are just as important. Many options are available related to dust control, safety, and efficiency from manufacturers of bulk solids and powder handling and conveying equipment.
Contact Hapman Today for Bulk Powder Handling and Conveying Equipment
Our commitment to you is that we will ask the right questions to understand your needs, challenges, and goals, and then present the top material handling equipment or system options for your application. For more information about material handling equipment and the measures that we take to make your company’s processes safer and more efficient, contact Hapman today.
