VAC-U-MAX Pneumatic Conveying System Delivers Optimum Performance in Corrosive Desert Environment

Belleville, NJ, November 28, 2012 - When Dead Sea Works Ltd, (DSW), one of the world's largest producer and supplier of potash products, decided to expand its Dead Sea facility product line to include potassium chloride suitable for food and pharmaceutical applications, Project Manager, Vlad Golick, was tasked with developing a proper area to package the pharmaceutical product into 55 lb and 2000 lb super sacks, and also a pneumatic conveying system to transfer the product to the packaging equipment.

Because the plant operates 24/7 there is no margin for error and Golick had to ensure that the vacuum conveyor equipment met with three minimum standards: 1) it had to withstand constant operation in the harsh desert environment that sits approximately 1200 feet below sea level, 2) was user friendly, and 3) flawless interaction with the hydroscopic nature of the product. The solution was a semi-custom engineered pneumatic conveying system from Belleville, NJ-based VAC-U-MAX. VAC-U-MAX, an expert in the design and manufacture of pneumatic conveyor systems and support equipment for conveying, batching, and weighing of dry materials (including flexible screw conveyors). The manufacturer couples its proven pre-engineered vacuum conveying system solutions with industry expertise to design custom solutions for processors.

The first consideration of the pneumatic conveying system manufacturer was the unique location and environment of the application. The Dead Sea has a very unique atmosphere with high temperatures and corrosive qualities. Therefore, the conveying system design needed to incorporate materials that could withstand high temperature and were also corrosion resistant. VAC-U-MAX decided that a vacuum conveyor system built from 316L stainless steel could withstand the harsh environment.

With equipment materials decided, VAC-U-MAX tested the hydroscopic material to ensure it would not absorb moisture and clump in the conveying tube and packaging equipment. To prevent this, the conveyor manufacturer tested and employed flow promotion devices such as aeration, agitation or vibration to keep the material moving with a transport weight of 5.5 tons per hour.

Beyond environmental factors, Golick says, "the equipment needed to be user friendly so that different language groups can operate it." The national language of Israel is Hebrew and Arabic, and English and Russian are the most popular unofficial languages in Israel. Therefore, the pneumatic conveying system is fully automated to run 24/7 with 30 operators rotating off with no operator attention required except to push a start button.

After running extensive tests at VAC-U-MAX's facility to ensure the pneumatic conveyor systems performed according to DSW specifications, a team from DSW visited the vacuum conveyor manufacturer's test facility to witness the equipment in action. Golick says, "we saw that the system could do its job and we issued a purchase order. The cost difference and technical assistance is where VAC-U-MAX had an advantage."

For the installation, a VAC-U-MAX team traveled to the Dead Sea facility. "The team worked crazy hours and didn't mind," says Golick. "We had more assistance than we expected from them. The two systems have been up and running since the beginning of the year and they are working without any problems so far," he says.

For more information about how a VAC-U-MAX pneumatic conveying system can improve plant efficiency, or to learn about the company's industrial vacuum cleaners write to them at 69 William Street, Belleville, NJ 07109; call 1-800-VAC-U-MAX (800) 822-8629 or (973) 759-4600; e-mail info@vac-u-max.com; or visit their website www.vac-u-max.com.