Biomass Boilers require a means of mechanically moving the solid fuel from the delivery vehicle to the fuel store. This can be principally achieved in three different methods. The fuel can be conveyed in air using a fan, mechanically conveyed using a conveyor system or by means of a system of augers.
Cavan Leisure Centre - Fan Blower System
In 2015 Cavan Leisure centre contacted Filtrex with a view to converting there pellet boiler and store and boiler to be able to burn wood chips. Due to the restrictive space available a material handling fan, auger and tough system was designed to allow the fuel store to be filled.
The system involves a trailer to tip the wood chips into a free standing trough, an auger conveys the wood chip along the trough to the fan which draws the wood chip in and blows vertically up through a pipe before ejecting the wood into the fuel store. A stop/start control systems regulates the feed rate of the feed auger so that it is matched to rate of material removal of the fan
Pharma Biomass Boiler – Multi Auger Filling System
In 2014 Filtrex undertook a project to design and build modular biomass system, this project involved building a boiler house, fuel store and fuel filling mechanism off site, which could then simply be lifted onto site and each module connected to reduce the any potential disruption to the client. The design brief called for a fuel filling system which could unload a trailer in less than an hour.
The complexities of the site meant that a multi-augured system was needed to transfer the fuel from the unloading site to the fuel store. The fuel is first emptied into a hopper, where an auger transfers it to vertical auger, the fuel is then transferred horizontally across the roof of the fuel store and dropped through the roof in three drop in points. Three levelling augers then move the chip once built up throughout the fuel store. The control system ensured that each auger came on sequentially and stopped when each section was full ensure that completely full, thus saving power without running the risk of blocking the augers.
Moyderwell Regeneration Project – Conveyor System
In 2010 Filtrex was involved in the Moyderwell Regeneration Project, supplying and installing the biomass boiler system. This project was built on a residential area and as such the site space was extremely limited, and the fuel filling equipment needed to be out of reach of public road users. To this end a sunken hopper and conveyor system was built into the road adjacent to the fuel store, the hoper was cover by a hydraulically activated lid which when closed allowed the traffic to drive over it. When filling the fuel store the lid could be opened and the wood chip transferred under the pedestrian pavement and up and into the system. The system allows for a very small footprint, and allows the fuel store to be filled extremely quickly thus reducing any impact on the resident and other road user.
Argyll Estates – Filling and Conveying Systems
As part of a project to dry wood chip Filtrex was charged with designing a system that could fill a small drying store and then transport the fuel to two fuel stores or a waiting trailer for transportation onwards. A trough and auger system was installed to fill the drying store, this received wood chip into a hopper transferring the wood chip vertically and then horizontally. The horizontal auger transferred the wood chip into the store and acted at a fuel levelling system to ensure the store was full to capacity.
At the other end of the drying store the wood chip was emptied the in a conveyor which transferred the wood chip into the first of two fuel stores. The filling of these stores was controlled by two sluice gates, once each store was full the sluice gates automatically close and the fuel moves on to the new store.
Any excess fuel can transferred through the second fuel store to a levelling auger which fills and levels the waiting trailer. The system is designed to be automatic, and allows the dying process to operate without operator.