We have innovatively combined the use of air-cushion technology with our standard belt conveyors to create The Belt Conveyor. Our customers can now benefit from a high-capacity conveying system that offers minimal equipment wear and very low operating costs as a result of reduced friction in the conveying line.

Like the Tubulator, our air-supported belt conveyor has a totally-enclosed design that protects the environment from dust emissions and reduces any material losses to a minimum. Rather than using a pipe as the key containment method, the belt conveyor uses a formed pan to support the belt, with a fully flanged cover over it to make it dust tight. The belt can comfortably conform to the profile provided by the pan without the added stretching needed to travel through a pipe.

The shape of the pan also mimics the geometry of a 35-degree idler conveyor, but without the rollers, therefore it still meets the industry-standard calculations for the USA’s Conveyors Equipment Manufacturers Association (CEMA).

MAGIC IN MOTION: AIR-SUPPORTED BELTS

The magic of the air-supported belt conveyor is in the way the air is delivered to support the belt. Each 3m section has access to a common header of pressurized air with air pressure sensors and flow meters installed to monitor it.  Under the carry-side pan, is a corresponding 3m-long pressurized air enclosure system, otherwise known as a plenum, which delivers air through holes at just the right pressure and airflow to lift the belt for essentially frictionless travel. 

Independent plenums of air can be individually set for each installation, matching the delivery of air for each application precisely and accurately. This patented air delivery method allows the Bruks air-supported belt conveyor to carry a wide variety of materials with diverse physical properties. 

In our Tubulator conveyor, pressurized air is generated over the length of the conveyor by fans located at every 250ft (80m) interval.

SMOOTH TRANSPORT IS BETTER THAN BUMPY

The Bruks air-supported belt conveyor offers an extremely smooth ride surface, eliminating the bumpiness characterized by traditional idler-supported belt conveyors. Therefore, material is discharged in exactly the same condition as when it was loaded onto the belt.

Idler belt conveyors have rollers spaced at 1.2m intervals, generating movement in the belt. The shaking that occurs over any distance encourages smaller particles to sift between larger ones, stratifying the load on the belt, which can have a significant impact on many downstream processes.

By the time material is discharged off the head pulley into the following chute the fines can be heavily concentrated at the surface of the belt, making belt cleaning more difficult. Our air-supported belt conveyor eliminates stratification.

COST-EFFECTIVE USE OF MODULAR COMPONENTS

The Bruks belt conveyor, like the Tubulator, uses a modular design. Its 3m sections consisting of carry side pan, return side pan or rollers, covers, air supplies and supporting structures, form the basis of the conveyor.

If the conveyor is fixed to the floor or ground, simple support legs are used. If it occupies and elevated position, a square truss surrounds the conveying elements and provides optimum strength and rigidity, matching our Tubulator’s minimalist support bent and tower requirements.  If desired, a walkway can be added for access and observation.

Common to all belt conveying methods, the head section contains the drive unit as well as multiple belt scrapers and cleaners. Depending on application requirements, the tail section can have impact beds or plates. In compliance with CEMA guidelines, tensioning on short belts is achieved by screw adjustment and gravity take-ups for longer conveyors.

Typical belt conveyor third-party components like weigh scales, metal detectors, magnets, and material sensor areas, for analyzing moisture content, for example, can all be accommodated.

With so much choice, it can be difficult to know how to optimize a solution that perfectly meets your needs. Our experts ensure that the combination of technology that you select works seamlessly together and delivers the highest possible operational efficiency for the lowest possible lifecycle costs.

Stacker reclaimers are a combination of technologies that pile and then retrieve dry bulk materials for onward conveying in a very efficient, controlled way. They also blend material, which is particularly important for organic commodities such as wood chips, bark or sawdust, to reduce fiber losses from microbial action and heat build-up in the pile.

Blending is particularly important when sources that feed the pile are different in some way, such as size distribution or moisture content. Manual pile management keeps these different materials together on the pile so they are reclaimed sequentially. Automated pile stacking and reclaiming produces layers of materials on the pile, then effectively blends them as they are reclaimed. Spikes of variability are smoothed as the materials are homogenized.

