Process for feeding 2 lines of carbon black from flowbins

Processed powders: 2 references of carbon black (micro pearl)

Rubber calendering line

Company specialized in the manufacture of rubber and thermoplastic-based sealing products for the automotive and heavy goods vehicle industry.

The installation consists of 2 container discharge systems IBC Flow® 01 that feed 2 mixing lines in powdered carbon black.
2 grades of carbon black are used to feed the internal industrial mixers; the 2 carbon blacks grades are depacked on these two flowbins unloading stations.

Container emptying stations
2 manual emptying stations for industrial containers IBC Flow® 01 feed respectively 2 dedicated mixing lines (carbon black 1 and carbon black 2).
The industrial container is removed by forklift truck; the operator then manually opens the container discharge valve. A container docking system equipped with a pressure plate with a valve size seal ensures a tight connection between the container and the emptying device.
This plate is pressurized by means of tared springs.
A flexible connector is used to compensate for compression of the springs. The carbon black contained in the flowbin can then flow out.

Conveying system
4 tubular extraction screws with a 168 mm cross-section are installed at the outlet of the flowbins and ensure the infeed and control of carbon black at the inlet of the pneumatic conveying system VFlow®.
These screw conveyors can be quickly removed to allow easy access for cleaning.
The installation of a speeding box at the beginning of the conveying line ensures an optimal air/product ratio for the transfer and also to purge the conveying line.
The pneumatic conveying technology considered is high vacuum suction. 2 dedicated cyclofilters carbon black 1 and carbon black 2 ensure air/product separation and have a storage volume of 250 liters each allowing to have 1 batch of buffer volume in advance.
The industrial production line throughput is thus optimized because the installation operates in masked time.
The cyclofilters are also equipped with a flat-bottomed anti-bridging device that minimizes their height and thus saves space. The anti-bridging device also makes it possible to facilitate the extraction of the bulk material by avoiding any clogging of the product.
The pneumatic conveyor is provided with a line purge system that allows the product passage piping to be completely cleaned after being transferred. 
A dry paddle vacuum pump provides the necessary vacuum to convey the material into the piping system.

Mixing lines
The 2 raw product discharging stations respectively feed 2 industrial mixers each, distributed over 2 dedicated dosing stations processing the 2 types of carbon black.
2 weighed collecting hoppers are used to prepare a batch of mixture in masked time (during the mixing phase).
These hoppers (capacity of 250 liters) are used to prepare the dose (batch) with an accuracy of + or - 200g.
Each weighing hopper is fed by 2 rotary airlock valves (carbon black 1 or carbon black 2). These rotary airlock valves operate on frequency variators to allow low speed dosing to increase accuracy.
Once the target weight is reached, the hopper is emptied completely by means of a vibration device. The surfaces in contact with the bulk material are mirror polished to facilitate flow.
A degassing filter is provided to collect fines and balance pressures during the carbon black filling and carbon black unloading phases. The fines are directly reintroduced into the hopper.
At the outlet of the hopper, the installation of a butterfly valve allows the emptying into the downstream pipe. A second valve prevents any pressure build-up that could disturb the weighing process during the dosing phase.