Loading a chemical reactor from bags and big bags in ATEX zone 01

Processed powders:  varnish and gelcoat

Manufacture of industrial glue

Company designing renewable products from vegetable oils and fats. It is the European leader in renewable chemistry by offering biodegradable and non-toxic formulas for manufacturers in the food, chemical, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, paint, detergents, hygiene products and printing industries.

Design of a process line to supply a reactor from bags and big bags in an explosive atmosphere.

This process consists of a combined Duopal® DP02 station for emptying sacks and big bags, a pneumatic conveying system and a discharge airlock.

Deconditioning of sacks and big bags

Palamatic Process supplies a station that allows both sacks and big bags to be unpacked. This two-in-one emptying station is the Duopal® DP02 model. The big bags are placed using a forklift truck. Once the big bag is positioned on the dispensing tray, the operator undoes the knot of the spout via the unlacing cabinet which can be equipped with gloves (no direct contact with the handled product). To optimize the flow of the bulk material from the big bag, six massage cylinders are located on the lateral and lower parts of the big bag and massage the flexible container for an optimal and total emptying.

A lump breaker is placed at the outlet of the bag emptyer to de-agglomerate the lumps of material.

An ATEX 22 dust extraction system is in place to carry out dust removal operations on the big bag and sack emptying station. It consists of a dust collection box with fines recovery, a steel pipe network with control register, a flame check valve on the suction pipe and a flame-free discharge vent (indoor vent). In the event of an explosion, there is a rapid rise in pressure. This pressure stops the air flow of the installation, causing the non-return valve to close by its own weight. This closure blocks flame propagation and isolates the rest of the network from possible " backfire ".

Pneumatic conveying

Once the raw material is deagglomerated, it is conveyed to the reactor by a dense phase vacuum pneumatic conveying system VFlow® 05 with a flow rate of 10,000 litres/hour. The pneumatic suction conveying works on the principle of the high-pressure depressor. The receiving cyclofilter, connected to the airlock to be fed, cyclones the collected powder and thus carries out the air/product separation. The high efficiency filter integrated into the cyclone ensures the final separation of the air and the protection of the vacuum pump (suction unit). A compressed air cleaning system allows the filter to be cleaned at each pneumatic conveying phase. A butterfly valve with pneumatic actuator controls the descent of the product.

The "Airlock for incorporation" is located at the outlet of the conveying cyclone. It consists of a rigid pipe with nitrogen injection connection and two butterfly valves.