Explosive Progress Of Acoustic Cleaning

Last year I wrote an article called Silo Cleaning & Stats and explained how our website statistics regularly reflect large numbers of companies searching for silo cleaning solutions. It’s not surprising really because silos are a key component for many types of processing – from raw materials such as aggregates to chemical compounds and of course foodstuffs.

We love to see this kind of statistic because we know that our products can solve a wide range of problems faced by silo operators. Why, might you ask, should we have such confidence? Well, there are several reasons, each different from the other.

First of all, we have not just 1 but 3 products we can offer to solve silo cleaning issues and ALL of them will perform their task quickly, safely and efficiently, avoiding the need for potentially dangerous human entry into the silo. Going into a little more detail ...

Prima Lance operation

a) If your silo is already blocked
We have the Prima Whip and Prima Lance. The former is installed through the top of the silo and comes with a choice of boom size (from 2.4 m up to 8.0 m). The latter is inserted from the silo underside. What makes both these pieces of equipment especially attractive to site operators is that they are readily portable, made from non-sparking aluminium and the power motors used take their power from compressed air so there can be no risk of dust explosion whilst silo cleaning is in progress. Click here to read more about safe silo cleaning.

60Hz acoustic cleaner on 30,000T silo

b) If you want to prevent build up within a silo
This is where our acoustic cleaners are the perfect tool for the job.  This photo shows our PAS-60 (60 Hz) model, currently the most powerful of its type in the world, installed on a 30,000T cement silo in India where extreme climate conditions had caused severe ratholing.

c) If you want level silo content
This is another issue for plant operators to deal with. Having an accurate reading of the amount of material within a silo can be critical to many aspects of the plant’s management – from purchasing and delivery to stock control and planning. Most sites have level sensing equipment installed in their silos and with acoustic cleaners installed, the level measured can be relied upon to be accurate because materials has been prevented from building up on sidewalls.

d) If you want to avoid explosive options
Amongst the alternative options open to silo operators is explosive cleaning. This is an extreme measure adopted when a serious blockage needs to be removed. Unlike our Prima Whip and Prima Lance which are safe and quick to employ, explosive cleaning is more time consuming, creates more downtime and is potentially damaging to the silo structure if its use is not conducted correctly. Explosive cleaning in itself has variations on a theme – some companies offer a method where carbon dioxide is ignited, others use methane and oxygen. All of them, however, operate with the same principle of relying upon the explosion they create to break up the silo blockage.

They say that clarity is power and that in turn creates confidence. Hopefully the clarity of what I've shared with you today offers confidence in the power of acoustic cleaners and the other technologies we provide to tackle silo cleaning problems.