Loading Rail Cars Far Away From Storage Silos

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Question

I am consulting for a plant that produces about 150 tons of meat and bone meal daily. We would like to load rail cars on the plant site but the storage silos are about 1500 ft from the rail load out area. The conveyor would have to go vertical about 50 ft then across the roof to the rail load out area about 1500 ft. We would need three conveyors to route around obstacles on the roof. It needs to be dust and weather proof. The material weighs about 45 lbs/cu ft. Do you have any suggestions?

Answer

Since the rail cars are located 1500 ft from the storage silos, belt conveyors are your best option for conveying the meat and bone meal. I recommend a bucket elevator to transfer the product vertically 50 ft. The belt conveyors and the bucket elevator would be completely enclosed and weather proof. The system capacity of 150 tons per day could easily be handled with this system even if it was only operated 12 hours a day.

A screw conveyor could be used in the rail car loading area because of the ability to easily load multiple points on the rail cars. Belt conveyors, a bucket elevator, and a screw conveyor are a very economical solution to the conveying application. Typical materials of construction are carbon steel and utilize CEMA standard components.