Discharging station of big bags of cadmium in very high containment

Processed powder: cadmium oxide

Supply for battery manufacturing
 

This customer is a battery manufacturer for all kinds of electronic equipment and uses Cadmium Oxide for its production purposes. This bulk material is delivered in flexible containers and must be vacuumed into production (existing system).

The objective of this installation is to protect operators by avoiding the constraint of the working suit, which is very badly accepted by both the teams and the "Health, Safety, and Working Conditions Committee". Indeed, this plant uses cadmium oxide as a raw material. This substance is regarded as a deadly poison even at low doses. The AEVs (Average Exposure Value) and ELVs (Exposure Limit Value) are very low on this substance.

Big bag unloading station:

In order to ensure the total containment of the area, the big bags are taken to the forklift truck on their pallet in a housing enclosing the unloading station and its accessories.

This Palamatic Process housing is equipped at its entry with two laminar flow ramps connected to the customer's centralized suction system. This design prevents any release of fines through the only not completely sealed passage area.

Having previously hung the straps of the big bag on an automatic receiving lifting device, the handling of this big bag is carried out by hoist to the unloading station.

The big bag is then positioned on its dispensing tray and the operator comes to undo the big bag knot by a tight glove box located at ergonomic height. This glove box is equipped with a transversal light and is connected to the general suction network in order to allow the person performing the operation to have a good view.

The whole unit is connected by flange to the departing part of the pneumatic conveying already in place. Once the operation is completed, the operator moves the empty big bag to a big bag compactor (still in the contained area).

Once above this big bag compactor, the operator activates a push button that synchronously opens the 4 jaws of the lifting device and drops the big bag into the compaction lock chamber.

The big bag compactor is tight by design: the emptied big bags are effectively compacted in a polyethylene sheath with tension and containment rings.

The very simple operating procedure allows the sheath to be changed without the risk of external contamination.

The customer is particularly satisfied with his installation, which allows him to avoid the containment problems encountered previously while allowing him to significantly reduce the difficulties of this workstation.