processing feature | Materials handling
Coperion has developed a consistent cleaning concept for the entire com- pounding line
industry technical directors have been excited to hear about the BSIC because they all have issues with their bulk solids plants. They would use this facility since there is no independent research being done in North America. Kansas State has a rigorous research programme that is needed to provide a long-term benefit to the industry,” says Smith. Equipment needs such as lower energy costs, improved reliability, and reduced dust explosion risk have been improved incrementally over the years, but research at the BSIC may be the key to push ahead to next-generation bulk-solids material handling technology, he explains. Kansas State currently offers an engineering technol-
LoadFast and Glasgow
Caledonian
University won an award for
their GraviLoad controlled-flow chute system
ogy degree, and plans to offer an applied engineering degree that could have bulk solids handling as an area of concentration, notes Mark Jackson, head of the engineer- ing technology department at K-State Salina. “Students will have the opportunity to be a part of applied research projects at the centre focused on the mechanics of material movement and the development of new processes and equipment. Programme graduates will then be immediately productive in the processing industries associated with bulk solids,” says Jackson. The University’s Department of Grain
The Bulk Solids Innovation Center is due to open in Salina, Kansas, USA in April 2015
Science in the College of Agriculture has already done much research in bulk solids, and the BSIC researchers will partner with the Grain Science researchers to see how this knowledge can be transferred to the handling of non-food materials. Initial research is expected to focus not on specific materials, but on the shape of materials and how this affects flow during transport. Kansas State plans to have a full-time director and post-doctoral student located at BSIC. Several other bulk-solids research centres are
established in other parts of the world. For example, Tunra Bulk Solids is a research facility in Australia associated with the University of Newcastle and the University of Wollongong. In the UK, the Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology is located on the
University of Greenwich’s Medway Campus, where it is part of the School of Engineering. The Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) in Scotland hosts the Centre for Industrial Bulk Solids Handling, led by Professor Don McGlinchey. McGlinchey and researchers at the Centre are
developing an instrument for online, continuous, non-invasive measurement of solid mass flowrate. The patented Thermal Solids Mass Flowmeter is currently a prototype device that is being tested in a pneumatic conveying system, but further investment and development is needed before it is ready for commercial use, says McGlinchey. GCU’s McGlinchey and Perthshire-based
LoadFast Systems recently won an innovation award at the Interface Excellence Awards in Edinburgh, Scotland, for a new type of cascade- chute materials handling system developed by their partnership. The GraviLoad controlled-flow
chute system can be used in various industries, including the plastics sector, where it is necessary to minimize dust and damage to the product, notes John Fuller, president of LoadFast. The system uses spoon- based elements with a geometry designed using discrete element modelling to prevent the damage and dust that can be created in conventional cascade chutes. Another company that has been focusing on
reducing damage to materials is Flexicon of the USA. Its Flexi-Disc tubular cable conveyor provides gentle, low-power transfer of friable materials. The conveyor uses low-friction, polymer discs to slide materials through smooth, stainless-steel tubing that can be routed horizontally, vertically or at any angle. The cable-disc assembly is pulled through the tubing circuit by a drive wheel at one end of the circuit and kept taut by an automatic cable tensioner at the opposite end of
70 COMPOUNDING WORLD | February 2015
www.compoundingworld.com
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