Patent Application
20240050997
The present application relates generally to a cleaning system for railcars, and more particularly to a pneumatic cleaning system for railcars that is more efficient and reduces costs associated with the cleaning process and the processing of waste generated by the cleaning process.
The conventional cleaning process for railcars, which are used to ship granular dry bulk solids (contaminant sensitive commodities, such as plastic pellets or commodities that require cleaning between shipments of various grades and types), is to use pressurized (sometimes heated) water or water with chemical additives to wash the interior surfaces of railcars, via the top hatches, of the railcars, and collect the dirty water and washed out materials through the lower discharge outlets of the railcars. The dirty water resulting from the cleaning process must be contained, screened and treated. Similarly, the collected washed out materials must be either disposed of or dried for recycling or disposal. Additionally, the interior of the railcar must be dried using heated, pressurized air.
The entire cleaning process is costly and requires special equipment, facilities, permits and personnel. As such, the conventional cleaning process is energy inefficient due to the multi-stage process, which yields waste water and waste materials that must be further treated to meet government standards for disposal or recycling. The process is also environmentally risky due to the chemicals used to treat the water and inherent risk of treating water which will be released back into the environment that could contain chemicals or contaminants.
In some cases, railcars are sent to be cleaned and contain large amounts of unintentionally unloaded materials, or in the terminology of the industry, a heel. In these cases, the railcars may need to be moved to another location for unloading, which is wasteful and costly, or the cleaning process is used in which the inefficiencies of the cleaning process are compounded due to handling large amounts of materials, rather than the expected residual amounts of materials withing the railcars.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a railcar cleaning system that enhances efficiency, reduces costs and reduces waste materials that require further processing after the cleaning process.
The present railcar cleaning system is configured for cleaning an interior space of one or more compartments of a railcar by generating a high velocity vacuum within the interior space to remove materials remaining within each compartment. By using solely air without any water or chemical additives, the present railcar cleaning system is energy efficient and cleans the interior space of the railcar efficiently with minimal impact on the environment thereby reducing the costs and time associated with cleaning compartments of a railcar.
In an embodiment, a railcar cleaning system is provided and includes a railcar having a compartment with an inlet and an outlet, a filter system connected to the outlet and a vacuum generator connected to the filter system, where the vacuum generator generates a vacuum within the compartment of the railcar so that air flows from the inlet of the compartment toward the vacuum generator, and wherein the filter system removes material and particles from the air.
In another embodiment, a railcar cleaning system is provided and includes a railcar having a plurality of compartments, where each of the compartments including an inlet and an outlet, a filter system connected to the outlet of each of the compartments and a vacuum generator connected to the filter system, wherein the vacuum generator generates a vacuum within each of the compartments of the railcar so that air flows from the inlet of each compartment toward the vacuum generator, and wherein the filter system removes material and particles from the air.
The present railcar cleaning system includes a pneumatic assembly that generates air flow through an interior of a railcar for cleaning the interior space and interior surfaces of the railcar without using water or other chemicals, where the present railcar cleaning system is more efficient, cost effective and environmentally friendly than conventional railcar cleaning systems.
Referring now to
The vacuum generator 22 in the present railcar cleaning system 20 includes a pneumatic device 50 operated by pressurized gas, such as pressurized air, that pneumatically conveys bulk materials, particles and air through the compartments 26 of the railcar 24 to the outlets 32 associated with each compartment and then to a desired storage location or other location. Pneumatic conveying may be performed either by generating pressure or a vacuum where a pressure system uses positive pressure and a vacuum system uses negative pressure.
The pneumatic device 50 in the present cleaning system 20 uses either dilute phase or dense phase technology to transport the material out of a railcar. Dilute phase technology is a high-velocity system where the material being conveyed is continuously suspended in the air as it is pressured or vacuumed through a pipeline. Dense phase technology commonly refers to materials that move in relatively low velocities and are not air-borne in transit, these staggered amounts are called slugs. In the illustrated embodiment, the pneumatic device is a high-velocity system that transports or moves residual material from the interior of the compartment or compartments of a railcar through an outlet to a filter assembly or storage container. It should be appreciated that the pneumatic device 50 may be any suitable pneumatic device for conveying material through and out of the compartments 26 of a railcar 24.
Referring to
In an embodiment, the outlets 32 of the compartments 26 of the railcar 24 are connected to a filter system 68. As shown in
In operation, air flows through the railcar compartments 26 (typically four compartments per railcar) by connecting the vacuum generator 22 to the outlet 32 of each compartment 26 via piping and hoses, i.e., the inlet connectors 30. The hatch 82 is associated with the inlet 84 to each compartment 26 (located on the roof 86 of the railcar 24) is opened. The hatch includes a lid that is movable between an open position shown in
Granular materials and particles that are in the interior space 88 of each compartment 26 and/or in the discharge outlets 32 are carried off by the vacuum. Any dust particles which are free and in the compartments 26 and discharge outlets 32 are carried off by the vacuum. Dust particles that were suspended or falling in the air inside each compartment 26 are carried by the high velocity air flow stream to the discharge outlet 32 and carried off by the vacuum. (See
Friction, static or sticky residues may cause granules or dust to stick to certain areas of the interior surfaces 54 of the compartments 26. Operators use specially adapted pneumatic tools, such as the pneumatic tool 52 shown in
The material and particles removed from the interior spaces 62 and the discharge outlets 32 are pneumatically conveyed via hoses and piping to a container 76 for packaging. Large amounts of leftover material and particles are taken directly to a filter system 68 (commonly known as a “baghouse” or “sockhouse”) for collection as shown in
In the above embodiments, the present railcar cleaning system 20 removes material and particles from the interior space of each compartment of a railcar solely using air to enhance the efficiency of cleaning of railcars while eliminating the need for chemical additives and water that are costly and require additional wastewater processing after the cleaning process is complete. In this way, the present railcar cleaning system 20 is more energy efficient and environmentally friendly comparted to conventional cleaning systems.
While particular embodiments of the present railcar cleaning system is 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.
