Pneumatic Unloading Systems
Pneumatic Unloading Systems are commonly used to unload soda ash from railcars are used in a wide variety of applications.
Pneumatic systems are best used for unloading rates below 25 tons per hour and when the storage tank can be located in close proximity to the rail unloading point.
Common Types
There are two basic types of pneumatic unloading packages, vacuum-positive pressure or positive pressure. The vacuum-positive pressure method, which uses a vacuum to puff soda ash from the car unit (which in turn uses positive pressure to blow product to storage) can be used with both the standard gravity discharge railcars and with railcars equipped for pneumatic unloading. The positive pressure method can be used with standard gravity discharge railcars and with pressure differential (PD) pneumatic railcars. These systems require readily available pneumatic transfer packages. FMC can assist in the selection of a vendor of such equipment.
Typical Advantages
- Low capital cost vs. mechanical systems
- Flexible design and operating parameters
- Less prone to water incursion and eliminates spurious dusting
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