Reliable Handling for Nutritional Powders

Pet food production relies on a wide range of powdered ingredients, including amino acids, vitamins, minerals and other nutritional additives. These materials may differ in bulk density, flow behaviour and moisture sensitivity, but they share one common requirement: they must move from receiving to production without unnecessary exposure, repeated manual handling or loss of process control. VOLDE develops integrated systems that take these materials from big bag intake into bulk storage and onward to the required production points. The complete arrangement is configured around the properties of the powder, storage demand, conveying distance and the way the production lines consume the material.

| From Big Bags to Silo Storage

In a typical application, the additive arrives at the factory in big bags and is discharged through a FREEBAG Big Bag Discharge System. The bag is positioned with the lifting system, connected to the discharge section and emptied through an enclosed interface, keeping the receiving point clean and limiting the product’s contact with ambient conditions.

From there, the powder is transferred pneumatically to the storage silos using DENSPLUS dense-phase conveying. This is particularly suitable for fine nutritional powders where excessive conveying velocity, air consumption or prolonged exposure to the environment is undesirable.

The silo section can be configured with one or more 50–80 m³ skirted silos, depending on required storage capacity and production strategy. Silo-top filtration, level monitoring and suitable discharge equipment are incorporated as part of the storage concept so that the material is ready for the next process step as soon as it is required.

| Process Supply from Bulk Storage

Once the powder is in the silo, the material flow shifts from manual bag handling to process supply. Depending on the factory layout, the stored additive can be transferred to mixers, intermediate hoppers, dosing units or other production points. Dedicated silos keep different raw materials separated, while the downstream routing is organized according to production demand.

For installations with several destinations, the transfer sequence can be managed through PLC/SCADA automation. Source selection, silo level, material request, conveying status and alarms can be followed from the same system, creating a clear connection between raw-material storage and the production process.

| Less Bag Movement. Better Material Flow

Moving every big bag individually to the production area creates unnecessary internal logistics. Bulk storage changes that workflow. The material is received once, transferred to the silo and then supplied where it is needed. This reduces forklift and bag movement inside production, improves stock organization and allows raw-material handling to become part of the process rather than a separate warehouse activity.

| Dust Safety & ATEX Oriented Engineering

Fine feed additives can require additional dust-safety measures depending on their composition and particle characteristics. For this reason, ATEX requirements are considered according to the actual material and the project risk assessment rather than applied as a generic statement.

Where required, the system can incorporate explosion venting on silos, Ex-rated electrical equipment, grounding and equipotential bonding, enclosed transfer points and local dust extraction.

VOLDE treats dust safety as part of the complete handling concept, covering the path from FREEBAG unloading and DENSPLUS conveying to silo storage and downstream process supply.