CASE STUDY
Investment made in contamination-free Z-CONVEYOR
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Koudijs Animal Nutrition has invested in the new contamination-free Z-Conveyor produced by Poeth.
he conveyor enables the complete unloading of light, fine premix powders. So this product is a fitting addition to Koudijs who produce animal feed, concentrates and premixes exclusively for (inter) national compound feed producers. For the exclusive premium piglet feed factory in Andel it is an important investment, specifically for the premium piglet feed factory where everything revolves around predictability reproducibility and quality. Every grain, kilogramme and tonne of feed must be homogeneous and of exactly the required composition and in addition to this produced time and again in precisely the same hygienic way.
Empty tanks, silos and transport systems prevent carryover
Piglets have a sensitive digestive tract, which is still fully in the development phase; they also eat differently to older pigs. The factory in is based on a number of crucial production factors that fulfil very specifically the feed requirements of young piglets. These factors focus on creating a constant taste and homogenous composition of every grain and every batch of feed and on achieving a high level of hygiene to prevent infections and allergies in young animals. The factory therefore has a very strict policy for the storage, handling and dosing of raw materials. This means that tanks and silos are always first completely emptied and thoroughly cleaned before being filled with new stocks to prevent carry-over.
Light powders are more difficult to empty when using traditional bucket elevators
A bucket elevator system is ideally suited to the vertical transport of fragile products. With these systems buckets transported on 88 | April 2017 - Milling and Grain
a belt or chain scoop dry raw materials from the elevator base (supply point). At the height of the unloading point, the product is thrown powerfully out of the buckets by centrifugal force. To throw products out of the buckets a certain distance, raw materials need to be of a minimum weight. This means that light, fine powders are often not thrown far enough out of the buckets and via the transport shaft end up back in the elevator base. This results in loss of capacity and contamination in the elevator base. Moreover, in order for traditional bucket elevator systems to operate well a small space between the buckets and the elevator base is needed; because of this gap after every batch a relatively large quantity of product remains behind in the base. The complete emptying of transport systems is one of the main conditions for efficient and contamination-free processing of powders, grains and granular materials. In particular with the transport of light, fine powders the complete emptying of transport systems is easier said than done. For this reason the new conveyor minimises the amount of light powders left behind in transport systems and optimises production capacity. An additional advantage is the low energy consumption. The traditional bucket elevator system that transported the light, fine premix powders was a point in need of attention. This transport system where buckets are moved forward on a belt or chain works best with products with a minimal weight. Using centrifugal force products are then thrown out of the buckets with good results, however in practice it was found that these powders did not weigh enough. Consequently product residues were always left behind in the traditional bucket elevator. These residues fell back into the elevator base via the elevator shaft, thus limiting production capacity. In addition, the problem resulted in timeconsuming cleaning work after every product change.
Dust-free, hygienic transport thanks to completely sealed housing
The Z-Conveyor was specially developed for the hygienic transport of light, fine powders in the vertical, diagonal or horizontal direction. The innovative transport system consists of plastic flights that move forward on a chain within an enclosed trough. It was also developed for the hygienic transport of light, fine powders in the same directions. This innovative transport