Our stacker reclaiming systems can handle a wide range of materials from aggregates, coal and iron ore to grains, sulfur and wood products. Automated stacking and reclaiming delivers the greatest efficiencies, but manual pile stacking management is occasionally used for massive piles of coal at power plants.

Bruks Siwertell delivers stacker reclaimers that form linear, semi-circular and fully circular piles in a range of sizes and capacities. Each machine has an optimized design taking into consideration the material being stored and the density and angle of repose. The geometry of circular stacking means that significant volumes of materials can be stored at a much lower cost than linear systems. However, when mega volumes are needed, the extent and expandability of a linear system cannot be beaten.

COST BENEFITS ENSURED

The biggest benefit of an automated stacking and reclaiming system is cost saving. Bruks stacker reclaimers are completely automated, requiring no operator or attendant. This is in contrast to using and maintaining expensive operator driven, mobile equipment 24 hours a day. In addition to continuous fuel consumption, these mobile machines damage wood chips and other sensitive materials as they drive over the pile. Our stacker reclaimers incur none of these costs and their carbon footprint is a fraction of a manually managed pile.

Bulk trucks are a flexible, efficient way to distribute the huge volumes of processed wood required by the bioenergy market and also by the pulp and particle board industries.

Although many facilities that require large-scale materials deliveries rely on them being transported by rail, the majority turn to secure their supply via road-based truck deliveries.

Bruks Siwertell has developed a unique truck unloading portfolio that focuses on the fastest, most efficient way to discharge both end-dumping and self-unloading trucks, so that onward processing is as effective as possible.

END-DUMPING TRUCKS RAISED WITH EASE

The majority of trucks in North America are end-dumping, requiring unique machinery to raise the truck and load so that material free-falls from the end of the trailer. Bruks Siwertell offers two versions of truck dump equipment: a back-on and a drive-over type.

Both the back-on and a drive-over truck dump systems offer excellent cycle times, supporting operations where a receiving facility can process hundreds of trucks a day. They are also well paired with our Bruks receiving hopper.

SELF-UNLOADING TRUCKS SUPPORTED BY SPECIALIZED HOPPERS

Whatever the truck type, we have system to support it; including self-unloading. These are more widely used in Europe and come in a variety of forms. Versions tip material out from the side and some use ‘walking floors’ to effectively push material out of the back of the trailer.

Worldwide, self-unloading trucks benefit from our range of Bruks receiving hoppers, including in-ground versions and variations of these, which are perfectly matched to suit the high efficiency profile of this truck type.

BRUKS SIWERTELL LEADS THE WAY IN GRAIN HANDLING

Grain handlers have to meet some of the most challenging dry bulk material demands. Import and export terminals are subject to massive surges in intake from the seasonality of crop harvests. Additionally, this is organic material that must be handled in a sensitive way to avoid spoilage.

Bruks Siwertell is the only manufacturer of grain-unloading systems that can deliver on all the needs of these operators. With our Siwertell screw-type ship unloaders, we can discharge grain and other agri-bulk commodities at rated capacities up to 1,800t/h. Added to this, our grain-handling attributes also include the highest continuous rated loading capacities, which are in excess of 3,000t/h.

Our grain handling systems provide exceptional environment-friendly performance with minimal dust and no spillage. Furthermore, the same machines, unloaders and loaders, can handle soybeans, meals and other non-free flowing foodstuff materials at these high capacities.

Efficient, clean conveying and storage and reclaiming systems can be matched to our grain unloaders and loaders.

Cargo degradation is a key consideration in grain handing. A successful material handling system for grain must offer extremely low degradation and crushing rates, minimizing the production of fines; powdery particles smaller than the individual grains.

Fines make grain difficult to aerate and increase spoilage rates. Fines must be removed before milling, so their presence in high enough levels can down-grade the quality of entire grain shipments. Furthermore, the greater the number of fines produced, the greater the dust emissions, raising the risk of fire and explosion in storage silos and other confined areas.

Siwertell ship unloaders are ideal for grain handling; their steady conveying velocity, with no particle collisions or crushing forces means that they avoid the cargo degradation concerns that traditionally accompany pneumatic unloaders, but maintain equivalent throughputs.

Our ship loaders and conveying systems offer similar gentle grain handling characteristics. We can provide independent test results to confirm the low levels of cargo degradation caused by our loaders, unloaders and conveying systems.