Patent Application
20250121378
The present application relates generally to a particulate removal unit for pneumatically conveyed materials, and more particularly, to a metal removal unit for bulk solid materials that are moved by a pneumatic conveying system.
Solid materials such as seeds, grains and granular or powdered materials, are moved between transport vehicles and processing systems. For example, most bulk solid materials are transported by a railcar or truck to a processing plant. Upon arrival at the processing plant, the solid material is commonly moved from the railcar or truck by a pneumatic conveying system.
Pneumatic conveying systems use a series of interconnected pipes that move solid materials long distances by using a combination of pressure and air generated by one or more air blowers connected to the pipes. The amount of pressure generated by each air blower depends on the density of the solid material being moved in the pneumatic conveying system. For example, materials with a high density require a greater air pressure than materials with a low density. Pneumatic conveying systems use positive pressure or negative pressure to move solid materials. A positive pressure pneumatic conveying system generates a positive pressure within the pipes to push solid materials through the pipes. Conversely, a negative pressure conveying system generates negative pressure or a vacuum within the pipes to pull or suck the solid materials through the pipes.
Bulk solid materials commonly have particulate, such as metal, mixed in with the solid materials. The metal particles get into the bulk solid materials through handling, transport or are generated by abrasion that occurs between the solid material and the pipe walls as the solid material moves at high speeds through the metal pipes. Metal contamination in bulk solid materials is harmful if it occurs with solid materials used for food or medicines and can damage equipment or products made with plastic or similar solid materials.
One method of removing metal particles from the bulk solid materials during pneumatic conveying is to attach metal removal equipment to one or more of the pipes in a pneumatic conveying system. Some metal removal equipment use magnets to attract the metal particles while the bulk solid material is moved through the pipes. Periodically, the magnets must be cleaned to remove the metal particles attracted to the magnets. To clean the magnets, the pneumatic conveying system must be shut off temporarily to open the metal removal equipment and remove and clean the magnets. Shutting off the pneumatic conveying system interrupts processing, which leads to significant losses of processing time and money.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a metal removal unit that effectively and efficiently removes metal from bulk solid materials that are moved by a pneumatic conveying system.
The present metal removal unit is attached inline to one or more ducts of a pneumatic conveying system to effectively remove metal contaminants from pneumatically conveyed dry materials.
In an embodiment, a metal removal unit for a bulk material conveying system is provided and includes a housing defining an interior space and a magnetic filter assembly movably attached to the housing, the magnetic filter assembly including a plurality of magnetic rods that extend at least partially into the interior space and magnetically attract metal particles in bulk material flowing through the housing.
In another embodiment, a pneumatic conveying system is provided and includes a duct for conveying bulk materials under positive pressure or negative pressure; and a metal removal unit attached to the duct, wherein the metal removal unit includes a housing and a magnetic filter assembly movably attached to the housing, the magnetic filter assembly including a plurality of magnetic rods that extend at least partially into the interior space and magnetically attract metal particles in bulk material flowing through the duct.
The present metal removal unit is shown in
Referring now to
Referring to
The rear wall 26 on the side of the housing 22, which is opposite to the front wall 24 having the transparent member 52, includes a body plate 54, a wiper plate 56 and a magnet plate 58, where the body plate 54 has generally rectangular shape and defines a throughhole 60. It should be appreciated that the throughhole 50 defined by the body plate 48 of the front wall 24 and the throughhole 60 defined by the body plate 54 of the rear wall 26 may be the same size and shape or a different size and/or shape. As shown, the wiper plate 56 defines five throughholes 62 and is placed against or on the body plate 54, where the throughholes 62 are positioned on the body plate 54 so that the location of the throughholes 62 are within the throughhole 54 of the body plate. Similarly, the magnet plate 58 is placed against or on the wiper plate 56, and defines five throughholes that are aligned with the throughholes 62 on the wiper plate 56. As shown in
The opposing sidewalls 28a and 28b each include a side plate 67a, 67b that has a generally rectangular shape and extends between the front wall 24 and the rear wall 26. The side plates 67a, 67b may be welded to the body plates 48, 54 of the front wall 24 and the rear wall 26 or connected to the body plates 48, 54 by fasteners or by any suitable attachment method. After assembly, the front wall 24, the rear wall 26 and the sidewalls 28a, 28b define an interior space 68 that is in fluid communication with the throughholes 46 of the outlet pipe 30 and the inlet pipe 38.
