Conveying system successfully transfers carbon black prills from railcars to silos
A rubber hose producer installs a dense-phase conveying system to improve its plant's railcar unloading operation.
Parker Hannifin Corp., headquartered in Cleveland, operates a plant in McCook, Nebr., that produces rubber compounds and industrial hoses that are used by Parker Hannifin plants and sold to other companies. The McCook plant uses carbon black and other ingredients to make the various rubber compounds and hoses. In the past, the plant received the carbon black in 100-ton-capacity gravity-discharge railcars and used a vacuum and mechanical conveying system to move the carbon black into four storage silos. In 2002, the plant decided to improve the railcar unloading operation to increase the material unloading rate and decrease maintenance costs.