AirSweep is a versatile flow aid that can be used in any industry that requires bulk material processing. It can activate the most challenging material, including sticky pastes, heavy pebbles and mined materials, or rock-hard clumps of powders.
How does AirSweep work?
AirSweep is one of the most cost-efficient ways to improve bulk material processing. Its powerful air pulses break up cohesive friction and sweep material back into the flow stream.
AirSweep has a higher pressure and power than fluidizers, and won’t damage the vessels like vibrators. It also consumes less energy than air cannons and air knockers and uses air more efficiently because of its controlled, sequential pulses.
That’s why many companies trust AirSweep to improve their bulk material processing. Here are some ways they use the system, and how it helps them save money, time, and effort.
Get smooth, on-demand material flow
Slow material flow lowers productivity and can increase manpower hours. In some cases, the plant needs to shut down for manual cleaning, which wastes time and can cause safety hazards because of worker exposure to hazardous material.
A cement company in Southeast Asia needed a flow rate of 20 to 30 tons per hour. However, materials solidified because of plant humidity. Despite using vibrators and air knockers, workers still had to hammer the silos. Each hour of downtime cost them $12,000 per hour. With AirSweep, they were able to solve this problem in just four days.
Reduce material waste
A food manufacturer in the United States handles 6,000 pounds of ground flax and cocoa powder per hour. However, the oil and fat content caused materials to bridge over the discharge and stick to all interiors, all the way to the filter bags. They had to throw away up to 40 pounds of mixture a day and even had to pay to have it hauled away.
They tried other flow aids. Vibrators compacted the material until it was like concrete. Fluidizers failed, and workers still had to hammer the vessels every day. Only AirSweep worked, improving material flow by 90% and eliminating the costs of material waste.
Reduce cleaning and maintenance times
An infant formula manufacturer produces several formulations in the same processing and packaging lines.
They used a labor-intensive, multi-step process of flushing and manual cleaning. After they installed AirSweep, they cut cleaning time from 40 hours to 10 hours. They pulsed the units during and after the batch runs, which improved blend uniformity and removed residual powders.
Protect factory and worker safety
A cheese company had issues with whey protein concentrate (WPC), which has a very high moisture and fat content and was prone to bridging over the discharge. Unfortunately, this wasn’t just delaying production. The caked material had sparked a fire in one of their baghouses. Bridging had become an urgent safety concern.
They chose the AirSweep USDA-accepted model, which could slice through material blocks “just like an air knife”. The model was also designed for sanitary processes, which was critical for compliance with stricter industry regulations.
Best flow aid for bulk material processing
AirSweep is used in thousands of plants worldwide to achieve on-demand material flow. Our clients include S&P companies and SMEs. Contact us to learn more about how it can be used in your process.
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