Laidig's Unique Hybrid Reclaiming Solution for Cement
Application Spotlight
Cement storage and handling is a complicated science. When St Marys Cement evaluated options for their new storage projects, Laidig Systems, Inc. was able to provide them with an innovative solution.
St Marys Cement is a leading manufacturer and supplier of cement in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, St Marys is also a significant producer of concrete and aggregates to various markets in the region. The company is part of the North American operations of international building materials supplier, Votorantim Cimentos, based in Brazil.
For more than 100 years, St Marys has been contributing to new construction, modernization and infrastructure improvements around the Great Lakes. Today, the company has manufacturing plants strategically located to serve high-growth markets, with docking facilities in both countries to take advantage of efficient water transportation. This association allows them to achieve synergies and economies of scale, strengthening their ability to provide excellent service and top products to builders of all sizes in all of their locations. There have been several traditional methods of reclaiming cement from large capacity structures. The methods vary significantly from the complete aeration of structure floors, to partial aeration with manual final cleanout (using front end loaders), to large mechanical reclaim systems. All of these options offer advantages and disadvantages, which primarily involve overall cost, level of automation and safety.
Laidig Systems worked with St Marys and other cement companies to develop a unique hybrid solution that best fit the needs of the industry. After considerable research and development, Laidig manufactured the Fluidized Screw Series Reclaim System as a cost-effective and automated solution to unload fluidizable materials in large-capacity storage structures. Laidig’s Fluidized Screw series offers superior performance and dependability for a wide range of fluidizable materials, such as cement, fly ash, talc, and other
powders. The Laidig Fluidized Screw system is engineered to provide a fully automated, near-total cleanout while breaking up the hard pack and avoiding the dead zones.
The Fluidized Screw Reclaim System was developed to satisfy the requirements of St Marys Cement, and in doing so, was engineered and manufactured with hybrid features that were paramount in the efficient and effective operation of their particular system. For St Marys, the Fluidized Screw Reclaim System was designed to meet their difficult material challenges and did so, along with some other key features: a fully automated system with dependable push button operation, a fully reversible sweep auger for maximum process flexibility, the ability to support storage diameters up to 164 feet (50 meters), the integration of an efficient air-gravity conveyor with a rugged mechanical screw reclaimer, and access to Laidig’s lifetime technical support.
The Fluidized Screw Reclaim System that Laidig developed for St Marys incorporates the best of two proven technologies to solve their material handling needs. The Fluidized Screw Reclaim System is a hybrid reclaiming solution that integrates a rugged mechanical screw reclaimer with an efficient air-gravity conveyor system to unload and clean out the dome. This fully automated reclaim system provides the efficiency of air-gravity conveyors along with the ruggedness of a mechanical screw reclaimer. In this process, air gravity conveyors—which consist of aerated center hubs and radial spokes—reclaim a large percentage of the total stored material. A series of air slides are used to fluidize the floor and cleanout a portion of the material in the dome. The air slide system is comprised of radial air conveyors, which are designed like spokes on a bicycle wheel, that extend out from the center. The air slides operate sequentially around the dome—not all working at once—which reduces the amount of power to operate them, and reduces uneven loads on the dome and foundation. This process will reclaim approximately 80% of the stored material, leaving behind large pie-shaped piles of material between each air slide.
To ensure final cleanout, the Laidig FS1010 Fluidized Screw Reclaim System is then engaged to unload the dome, further break down the material, and clean out the remaining hard packed piles to complete the process. To assist in activating the air-gravity zones within the storage facility, the Laidig System provides
an Intelligent Control System that sequentially activates the air-gravity zones to coincide with the location of the Laidig Fluidized Screw Reclaimer, to aid in the completion of the final cleanout.
Safety is also a high priority for St Marys and other companies storing materials in silos and domes, and one of the challenges is to ensure that plant personnel have safe and easy access into the structure. Laidig was proactive in their approach to help ensure that this wouldn’t be a concern when storing and transporting fluidizable materials such as cement. Laidig has engineered and developed new product innovations and pioneering technology that have changed how companies approach material storage from a safety perspective. The Laidig FS1010 Fluidized Screw Reclaim System has been designed as an automated storage and reclaim system process that requires no personnel entry—keeping safety as a top priority.
Laidig’s Fluidized Screw Reclaim Systems are designed specifically for heavy-duty applications requiring high-volume storage and reclaim of fluidizable materials. Laidig provides turnkey installations including the storage dome, the mechanical reclaim system, blowers, air gravity conveyors, and a customized fully automated control system. With dome diameters up to 164 feet (50 m) and discharge rates up to 250 metric tons per hour, the Fluidized Screw system is able to store and efficiently reclaim a high volume of fluidizable material in an automated process with zero personnel entry.
This rugged, extreme-duty reclaimer promotes First-In-First-Out (FIFO) material delivery to maintain material quality standards. Laidig Systems, Inc. has proven to be a trusted partner, and is committed to pioneering a total solution for industry-specific storage and material handling needs. The Laidig Fluidized Screw reclaimer is built with longevity and flexibility in mind. Designed to handle a wide variety of materials, the Fluidized Screw is ideal for fluidizable materials, including cement, fly ash, talc and powders. The Fluidized Screw provides a cost-effective, unique hybrid alternative to traditional fully fluidized floors, utilizing fluidized radial spokes to clean out a large portion of the storage vessel and a mechanical screw to reclaim the remaining piles of material.
Laidig is the world leader in the bulk storage and reclaim industry, specializing in screw-type bottom reclaimers in silos, domes, and open piles. Thousands of bulk storage and reclaim systems are installed worldwide, with new system designs continuously introduced to incorporate the latest technology and meet the challenges of today’s world. Laidig is proud to be setting the standards in the bulk storage and reclaim industry.
Known throughout the industry for their rugged, high-quality systems, Laidig excels in providing customized solutions for the storage and reclaim of materials with poor material flow characteristics or other special handling requirements. All over the World, Laidig provides solutions that assist in bulk storage and material handling problems that other companies are unable or unwilling to provide. According to Daniel Laidig, CEO of Laidig Systems, the commitment to being the best still stands today.
“We are providing solutions for large automated storage and reclaim needs with designs that are innovative, sound and guaranteed to work. This continues to illustrate the pioneering spirit, experience and leadership Laidig has throughout the world. It continues to prove that we can develop and deploy storage and reclaim solutions that no other company can.”
