BTI of Park Hills MO announced the addition of a trailer mounted air-to-air cooler for pneumatic dry bulk tank trailers in the transport of heat-sensitive products such as sugar, plastic pellets, and resins.
In the pneumatic unloading process, compressed air is the conveying medium. When air is compressed it generates heat. The higher the pressure the greater the temperature and temperatures up to 350°F, in a typical operation, can be hazardous to the product load.
As the pressure of the pneumatically conveying air rises, the temperature of the product also raises causing plastic pellets to melt and sugar to caramelize. The composition of the pellets sticks together or breaks down into “angel hair,” rendering them useless. Plastics, sugar, and other heat sensitive products melt and coat the tank hoppers, outlets and the discharge line, requiring lengthy and expensive clean up procedures.
According to company officials, the new cooler system cools discharge air to approximately less than half of inlet temperature before the air enters the tank. The cooler’s heat exchanger is rated for 1,100 SCFM and is equipped with two electric fans.
Constructed out of aluminum, it is durable and lightweight. The fans are powered by the tractor’s electrical system, using the 7-pin harness at the front of the trailer. The cooler is installed in the air supply line between the blower and the hopper tank, allowing the conveying air to be routed through the heat exchanger, and cooled by the fans. An automatic pressure sensor switch controls the fans, eliminating possible operator failure to activate the fans.
The cooler comes standard with a victaulic groove on the piping stub coming from the cooler, intake and discharge ports. This provides a trouble free connection protecting the pipe-to-cooler connection and the elimination of welding to the cooler.
100% American-made, the Air-to-Air Cooler will be available for shipment in spring of 2016. This is another exciting example of BTI’s innovative product design, and as with all their products, Bulk Tank Inc unconditionally guarantees this product will outperform any similar product on the market today.
For more information, call 1-800-841-5524 (573-518-0600) or visit www.bulktankinc.com.