Alternative fuel system for Castle Cement

Portasilo have recently completed the proving trials for a meat and bone-meal storage and handling system for Castle Cement at their Ribblesdale Works.

The meat and bone-meal is used as an alternative fuel to reduce coal consumption at the works. The material is very difficult to handle, however, particularly in pneumatic conveying systems as the high fat content can lead to smearing and build-up in pipelines.

The system supplied by Portasilo included a large site-built storage silo to store approximately 240 tonnes of meat and bone-meal. A land-based blower for offloading tanks was also provided together with a dehumidification and chilling system. The flat-bottomed silo is fitted with a screw extractor that transfers product into a Portasilo loss-in-weight feeder, which in turn provides gravimetric discharge of 1–7 tonnes/h. The loss-in-weight feeder has been specially developed for cohesive products and incorporates a vertical agitator and screw discharge.

Portasilo have also developed a monitoring package and fire-protection system for the plant. This comprises carbon monoxide detection combined with multi-point temperature sensors and an inert gas deluge in the event that combustion is detected.

A pneumatic conveying system transfers meat and bone-meal to Castle Cement’s calciner through a 125mm diameter pipeline.

After the successful commissioning and trials Castle Cement have placed a second order for a similar system at their Ketton Works.