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Guttridge Powder IBCs and Dischargers

General

Guttridge Limited offer a range of containers used as a means of reliable packaging for the storage, transport and controlled dispensing of bulk materials the risk of cross contamination. All types are supplied with self supporting frames as standard and are also available to meet unique customer project designs.

Specification

The hopper discharge angle can be specified from 30° to 70° to suit individual material flow characteristics and coupled with various outlet valve options. The main access aperture is fully sealed and doubles as the filling point; various top connections are also available to cover ventilation, gas purge and vacuum relief requirements.

Typical Applications

Traditionally, IBC manufacturers rely on a loose cone valve to close under gravity but it is not possible to 100% guarantee that the cone will always re-centre or seat accurately, resulting in leakage. This is due to material loading/flow characteristics or deviation in tolerances between the container and its discharge station.

The Guttridge valve and associated discharge station incorporates a unique guiding system, assuring that the cone returns firmly and centrally into its sealing position when closed, hence preventing leakage on the discharge station or in transit.

Guttridge advanced cone valve system provides an ideal solution. Currently 3 variants of advanced cone valve are available to suit different applications and an extensive range of materials.

The BPK-2 and BPK-3 offer high containment, extremely accurate product flow and dosing control and are ideally suited to most industries.
The BPK-4 is a totally unique cone valve developed to achieve Biosafety Level 3 containment for the pharmaceutical industries, it can therefore handle very dangerous and toxic materials safely.

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Standard Features and Options

For free flowing powders the discharge outlet can be fitted with a slide or butterfly valve. This can be manually operated or, when the container is fitted onto a mating discharge station, can be actuated by means of a double acting pneumatic cylinder.
Accurate dosing can be achieved by linking to a weighing and control system.

However powders with inherently difficult flow characteristics will often 'bridge' or 'rathole' within the container. Bridging occurs when the powder compacts itself over the outlet and will not flow. Ratholing produces a small inner core of powder that will readily flow, leaving an immovable larger outer core of powder which is resistant to being discharged.

For many years the cone valve has been used to aid product discharge of these difficult materials. These devices consist of an inner cone within the IBC which shuts off the flow of product from the container allowing it to be transported as required.

For discharge to take place the IBC is docked with a mating discharge station which incorporates a method of lifting the cone, forming an annular gap around the cone, allowing product to discharge.
Raising the cone higher increases the size of the gap and thus increases the flow rate.

The action of lifting the cone inside the container can help move products that have 'bridged' or 'ratholed' within the container and, by using an external sensor and control logic to vary the lift height of the cone, accurate batch transfers and product flow rates can be achieved.

Recent advances in the control of the standard outlet valve options allow Guttridge IBC systems to out-perform other (often higher priced) alternatives, whilst the positive sealing techniques allow high levels of containment to be achieved, far out performing comparable products.