Alternative Airlock Valves Replace Rotary Valves

Aerodyne Environmental's Vacu-Valve is a low-maintenance material handling airlock valve that is a fraction of the cost of the rotary valves it replaces.

Two types of valves provide an economical way to manage dust discharged from bag filters or cyclone dust collectors under negative pressure: the open construction Vacu-Valve Platypus and the closed construction Vacu-Valve Armadillo.
   
The Vacu-Valve's fitted duckbill sleeve adjusts to the desired vacuum, and material is continuously discharged. It requires no controls, lubrication, or power supply, and easily handles abrasive materials. The duckbill sleeves come in a variety of options to best suit your application and also allows the Vacu-Valve to be used in high-temperature applications.
 
Tough Dusts Wear Out Valves
Foundries are very dusty places. Whether the dust is produced in mold making, metal melting, metal pouring, or finishing and treatment (heat treating, grinding, machining and finishing), the dust should be collected with a dust collector to provide a safe environment for your workers. The most common airlock used in foundries for dust collectors are rotary valves. However, there are downfalls to the use of rotary valves.
 
The Problems:
•    Abrasive dust wears out your rotary valve rotors and wipers
•    Maintenance can be costly and must be done often
•    Maintenance requires that the rotary valve be removed from the operation and taken apart
•    The rotors, bearings, and wipers must be replaced
•    Maintenance causes loss of production time and loss of profit at your facility
•    If routine maintenance is not done your system will not work correctly
 
The Solutions:
•    Vacu-Valve maintenance is simple and your plant operators will not have to do maintenance as often
•    Simply turn your system off, replace the duckbill sleeves and springs (if needed), and turn your system back on.
•    All routine maintenance can be done within 5-10 minutes and the valve does not need to be removed from the system
•    No loss of production time
•    Cost-effective, minimal replacement parts needed

Whether the dust collector is collecting dust from the molds (sands) or from the caster (metals) or even a combination, the Vacu-Valve is built to endure the abrasive nature typically found in foundries.
 
Fine, Free-Flowing Dust that Needs to Be Reclaimed
Spray dryers produce fine dry powder from a liquid or slurry by rapidly drying with a hot gas. The powders tend to have a consistent particle size distribution and are pretty fine. The spray dryers require an airlock to remove the product without letting the air out.

The Problems:
•    Constant use of your rotary valves causes maintenance issues
•    Maintenance is costly and cuts in on your production time
•    Your product reclamation can be difficult to achieve when rotary valves continue to break down
 
The Solution:
•    Vacu-Valves require little maintenance
•    Vacu-Valves are easy for you to install in your existing operations
•    All maintenance can be accomplished within 10 minutes
•    Reclamation of product is efficiently achieved
•    Variety of duckbill sleeve options to better suit the nature of your dust

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