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A.E. Staley Installation
A.E. Staley — Abresist Abrasion Resistant
Linings in Action
 Author
information - This article was prepared through joint efforts
between Abresist Corp., Urbana, IN and A.E. Staley. Reprinted
with permission from FOOD ENGINEERING (December 1984 issue)
and POWDER/BULK SOLIDS (January 1986 issue)
One of our customers processes 35,000 bushels
of corn per day while producing corn syrup and starches. The
company was stopping production three or four times a day
due to clogging in the steel pipeline. Additionally, the corn's
abrasiveness was eroding the pipes. Fine dust from the ground
corn was also leaking through the pipes and creating safety
hazards and housekeeping problems.
To address the problem, the company began replacing
elbows in steel piping as often as every four to five months.
The solution proved to be both uneconomical and time consuming.
When a pipe blew, production stopped.
The unplanned maintenance was a problem. The
company uses different sizes of piping and duct work and had
to plan specifically for replacement and downtime repair to
ensure they had the right material on-site. Otherwise, they
had to patch with whatever materials were on-hand.
The company began installing ABRESIST® abrasion-resistant
cast-basalt lining in the existing pipelines to stop the erosion
and corrosion process. Since the installation, no erosion
or clogging of the new piping has occurred. The plant is much
cleaner and without pipeline leakage, housekeeping problems
are drastically reduced. The potentially dangerous accumulation
of leaking dust has also been minimized and downtime almost
eliminated.
The company has since installed ABRESIST®
linings in hoppers, cyclone receivers within the hoppers and
in feed mixers where dry and wet material are combined.
Another of our customers conveys a dry animal
feed supplement, protein enriched diatomaceous earth. This
company had recurring problems with the frequent repair and
replacement of air separator cyclones. Five cyclones each
measuring (6 ft diameter, 15 ft high) are used in drying the
product. Conveyed at high velocities the dry feed is extremely
abrasive, wearing holes through the 9/16" thick steel
walls of the cyclone.
The worn areas needed frequent repair. Maintenance
welded stainless steel patches on, but even these were damaged
by the abrasive feed particles. The patched areas sometimes
lasted for less that a year, but after four to five years
the entire unit had to be replaced. Replacement of the cyclones
was time consuming and costly. Some type of protective liner
was needed.
After extensive research, the company decided
in 1982 to install ABRESIST® ceramic tiles made from fused
cast basalt. The tiles are attached to the inside walls of
the cyclone with Portland cement mortar, reinforced with a
wire mesh underlay. Performance requirements for the tile
liners are severe. About 210,000 pounds of dry, abrasive material
pass through each cyclone daily. The product is hot (up to
250°F) and is moving at a high rate of speed when it enters
the cyclone. This adds to the abrasiveness of the product
and increases the need for secure bonding of the tiles.
After over two years of continuous use
the tiles were inspected and showed no measurable wear. Cyclone
walls were intact and no product leakage had occurred. No
repairs were needed. The company has since converted all cyclones
to ABRESIST®.
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