AirSweep Protects Product Quality with First-in, First-out Flow

Organic feeds mill increases productivity, product safety and efficiency

A producer of feed products for organic livestock is known for its high-quality, GMO-free grain. This company runs a certified-organic facility and uses computerized batching and mixing to protect its product integrity. However, a recurring problem affected its quality control: stagnant soybean meal.

Problem

Due to soybean meal’s high fat and protein content, it tends to have sluggish flow properties and stick to vessel walls. It is also more susceptible to becoming rancid.

The company’s soybean meal clumped, caked, and caused bridging and ratholing in their hoppers and cyclones. This slowed down production and increased the risk of product spoilage. A spoiled batch could lead to product recalls and damage their relationships with suppliers.

Solution

Most flow aids don’t work on soybean meal. Fluidizers can’t activate moist or sticky material. Vibrators leave residue on vessel walls and can cause metal fatigue – and any cracks along the maintenance welds increase the risk of product contamination.

Because AirSweep has a proven track record in the food industry for providing first-in, first-out flow for even the toughest materials, it was the ideal solution for this feed producer.

The company installed four AirSweep VA-51 units on their vessels, which included soybean hoppers and cyclone applications.

Results

AirSweep’s powerful air pulses resolved all bridging and ratholing, ensuring first-in, first-out flow of the soybean meal.

Since deploying AirSweep, the feed producer has been able to maintain on-demand flow with few operator interactions, increasing both productivity and efficiency while ensuring consistent product quality.