What bag sizes can the station take?
The station described here takes 1 to 1.2 t bags with a bottom spout, lifted by a 2 t electric hoist. Other bag types and weights are configured for the job.
Equipment / Bulk bag unloading
Bulk bag unloading stations
Also called FIBC dischargers or big bag emptying stations. The bag is lifted into an enclosed chamber, opened and massaged empty. Dust is drawn off on the spot, and the material drops into a buffer hopper that feeds the next step at a set rate.
The hard part of a bulk bag isn't opening it. It's the dust when it opens, the material left in the bag, and the bridging in the hopper afterwards.
The configuration below was written for sodium bicarbonate: a fine powder that bridges once it picks up moisture, 8–12 bags a day, running around the clock. Bulk-bag fly ash follows the same approach, with a crusher added under the hopper.
How it runs
From hook to hopper
- Hook the bagFour loops onto the cross hook. A 2 t electric hoist lifts it, run from a wireless remote.
- Into the chamberThe pneumatic door opens, the bag goes into the enclosed chamber, the door closes.
- Open itThe operator unties the spout through a hand port. For fly ash, a cross-blade cutter is an option.
- Massage it emptyA massaging device works the bag on a timed cycle to shake out what's left. Dust extraction starts at the same time.
- Buffer and feedMaterial drops into the buffer hopper. A variable-speed rotary valve feeds it on at the rate you set.
Example 1 · sodium bicarbonate
Three parts that do the work
- 01
Back-mounted dust collector
Mounted on the back of the bag chamber. What it catches goes straight back into the buffer hopper instead of being thrown away.
2.2 kW - 02
Anti-bridging buffer hopper
Four aeration pads, an agitator and a rapper, for fine powders that bridge after picking up moisture. Level switch and sight glass included.
1.5 m³ · 4 mm polished 304 stainless - 03
Variable-speed discharge
Rotary valve on a VFD, local or remote. DCS-ready: remote start/stop, speed set-point, speed and current feedback.
B200 · max 600 kg/h · 4–20 mA
Example 1 · sodium bicarbonate
TCD1000
| Overall size | 1700 × 1700 × 8775 mm (total height from base to top of the hoist frame, including hopper, bag chamber and lifting frame; height adjusted to your building) |
|---|---|
| Bag | 1–1.2 t, bottom spout |
| Hoist | 2 t electric hoist, wireless remote |
| Buffer hopper | 1.5 m³, 304 stainless |
| Discharge | B200 rotary valve, VFD, max 600 kg/h |
| Dust collector | Back-mounted, 2.2 kW |
| Compressed air | 0.3–0.7 MPa, ≤ 0.6 m³/min |
| Power | 380 V 50 Hz standard; other voltages and 60 Hz to order |
| Control box | 304 stainless, IP65, wall-mounted |
| Materials | Hopper 304 stainless; frame Q235, two primer and two top coats, ≥ 100 μm |
| Also supplied | Platform, guard rails, ladder, manual slide gate, clear flexible connector |
One unit, configured for sodium bicarbonate; 600 kg/h is this unit's discharge rate. Other materials, bag types and rates are configured for the duty.
Example 2 · fly ash in bulk bags
When the bags arrive caked
Bulk-bag fly ash often arrives caked. The same bag chamber gets a crusher underneath and a second buffer hopper, to keep the outlet clear. A cross-blade cutter can open the bags. Rate and output size are set for your ash and the machine it feeds. See crushers
Example 3 · hazardous waste in bulk bags
A bigger station
The receiving end of a hazardous-waste solidification workshop, also ours. An electric hoist and a spreader bar carry each bag by all four loops into the enclosed chamber. A grated hopper beside it takes loose material. Both drop onto belt conveyors, and an overband magnet above the belt picks out tramp iron.
On video
A bag going in
The hoist brings the bulk bag into the enclosed station, where it empties into the hopper below while the filter on the station draws off the dust.
Questions buyers ask
FAQ
How is dust kept in when the bag opens?
The bag is opened inside a closed chamber through a hand port. A collector on the back of the chamber draws off the dust, and what it catches drops straight back into the buffer hopper.
Our powder bridges in the hopper. Can you deal with that?
Yes. For powders that bridge once they pick up moisture, the buffer hopper gets aeration pads, an agitator and a rapper, and a rotary valve feeds it out at a set rate.
Our building is low. Will it fit?
The example unit stands 8775 mm from base to the top of the hoist frame. The height is adjusted to your building.
What if the material arrives caked?
A lump breaker goes under the bag hopper with a second buffer hopper, so caked material can’t block the outlet.
Can it connect to our DCS?
Yes. Remote start and stop, feed-rate set-point, and speed and current feedback over 4–20 mA.
Next step
Tell us these
- The materialPowder, granules, or prone to caking; does it take up moisture?
- The bagsWeight per bag, how the spout opens, bags per day.
- What comes nextWhich machine it feeds, at what rate, and whether there's a DCS.
Where we draw the line
- Combustible powders
- Not without an explosion-risk assessment.
- Building and utilities
- You bring compressed air to within 1 m of the unit. The building and foundations are outside our supply.