A new BULK-OUT™ Model BFC Bulk Bag Discharger features an enclosure to contain errant dust escaping through the seams or fabric of bulk bags when working with unlined bags. White polymer panels enclose the sides, rear and top of the frame, while clear panels on four hinged access doors allow monitoring of the discharging process.

A port on the rear panel allows venting of the enclosure to a centralised dust collection system.
Intended for applications in which trace amounts of dust cannot be tolerated or when dusty materials leak through the bag itself, the enclosure works in concert with the discharger’s dust-tight bag spout interface and expands the ability of the discharger to contain dust from all areas of the bag.

To maintain dust control at the bag spout, a manual SPOUT-LOCK™ clamp ring positioned atop a pneumatically actuated TELE-TUBE™ telescoping tube enables an operator to make a quick, dust-tight connection between the bag spout and hopper, and to automatically elongate the bag as it empties to promote flow and evacuation.

The telescoping tube raises the clamp ring assembly that seals the clean side of the bag spout to the clean side of the telescoping tube, then lowers until the bag spout is pulled taut. Once the spout is untied, the telescoping assembly exerts continual downward tension on the spout, elongating the bag as it empties.

The high-integrity, dust-tight seal between the bag spout and clamp ring allows full-open discharge from the bag without dusting.

A POWER-CINCHER™ pneumatically-actuated flow control valve cinches the bag spout concentrically with no leakage of material, allowing gradual opening of the bag spout as well as retying of partially empty bags.

The discharger is also equipped with FLOW-FLEXER™ bag activators that raise and lower opposite bottom edges of the bag at timed intervals, loosening compacted materials and promoting material flow into the bag discharge spout. As the bag lightens, the stroke of the bag activators increases, raising the bag into a steep "V" shape, eliminating dead spots for total evacuation of material with no manual intervention.

Material contact surfaces are of stainless steel finished to sanitary standards, with the exception of flexible tubing that connects the bag spout clamp ring to the surge hopper and the hopper outlet to a flanged connection feeding a process on the floor below.

The unit is also available with an integral dust collection system, outlets to feed any process, and mechanical or pneumatic conveying systems.

BFC Series dischargers feature a cantilevered I-beam with electric hoist and trolley to raise and position bulk bags without the use of a forklift. Also offered are BFF Series dischargers equipped with top-mounted receiving cups and removable bag-lifting frames for forklift loading of bulk bags, and BFX half-frame dischargers that require a forklift or plant hoist to suspend the bag during discharge.

Construction is of carbon steel with durable industrial finish, with stainless steel material contact surfaces, or in all-stainless steel finished to food, dairy or pharmaceutical standards. The company also manufactures bulk bag conditioners, bulk bag fillers, flexible screw conveyors, tubular cable conveyors, pneumatic conveying systems, bag dump stations, drum/box/container tippers, weigh batching and blending systems, and engineered plant-wide bulk handling systems with automated controls.

For information contact Flexicon Africa (Pty) Ltd., +27 (0)41 453 1871, sales@flexicon.co.za, www.flexicon.co.za