Home / Industries / Chemicals

Chemicals

Ensuring reliable powder flow and a first-in, first-out vessel discharge pattern is crucial in preventing throughput limitations, maintaining uniform product quality, and minimizing cross-contamination of batches for optimal unit operations in blending, extrusion, conveying, and heating/cooling processes.

Consult An Engineer Consult An Engineer

Overview

Chemicals

75% of chemicals are handled in bulk solid form during their manufacture.

The chemicals industry provides the building blocks for companies manufacturing paints, pigments, coatings, adhesives, resins, consumer products, and foods.

This industry continues to focus on debottlenecking projects involving bulk material handling in silos, bins, transfer chutes, and conveyors to maximize plant efficiency, throughput capacity, and safe operation.

Raw material receiving silos from railcar unloading.

Chemical industry silos

Services

Chemical Industry Services

Whether you are conveying raw materials from storage silos to a process, feeding powders to a reactor, or packaging products in bulk, we can help you achieve reliable material flow and high throughput capability.

On-site audit to review process or flow problem
Raw, intermediate, final grade flow testing
Storage vessel, chute, or feeder design
Pneumatic conveying testing
Silo structural engineering (new, retrofit)
Pilot-scale process modeling

Engineers conducting a railcar inspection at a chemical manufacturing facility.

Challenge

Common Chemicals Industry Challenges

When feeding powders to reactors or conveying wet cake from a centrifuge to a dryer, poor material flow can result in throughput limitations, non-uniform product, or dust emissions/spillage. Reliable solids handling at chemicals plants will improve unit operations involving blending, extrusion, pneumatic or mechanical conveying, and heating/cooling. Reliable powder flow and a first-in, first-out vessel discharge pattern (mass flow) is desired to minimize cross-contamination of batches and ensure process efficiency.

Chemical powder

Materials

Common Materials Handled

Here is a shortened list of some of the most common bulk materials we have successfully handled in the Chemicals industry to date. For more materials, please refer to our extended list of materials or ask us about your specific material.

Organics, inorganics
Carbon black
Titanium dioxide
Catalysts
Phosphates
Sulfates
Salts, acids
Silicates
Carbonates
ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene), Crumb, Pellets, Polymer, Resin, Terpolymer;
AC Base
AC Base Ethyl
Acetylene Lampblack
Acid
- Adipic
- Ascorbic
- Benzenephosphinic
- Benzoic
- Boric
- Fumaric
- Isophthalic
- Methyl Thiobenzoic
- Salacylic
- Stearic, Rubber Grade
- Terephthalic
- Trimellitic
- Trichloroisocyanuric
Alginate Impression
Alumina
- Activated
- Ash
- Beads
- Blast Media
- Catalyst Fines
- Flash Calcined
- Flour
- Gel
- Hydrate
- Reacted
- Trihydrate
Aluminum
- Acetate
- Fluoride
- Oxide
- Sludge
- Trihydrate
Amitriptylene HCl
Ammonium
- Nitrate Prills
- Paratungstate
- Sulfate
- Thiocyanate
Anatase
Antimony Trioxide
Arsenic Trioxide
Barium
- Carbonate
- Ferrite
- Nitrate
- Stearate
- Titanate
Benzophenone
Beryllium Oxide
Boron Nitrate
Bromicide Powder
Burnt Lime
Calcium
- Carbide
- Carbonate
- Carbonate, Precipitated
- Caseinate
- Chloride
- Gluconate
- Magnesium Acetate
- Phosphate
- Phosphate Tribasic
- Precipitated
- Silicide
- Stearate
- Sulfate
Carbon
- Activated
- Black
- Black Beads
- Butts
- Coating Magnesium Powder
- Fibers
- Fines
Catalyst
- Fresh
- Rainey Nickel
- Spent
Chrome
- Oxide
- Salt Cake
Copper
- Hydroxide
- Sulfate
Crystalline Silica Dust
Diammonium Phosphate
Dicalcium Phosphate
Disodium Phosphate, Anhydrous
Epsom Salt
Foam
Fumed Silica
Gypsum, Synthetic
High Calcium Hydrate
Hydroxypropyl Cellulose
Iron Carbonate
Lithium Carbonate
Lithium Hydroxide
Magnesium
- Carbonate
- Chloride
- Dioxide
- Oxide
- Oxide, Burned
- Stearate
- Sulfate, anhydrous
- Sulfate, Hepta Hydrated
Manganese
- Carbonate
- Dioxide
- Oxide
Methyl Imidazoline
Molybdenum Disulfide
Monoammonium Phosphate
Monocalcium Phosphate
Monosodium Phosphate
Neopentyl Glycol Hydroxypivalate
Nickel Sulfate
Organic Peroxide
Phosphono Methyglycine
Phosphorous Pentasulfate
Polyvinyl Chloride
Potassium
- Ferrate
- Bicarbonate
- Butoxide
- Carbonate
- Chloride
- Citrate
- Hydroxide, Anhydrous
- Nitrate
- Permanganate
- Stearate
- Sulfate
Salt
- Briquettes
- Cake
Silica
- Dust
- Gel Catalyst
- Hydrogel
- Laden Carbon Black
- Precipitated
Silicon Carbide
Sodium
- Acetate
- Aluminosilicate
- Anhydrous
- Bentonite
- Bicarbonate
- Borohydride
- Carbonate
- Caseinate
- Chlorate
- Chloride
- Chromate
- Citrate
- Cyanate
- Hexameta Phosphate
- Hydroxide
- Metasilicate
- Nitrate
- Perborate
- Perborate, Anhydrous
- Percarbonate
- Phosphate
- Silicate
- Sulfate
- Sulfate, Anhydrous
- Sulfate, Purified
- Tetraborate
- Triphosphate
- Tripolyphosphate
Stannous Chloride
Strontium
- Carbonate
- Ferrite
Sulfone Monomer
Sulfur
Sulphate Fines
Tetrapotassium
Pyrophosphate
Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate
Thermoplastic Traffic
Marking w/Plasticizers
Titanium Dioxide
Tricalcium Phosphate
Urea
- Coated
- Cyanurate
- Prills
Zinc
- Carbonate
- Oxide
- Sulfate
Zirconium
- Sulfate
- Sulfate Octahydrate