Carbon Black Silo Cleaning Success

Carbon black is a commodity which is produced and processed on a large scale around the world. The properties of carbon black are such that it requires careful handling and storage. From a human perspective, engineering controls have to be used to limit the exposure of people to carbon black dust during site operations and from a site management angle, fine carbon black dust has to be prevented from penetrating electrical equipment as it can cause electrical shorts.

Storage of carbon black is equally important – it has to be stored in a dry place and well away from potential sources of ignition and strong oxidizers. Storage of carbon black is commonly carried out using silos. The fine dust can cause build-up and blockages which in turn can result in major plant shutdowns and loss of valuable bulk storage space. Effective cleaning and prevention of build-up in carbon black silos is therefore a prime objective within carbon black storage and production plants.

We recently sold two PAS-75 acoustic cleaners for this exact purpose - for two carbon black silos at an industrial rubber plant in Hungary. Here is a photograph of one of our acoustic cleaners mounted on top of one of the silos.

Below is a close-up photograph. Height of the silos 14.5m, diameter just over 3m.