Stocks in the salt silo at a glance
Whether in the food sector, livestock farming or for gritting in winter - due to their chemical resistance, salts are ideal for storage in silos.
Salt granules have a large surface area and generally flow easily through the storage container. However, their flowability can be influenced by humidity and temperature fluctuations. The salt silos used should be designed to withstand permanent contact with the salt crystals. Their abrasive and corrosive properties can lead to material abrasion and corrosive damage to the silo.
Thanks to efficient and modern level measurement from MBA Instruments, you always have an overview of the current salt levels and salt withdrawals of all silos under your responsibility.
Importance of accurate inventory monitoring
Reliable level measurement is required to optimise and ensure sufficient salt storage.
The rapid turnover of salt in winter places high demands on organisation and work processes in winter road maintenance. It must be ensured that sufficient road salt is available at all times. Reliable level measurement enables those responsible to keep an eye on the current stock of road salt in the silo units at all times.
This is crucial in order to avoid bottlenecks and ensure that sufficient material is available to carry out the winter service without interruptions.
It is also important that road salt is delivered in optimal quantities in order to optimise storage space and costs.
With accurate level measurements, the delivery of road salt can be precisely planned to prevent overflow or bottlenecks.
Challenges of the material salt
Level measurement in salt silos poses specific challenges that require careful planning and high-quality measuring instruments.
Salt is an abrasive material that can put considerable strain on the surfaces of level gauges. This can lead to premature wear, especially if the parts in contact with the product are not made of corrosion-resistant material such as stainless steel.
Salt can have a high bulk density, which means that it packs tightly. This makes it difficult to measure the fill level accurately, as the material can influence the sensor. It is important to use measuring instruments that work precisely even under high bulk pressure.
Salt tends to form lumps or clumps when it comes into contact with moisture. This lumping can affect the level measurement as it can distribute the material unevenly.
In some regions, temperatures can fluctuate greatly, which can affect the measurement accuracy. It is important that the level measuring devices can work stably and reliably at different temperatures.
For measuring in salt, all parts of the measuring device that come into contact with the product must be made of stainless steel.
This not only ensures the longevity of the device, but also compliance with the strict hygiene standards that apply in the food and chemical industry. It must also be possible to install a protective roof or baffle plate so that sensor parts are not directly exposed to the bulk stream.
This minimises wear and ensures accurate and reliable measurements. Digital rotating paddle detectors are suitable for point level measurement in salt and the measuring device is insensitive to vibrations.
Networked with the modern measurement technology from MBA Instruments, you always have an overview of the current salt levels and salt withdrawals of all silos in your area of responsibility.
Rotary paddles for salt silos
MBA's rotating paddle detectors impress with their advanced safety technology and wide range of paddle options. The detectors are not only characterised by their reliability, but can also be used extremely flexibly in salt silos.
Vibrating level switch for salt silos
Adaptable and efficient: MBA's vibrating level switch for detecting point levels recognises full, demand and empty signals in salt silos. The point level switch works reliably and accurately even under extreme conditions.
Membrane switch for salt silos
The membrane switch from MBA Instruments fulfils central level measurement tasks in salt silos. The purely mechanical level switch is user-friendly in its handling - a simple attachment to the silo wall and connection to the signal line are all that is needed to put the membrane switch into operation.
Salt as a valuable raw material
Salt is a chemical mixture with a crystalline structure, also known as sodium chloride (NaCl). Salt is a commercially valuable raw material. In addition to being consumed as food, salt is used in the leather trade, livestock farming, water softening and the chemical industry.
Compared to other mineral extraction techniques, salt production is a simple and straightforward method. The most common method of salt production is the evaporation of salty water (saline). By heating the solution, the water evaporates and the pure salt remains.
Storage of salt
Salt is temporarily stored in high silos. It is a top priority that humidity in salt silos is kept to a minimum during the storage process - due to the hygroscopic nature of salt. Due to their high thermal insulation values, silos are hardly susceptible to condensation and thus guarantee a long service life for the salt.
The silo should be designed in such a way that dry storage of the material is guaranteed. Another requirement that is often placed on a salt silo is compatibility with different types of road salt loading equipment. As most loading operations are mechanical, it is important that the silo is equipped with the appropriate connections and devices to ensure a smooth process.
Fields of application for salt silos
Chemical compounds known as salts are undoubtedly present in practically every area of life due to the diversity and properties of these substances. In the body, salt is a vital component of the metabolism. It is also indispensable in the production of many foods in terms of food technology. Silos are used as intermediate storage facilities to store large quantities of salt for later transport.
Smooth winter road maintenance requires a well-equipped salt or brine infrastructure. Road salt is a prerequisite for an effective winter service that is always ready for action. A salt silo is a storage facility for de-icing salt, which is used to prevent ice and snow on roads and pavements. To do this, it must first be filled into large salt silos. The de-icing salt is then loaded from these into the vehicles in suitable quantities using continuous weighers. A GRP silo is the best choice for storing road salt, as the plastic has a long service life, smooth interior surfaces and is corrosion-resistant. It is also low-maintenance and chemically resistant.
Table salt, common salt or table salt (colloquially simply "salt") is the salt used in the kitchen for human consumption. It consists mainly of sodium chloride with a proportion of up to three per cent of other salts such as magnesium chloride and sulphate.
Just like for humans, salt is also a vital nutrient for animals. The main reason for this is the sodium it contains. Alongside other bulk elements such as calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, it is one of the most important substances that must be added to animal feed. Animal feed producers buy salt from livestock salt manufacturers for feed mixtures. They mix the salt with vitamins or bulk and trace elements, for example.
Salt is an important raw material for a wide variety of materials and is therefore a component of numerous everyday objects: Aluminium, glass, paper, plastics, soaps and cosmetics. Salt is also used as a bleaching agent in the paper industry and as a raw material in soap and detergent production.