Referring to
Referring to
The magnetic filter assembly 70 is movably attached to the housing 22 by aligning the magnetic rods 86 with the throughholes 64 on the magnet plate 58 and the throughholes 62 of the wiper plate 56 and applying pressure to the cover plate 72 to move the magnetic rods 86 through the magnet plate 58 and the wiper plate 56 until the cover plate 72 of the magnetic filter assembly 70 abuts the magnet plate 58 and the magnetic rods 86 at least partially extend into the interior space 68 of the housing 22. It should be appreciated that the magnetic rods 86 each have a length where the lengths of the magnetic rods are the same or where one or more of the magnetic rods 86 may have the same length or different lengths.
As shown in
In operation, the metal removal unit 20 is installed inline with one or more ducts or pipes in a pneumatic conveying system that transport bulk dry materials from railcars or other vehicles to a processing system, between process machines in the processing system or to any location that the bulk dry materials are used or stored. Specifically, the outlet pipe 30 and the inlet pipe 38 are attached to corresponding ducts or pipes in the pneumatic conveying system by welding, fasteners or another suitable attachment method. During the pneumatic conveying process, metal contaminants such as metal particles that are commonly found in bulk dry materials being conveyed, are magnetically attracted to the magnetic rods 86 of the magnetic filter assembly 70 as the bulk dry material passes through the metal removal unit 20. When the magnetic rods 86 are sufficiently covered with the metal particles, the pneumatic conveying system is turned off, and the latches 102 on the sidewalls 28a, 28b of the housing 22 are moved to the open position as described above. Next, a user grasps the handle 74 on the magnetic filter assembly 70 and pulls it outwardly away from the housing 22. The wiper plate 56 removes some of the magnetic particles from the outer surfaces of the magnetic rods 86 as the magnetic rods 86 move through the throughholes 62 of the wiper plate 56 when the magnetic filter assembly 70 is being moved outwardly from the housing 22. The removed particles fall into a basket or compartment attached to the metal removal unit and removed or the metal particles are removed by hand from the metal removal unit. Any metal particles remaining on the magnetic rods 86 are removed by hand using a cloth or other suitable removal method. After the magnetic rods 86 are cleaned, i.e., after the metal particles are removed from the outer surfaces of the magnetic rods, the magnetic filter assembly 70 is pushed inwardly into the housing 22 until the cover plate 72 contacts the housing 22. The latches 102 are then moved to the closed position so that the hook members 106 apply tension to the opposing sides of the cover plate 72 to sealingly engage the magnetic filter assembly 70 with the housing 22.
In the above embodiment, the arrangement of the magnetic rods 86 in the magnetic filter assembly 70 forms a v-shaped pattern where one magnetic rod 86a is positioned in a central area of the base plate 76 and two sets of magnetic rods 86b, 86c and 86d, 86e are spaced from the magnetic rod 86a at an angle on both sides of the magnetic rod 86a. Specifically, magnetic rods 86b and 86c are positioned on an angle relative to the magnetic rod 86a a on a first side of the magnetic rod and magnetic rods 86d, 86e are positioned at an angle from an opposing second side of the magnetic rod 86a. In an example embodiment, the v-shaped pattern of the magnetic rods 86 is formed by spacing the magnetic rods 1.0 inch horizontally from center (or from a longitudinal axis extending through magnetic rod 86a) and 1.0 inch vertically from the magnetic rod 86a, and spacing the magnetic rods 86d and 86e 2.0 inches horizontally from center and 1.0 inch vertically from the centers of the magnetic rods 86b and 86c. It should be appreciated that the magnetic filter assembly 70 may have any suitable number of magnetic rods 86 having any size and shape, and the magnetic rods may be arranged in any suitable pattern.
This arrangement of the magnetic rods 86 helps to minimize disruption of the flow of the bulk material through the metal removal unit 20 as well as evenly spreads the bulk material over the magnetic rods 86 as the bulk material flows through the metal removal unit 20 to effectively filter the metal particles from the bulk material. Also, the arrangement of the magnetic rods 86 maintains “voids” or spaces behind the magnetic rods to trap the metal particles and other contaminants so that the trapped metal particles and other contaminants do not re-enter the flow of the bulk material.
In the above embodiment, the transparent member 52 on the front wall 24 of the housing 22 enables a user to directly, visually inspect the interior of the metal removal unit and more specifically, the magnetic rods 86, without having to shut off the pneumatic conveying system and disrupt the operation of the processing system. In this way, the magnetic rods 86 in the magnetic filter assembly 70 are inspected during the operation of the pneumatic conveying system, which provides instant information on the types and amount of metal contaminants in the bulk material being conveyed, the source or sources of the metal contaminants, for example, which railcar or vehicle includes the bulk material with metal contaminants, and helps to reduce downtime due to manually opening the metal removal unit 20 to inspect the magnetic rods 86, which reduces efficiency and increases processing costs.
While particular embodiments of the present metal removal unit are shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention in its broader aspects and as set forth in the following claims.
