Indoor auger mixing silo put to the test 

– mixing thousands of batches without the need for calibration

Norway-based Quantafuel Kristiansund AS has recently received the newest model silo from Protec Scandinavia, manufactured by BM Silo. The model has been specially designed to fit their needs – a design that is now available as a standard model for all customers. The design is the result of a collaboration between the company itself, the development team at BM Silo, and the machine supplier for the recycling industry Protec Scandinavia.

The new Mixing Silo from BM Silo. 

Establishing a brand-new company specializing in recycling plastic and vending plastic materials to other industry operators requires special equipment of the highest standard.

Norwegian Quantafuel Kristiansund AS recently had to do just that. They recently had two auger mixing silos from BM Silo installed at their brand-new premises.

“The two silos are a very important part of our operations. We are a new company and have started from scratch regarding how we process. With these silos we can mix while filling, stabilizing the product, and achieving a much better result,” says Business Development Manager at Quantafuel Kristiansund AS Brede Hammerø Mordal.

The Auger Mixing Silo is a further development of the BM Clean Silo. However, it incorporates a unique mixing system that can offer homogenized material that can be used in various industries, especially in recycling plastic. The homogenized material can contribute to a more streamlined production with more consistent results.

Quantafuel Kristiansund AS daily processes a large volume of waste plastics, a job the silos are handling well, Brede Hammerø Mordal explains:

“Our silos can store 59 cubic meters of recycled material each, at the moment we are using the full capacity of both silos.”

A personalized design-process

The design team at BM Silo worked closely together with Quantafuel Kristiansund AS and their supplier Protec Scandinavia during the design process of the new type of auger mixing silo.

“BM Silo has a very competent partner in Per Skjevik from Protec Scandinavia. We have known him for a while, he knows our business and understands our needs. Together with him and BM Silo, we were able to precisely describe our needs for our manufacturing business. We needed a silo exactly like the Auger Mixing Silo and, in a way, this is now a very visible example of the fruit of this collaboration,” says General Manager Melvin van den Top from Quantafuel Kristansund AS.

The unique design of the Auger Mixing Silo also means that calibration between batches is eliminated resulting in a more efficient production time. Motor and bearing are designed for 15.000 hours or around 2.500 batches at 6 hours of mixing time.

“We are very pleased with the process of having such a great influence on the design. The silos are working as intended, and they are a very important part of our production, ensuring a high-quality product for our customers,” General Manager Melvin van den Top says.

“There is no other way”

Founder and Managing Director of Protec Scandinavia Per Skjevik has almost a decade of experience within the sector of recycling plastic, and 30 years in plastic machinery. He has been part of the design process, where color and quality are improved using the auger mixing technology, he explains.

“The auger creates a constant upward movement via the fountain principle meaning that the mixing is much more effective in improving both color and quality. The fountain principle also ensures a stable melt index so that the product after the granulate process has no variation in melting temperature.”

This new hardware technology is quite revolutionary for the recycled plastic industry. Without the auger mixing system manufacturers are forced to either spend time calibrating machinery after each filling or transfer material from one silo to a smaller mixer to create a homogenous mass.

“There really is no good alternative on the market right now. When your production process requires you to mix almost four tons an hour, like Quantafuel, then you must have the right equipment for it. With the auger mixing silo we can adjust the auger, adjusting mixing depending on the input and output requirements – and right now there is no other good way to do that,” he asserts.

59 cubic meter silo through a regular door frame

Furthermore, the auger mixing silo no matter the size is delivered in kit form and installed on-site. Lowering freight costs significantly.

“Another pro for Quantafuel is that it was delivered in a small package. Many silos are transported fully assembled, and when transporting a 60 or 74 cubic meter silo fully assembled it is very costly,” explains Per Skjervik who outside his role as Managing Director also leads the recycling team within Protec Scandinavia and Feddersen Group. Servicing customers in all of the Nordic and the Baltic region with machines and equipment for recycling.

Products by BM Silo are delivered as kits that are stackable. This means that all products can be delivered to any destination and can fit through a regular house door. The production at the end destination does not need to be set on pause during delivery and installation.

Facts

• Quantafuel Kristiansund AS is a company recycling difficult waste plastics in Norway.
• BM Silo and Protec Scandinavia recently developed a specialized silo for Quantafuel’s specialized production.
• The Auger Mixing Silo includes a unique mixing system resulting in calibration between batches becoming needless making production time more efficient.