Limitations in silo filling and emptying cycles due to structural constraints have always proved to be a major barrier in our industry. The increasing demand for speed and versatility in bulk storage operations has led to the search for solutions for maximising operational efficiency while complying with the highest safety standards. Prado Silos has been working for several years on new silo designs to provide greater structural integrity for each application, providing our clients with a safe and reliable range of solutions, in line with the increasingly demanding needs of an industry always asking for more, both in terms of volume and flexibility.
When running a large-scale operation involving silos, every single second counts: an optimisation of the loading and unloading process becomes essential in order to maximise efficiency and minimise costs. For industries with short production cycles requiring a constant flow of materials, the ability to load lorrys, trains and/or other vehicles straight from the silo, in a fast and safe manner, could mean the difference between success and stalemate for an entire value chain.
Indeed, the need for multiple silos to store large quantities of products is common in some sectors, for example in the food or agricultural industries. However, this is partly due to limitations regarding loading and unloading cycles of the silos, which may impact on the efficiency and productivity of the whole operation.
At this stage, we come up against the issue that has always represented one of the main challenges in traditional silo designing: the filling and emptying cycles, which are often restricted to only a few operations per year due to the structural stress generated in the silo’s materials. In addition, in many cases silo manufacturers do not take these additional forces into account when building their products.
Instead, new silo designs by Prado Silos are providing an effective solution to this challenge while adhering to the most stringent criteria for an efficient management and distribution of loads, in accordance with the highest safety standards. As a result, the filling and emptying cycles of the silos can be significantly increased.
In this regard, safety comes first : Prado Silos has always enforced the most demanding regulations (in this case, the European standard EN-1991-4, which requires additional stress to be taken into account in silos running more than one filling-emptying cycle per day on average).
Therefore, every project can now be engineered to maximise storage capacity and provide an optimal distribution of the bulk material. The appropriate design approach allows for an increased filling-emptying frequency, while featuring improved overall safety, storage conditions and efficiency for the entire operation, thereby reducing the need to invest in multiple silos. This line of new silo designs has been especially developed to address critical needs in a wide range of large-scale storage projects for the most demanding industries:
- Discharge silos combined with lorry-train: These silos are designed for an efficient and fast emptying, thus reducing waiting time and boosting productivity during logistics operations.
- Tempering and temporary silos (buffer silos): Specially conceived to maintain optimal storage conditions and regulate the flow of materials during drying and temporary storage processes.
- Buffer silos within transformation chains: Integrated in production processes where flexible temporary storage and precise unloading conditions are required according to the needs of each operation.
Each unloading situation is different, as we can see, given the different circumstances surrounding each operation. This can be caused by several factors such as the material stored, the type of access available to the emptying area, the vehicles involved, the size of the silo emptying device, the height of the structure, the diameter and roughness of the pipe, the bends and discharge hoses required, time pressure in the transport, etc.
When it comes to logistics operations, the design and strategic location of filling and emptying openings is therefore essential, in order to facilitate both the access of the appropriate means of transport (lorry, train, etc.) as well as the handling of bulk materials, thereby reducing waiting times and bottlenecks during the unloading process.
In line with the optimization of filling and emptying procedures, the use of automated conveyors and handling systems to speed up the unloading process is progressively gaining momentum. In this way, the need for manual intervention (and its related risks of accidents and downtimes) can be reduced. For instance, silos may incorporate in their design different systems for removing possible blockages caused by material compaction or adherence inside the container, thus helping to achieve a faster and more uniform discharge while minimizing the need for time-consuming and dangerous maintenance operations inside the silo.
Today, innovation in the silo industry has enabled the deployment of real-time inventory control systems for a precise loading levels monitoring, ensuring an efficient scheduling of filling and emptying operations and preventing errors causing delays in the process. With new technologies based on AI and big data, it is now possible to integrate historical information and real-time conditions in the decision-making process of the silo operator, ultimately optimizing filling-emptying cycles, minimizing waiting times and maximizing the use of each silo.
With this breakthrough, Prado Silos strengthens its commitment to bring market-leading solutions to its clients, boosting efficiency and competitiveness in industries with short production cycles, where every second is crucial to keep the operation running smoothly and efficiently.
The combination between the latest developments in new silo designs, advanced emptying systems and operational optimisation have not only addressed the issue of investing in multiple silos, but these achievements have also led to significant improvements in the efficiency and productivity of logistics and storage activities for major projects involving the management of bulk materials.
