The pellet silo: the professional expertise (more than 500 000 tons delivered with blowing system)
We would like to go over the general principles of designing a whole silo / boiler according to our expertise in terms of boiler supply for private or collective projects.
The importance of the silo
Silos are part of the heating system and should be sized according to the power of the boiler and layout requirements. Despite common belief silos are paramount in the heating system. They work as a buffer between the outside and the combustion chamber so to speak and must hence meet certain requirements such as: adequate feeding of the boiler, good storage conditions and a blower truck to deliver the pellets.
With twenty years of experience in pellet fuel we know about the processes this entails, from the selection of raw materials, control of the granulation, screening before loading to the delivery and dust removal, let alone the importance of a quality boiler and adapted technology…
Features: (We can provide control and monitoring of construction)
We highly recommend pellet storerooms, which are tight to air and water. We do seal testing.
Easy access for blower trucks is required (10 meters max)
Thread connection clapper valves (100mm) with easy access allowing good distribution of the pellets inside the silo and a connection for our ATEX vacuum cleaner (also allow 240V standard outlet nearby) for silo depressuring BEFORE delivery can begin (connectors must be grounded).
A hatch or manhole ideally on supply side
A shock-mat outside the valves
Suitable location of the vacuum valve
A 45° (minimum) smooth chute (we recommend ungraded floorboards)
A worm screw for unloading
We also recommend compressed air powered pellet conveying to the hopper
Why so many recommendations?
Our experience and knowledge in that field leads us to these recommendations to avoid any mistakes. Indeed we are always surprised to hear about stakeholders recommending textile or steel silos that do not need to meet any criteria and cannot produce good results. Furthermore they lack total knowledge in delivery techniques while we have been doing it for years with more than 400 000 tons delivered in blower mode…
During delivery, a large amount of low-pressure air is being blown in so as to move the pellets from the tank truck into the silo. This operation generates fine dust consisting of tiny fragments of wood due t
o friction, it is thus highly important to remove that dust. Our active dynamic dust extraction technique does exactly that. We believe that our proven techniques allow top quality of the stored pellets together with dirt-free silos. It also helps prevent the development of unpleasant smells that linger on for quite a while and due to molecular degradation, which are also emphasized by triboelectric effects.
It must also be noted that textile silos do not meet the standards of top quality delivery as fabric acts as a filter, which does not allow for dust or air removal from the silo.
The arguments we have decided to put forward are only based on the results of our research and we are aware that some may be taken aback, yet these are our personal conclusions and nothing else.
Finally, it is worth noting that we provide assistance in the design and implementation, from simple information to project management and throughout all the stages of our involvement according to your project. We can assist you or your plumber with your home heating projects, give architects useful advice or work closely with consulting firms.
