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Rail Car Unloading – USA

A Kongskilde pneumatic conveying solution for quickly unloading rail cars that eliminates the risk of contamination and melting granulates.

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The Challenge

This US-based company is one of the largest producers in the American plastic bag industry. The company needed a flexible conveying solution that could provide fast and reliable transport of PP and PE pellets from rail cars. The rail car siding has room for up to 5 cars to be parked for unloading, each having 4 ports to pull the pellets from. The pellets will then be blown into any one of 10 different 31-meter high silos within a tight timeframe.

The conveying solution had to be 100% free of any kind of contamination, including moisture and or other materials. If moisture and/or foreign particles get into the silos, it can have devastating economic consequences. The total cost of ownership should be less than for their previous conveying system with PD pumps.

The Solution

  • The system consists of modular standard elements and ensures a conveying system that brings the pellets safely into the silos in time, no matter from which rail car the pellets are being vacuumed from.
  • The solution consists of 2 TRL 600 blowers to overcome the distance and the need to keep the air temperature as low as possible. This secures a high-performance pneumatic solution that is 100% free of contamination.
  • The Kongskilde conveying system is a cost-effective investment with low operating/maintenance costs.
The system consists of modular standard elements and ensures a conveying system that brings the pellets safely in the silos in time, no matter from which rail car the pellets are being vacuumed from

The Advantages and Benefits

  • The high flexibility and modularity of Kongskilde conveying solutions assure easy installation and the ability to meet special requirements.
  • Next time the customer builds a new silo, it is less costly to upgrade the system. Kongskilde just installs a new pipeline.
  • The high-performance solution exceeds other conveying systems in terms of safe operation without the risk of contamination of the plastic pellets.
  • By utilizing 2 Blowers – one for the vacuum side and one for the pressure side – we are able to minimize heat build-up over the ambient temperature in the conveying line, thereby reducing the risk of creating “streamers” in the pipeline.
  • Less need for maintenance of the Kongskilde pneumatic solution contributes to low operating costs.
Next time the customer builds a new silo, it is less costly to upgrade the system. Kongskilde just installs a new pipeline

The Facts

  • Material: PP and PE Pellets
  • Dimensions: pellets max Ø 3mm, grid max Ø 1mm
  • Requested solution providing a flow of 15-20 metric tons of pellets per hour to the 31 meters high silos
  • Bulk density: approx. 520 kg/m3
  • Conveying distance: H: max 31 m. V: max 28 m
Conveying distance: H: max 31 m. V: max 28 m