Industries · Minerals

Pneumatic conveying systems for limestone, lime and industrial minerals

Scorpio Engineering BMH designs, manufactures and installs pneumatic conveying and handling systems for limestone, lime, calcium carbonate, talc, gypsum and other industrial minerals: bulk tanker and bag unloading, silo storage, dense phase conveying of abrasive powders, and weighing and batching, from about 1 to 65 tonnes per hour.

More than 20 lime and limestone handling systems for steel, aluminium, water treatment, glass and global ingredient plants in India and abroad.

Scorpio mineral batching plant: silo cones with bin activators above weigh hoppers for limestone, talc and china clay
Silos with bin activators feeding weigh hoppers at a mineral batching plant built by Scorpio.

Minerals we handle

Not on the list? See all materials handled or send us your mineral and we will tell you how we have conveyed it before.

A typical limestone and lime handling system

Most mineral plants follow the same path: the mineral is received in bulk or in bags, stored in silos, conveyed in dense phase to keep wear down, and dosed by weight to the process.

Layout of a Scorpio dense phase pneumatic conveying system for powdered limestone: dense phase vessels below transfer tanks, a 300 m pipeline over a trestle and six discharge points at the storage bunkers

General arrangement of two dense phase limestone conveying systems for a refinery’s captive power plant: pressure vessels under the limestone transfer tanks (right), the pipeline along a trestle and up the transfer tower, and the discharge into the storage bunkers (left).

  1. ReceiptBulk tankers are unloaded pneumatically; bags and big bags are emptied at dust-free bag slitting machines or unloaders.
  2. Silo storageSilos with bin vent filters on top and bin activators at the outlet keep cohesive minerals such as lime and talc flowing.
  3. Dense phase conveyingAbrasive limestone and lime travel as slow, dense plugs, so pipelines and bends last far longer.
  4. Weighing and batchingWeigh hoppers on load cells dose each mineral to the recipe under PLC control.
  5. To the processDiverters route the mineral to kilns, reactors, mixers or dosing points.

Equipment and systems for mineral plants

Mineral installations

Refinery captive power plant

Dense phase limestone conveying, 2 × 65 TPH over 300 m

Scorpio supplied two dense phase systems, each rated at 56 TPH and designed for 65 TPH, that convey powdered limestone 300 m horizontally and 50 m up to six discharge points at the plant’s storage bunkers. Low conveying velocity keeps wear on the long pipeline and its 24 bends under control.

Large aluminium producer, Gujarat

Lime conveying for an aluminium plant

Scorpio built a 12.5 TPH dense phase system conveying lime for an aluminium plant, moving the powder slowly in a closed pipeline to keep dust and pipe wear down.

Integrated steel plants

Burnt lime handling

For steel plants, Scorpio supplied 6 TPH dilute phase systems conveying burnt lime from storage to the process, with the closed design that quicklime needs.

Global nutrition ingredients maker, Tamil Nadu

Mineral batching: limestone, talc, china clay, fuller’s earth

Scorpio supplied two dilute phase batching systems at 15 and 8 TPH that dose four minerals at four batches an hour, a 4 TPH vacuum system, and dense phase limestone conveying at 10 and 6 TPH.

Plastic packaging film maker, Karnataka

Calcium carbonate bag slitting, storage and feeding

Calcium carbonate filler arrives in bags. Scorpio’s system slits and empties the bags dust-free, conveys the powder pneumatically to a storage silo and feeds it to the process.

Water treatment plants, India and Iran

Lime handling for water treatment

Scorpio has built lime handling plants for water treatment, including twin 6 TPH systems in India and a 7 TPH lime plant for a water treatment works in Tehran.

Gypsum wall panel plant, Mumbai

Gypsum handling

For a gypsum wall panel project at a government fertiliser company, Scorpio designed and supplied the gypsum handling system feeding the panel line.

Advanced materials maker, UAE

Batching plant for silica, magnesia and lime

Scorpio supplied a batching plant that conveys and weighs silica, magnesium oxide and calcium oxide for an advanced materials factory in Abu Dhabi.

3D layout of a Scorpio mineral batching plant: three silos, batching hoppers, bag unloading and pneumatic conveying lines
3D layout of the same mineral batching plant: three storage silos, the batching structure and the conveying lines to the process.

Frequently asked questions

Why is dense phase used for limestone and lime?

Limestone and lime are abrasive. Dense phase conveying moves them slowly, as dense plugs at low velocity, so pipelines and bends wear far less and the material breaks down less than in a high-speed dilute phase line.

Can quicklime be conveyed pneumatically?

Yes. Quicklime reacts with moisture, so it is conveyed in a closed system with dry conveying air and sealed silos and hoppers. We have built dense and dilute phase quicklime and burnt lime systems for steel, aluminium and cement plants.

How do you handle calcium carbonate that arrives in bags?

A bag slitting machine opens and empties the bags dust-free and separates the empty bags. The powder is then conveyed pneumatically to storage silos and fed to the process by rotary airlocks or screw feeders.

Can several minerals be weighed into one batch?

Yes. Each mineral is stored in its own silo and dosed into a weigh hopper on load cells under PLC control. One of our systems batches limestone, talc, china clay and fuller’s earth at four batches an hour.

What capacities do you handle?

Our mineral installations range from about 1 tonne per hour for a lime plant to two dense phase limestone systems each designed for 65 tonnes per hour, conveying 300 m horizontally and 50 m up.

How do I get a quote?

Email marketing@scorpiobmh.com with the mineral, its particle size and bulk density, the capacity in tonnes per hour, conveying distances, and how it arrives (bags, big bags or bulk tankers). We reply with a system concept and budget.

Planning a new mineral handling system?

Tell us the mineral and the rate. We design, manufacture, install and commission the complete system.