Material: Wood char.

Product: Charcoal briquettes.

Challenge: Source a slide gate that will seal the material handled, and is maintenance friendly.

Results:

In fall 2002, the company installed a new wood processing system. During the process, wood is introduced into a kiln. Inside the kiln, the wood is partially burned by incomplete combustion. This process turns the wood into wood char. When mixed with a binder, two products emerge from the process: food flavoring, and charcoal briquettes.

Based on the application’s demands, a Vortex Roller Gate was applied at the discharge outlet of the silo. The valve was modified with a round-to-square inlet adapter, also containing a tube stub with sock bead. A flexible hose was also incorporated to isolate the valve from the silo’s vibrating bin bottom – a device used to assist the flow of materials through bins using vibrations.

The valve was in service for three years before minor maintenance was performed to replace the bonnet seals. A key feature of the Vortex Roller Gate is that seals can be replaced while the valve remains in service.