Delft University of Technology
Faculty Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering Transport Technology
S.M. van Seters Het homogeniseren van stortgoed in bulksilo's.
Masters thesis, Report 94.3.TT.4359, Transport Engineering and Logistics.
The company Avebe produces 600.000 tons of potato starch annually. After the production 300.000 tons is stored temporarily in 13 mammoth silo's. The potato starch produced by Avebe varies in quality. These variations can be reduced by homogenisation of the produced starch. For the homogenisation of huge quantities of the bulk solid potato starch no homogenisation equipment is available.
The objective of this report is to design a homogenisation installation suitable for potato starch. This design has to be based on the mammoth silo's of Avebe.
Since no literature is available about the homogenisation of bulk solids in mammoth silo's, possible solutions are generated with the use of a structured design process. Out of the possible solutions, seven conceptual designs can be selected.
Characteristic of each conceptual design is the stacking and/or reclaiming of the bulk solid in coneshells. This in contrast with the present mammoth silo's that are stacking and reclaiming the bulk solid according to horizontal layers.
In favour of the homogenisation effect all conceptual designs have to be stacked in a continuous process until the mammoth silo is completely filled. This in contrast with the present mammoth silo's that are more flexible in their stacking and reclaiming procedures.
Dependent on the silo dimensions, using the optimum solution 80% of the silo contents can be homogenised.
It is concluded that mammoth silo's are suitable for both the covered storage and the homogenisation of the bulk solid potato starch. It is recommended to further work out the conceptual designs,
1. since no insuperable mechanical drawbacks are found.
2. since the homogenisation capacity is comparable with present homogenisation installation for large quantities of bulk solid (the so called blending piles)
3. since the conceptual designs in contrast with the present homogenisation installations (e.g. blending piles) are suitable for non free-flowing bulk solids like potato starch.
4. since the conceptual designs are based on the compact mammoth silo structure they are more volume efficient compared with the present homogenisation installations (e.g. blending piles).
Reports on Transport Engineering and Logistics (in Dutch)
