PREVENTING
DISASTERS IN
BULK STORAGE SILOS
MARK STEVENSON,
HYCONTROL, UK, DISCUSSES
HOW STRUCTURED AND
COMPREHENSIVE SERVICING
IS ESSENTIAL FOR ALL BULK
STORAGE SILOS.
Introduction
It is commonly accepted across a wide spectrum of
industries that silos used for storing bulk powdered
products (such as cement) should be fitted with an
effective silo protection system (SPS). Such a system
should, at the very least, monitor the pressure and
product level in the silo during the pneumatic filling
process. There are a range of SPS products on the
market, of varying degrees of complexity.
Whilst silo safety technology has advanced
considerably over recent years, ensuring that
systems remain in peak operating condition is still
an involved task – and in a complex, interdependent
system, overlooking or neglecting the care of critical
components will have far-reaching ramifications.
As engineers from UK-based silo instrument
manufacturer Hycontrol have observed, this can
have major implications for site Health & Safety and
can cause serious operational problems.
Effective silo servicing routines published in
the UK guidance notes from the Health & Safety
Executive, DEFRA and the MPA (Mineral Products
Association) state the necessity of checking and
testing all critical protection components on a
regular basis. These checks should include the
pressure relief valve (PRV), pressure sensor, the
dust filter and the ultimate High Level sensor – all
essential components of a silo safety system. The
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