Storage and reclaim made simple: Dome Technology develops Drive-Thru DomeSilo that debuts in cement market
By Rebecca Long Pyper for Dome Technology
Dome Technology developed its Drive-Thru DomeSilo for companies to fill truck or rail directly from the storage structure and to speed up the process of product reception to delivery.
In general the Drive-Thru DomeSilo incorporates a fill pipe, storage vessel, stair or ladder access, scale and appropriate foundation. Companies save by building a single drive-through storage facility that eliminates the need for multiple mechanical systems, operators, and structures.
This model allows for direct load-out, where stored product flows through a spout for direct load-out into the truck or rail. The dome provides 100 percent reclaim utilizing a fully aerated floor.
The system directly competes with bolted steel tanks and drive-through concrete silos. Due to unique construction techniques, this storage vessel is quickly constructed and price competitive.
Featured Project: Continental Cement Company
In 2018 Dome Technology built its first Drive-Thru for Continental Cement Company at a recently acquired site in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. While the existing silo and adjacent scale had not been used for some time, complete upgrades of these assets along with a new barge unloader, dock upgrades and, as mentioned, the Drive-Thru dome has allowed Continental Cement to become the leader in service in the Memphis market.
With dimensions of approximately 100 feet tall and 50 feet in diameter, the Drive-Thru can be supplied by barge from any one of Continental Cement’s plants. The new barge unloader discharges into either the Drive-Thru dome or the 3,000-ton existing steel silo. New aeration in the existing silo allows for a much-increased truck-loading rate. A bridge between the dome and silo provides access between the two.
The Drive-Thru delivers 100 percent live reclaim using a fully aerated floor. Product flows through the truck spout into the truck; the same system could be used for a rail loadout system. An in-line lump crusher on the loadout stack-up ensures that lumps passed through the receiving system do not make it into trucks. The dome can receive 350 mtph from the barge unloader and load out at 320 mtph.
Meeting a need in the marketplace
With a portfolio full of projects with capacities as large as 200,000 metric tons, the Dome Technology team was eager to pursue opportunities for smaller storage.
Steel and concrete silos have made the most of the drive-through concept for decades. The Dome Technology team set a goal to take this concept and improve on it. Borrowing from the success of its DomeSilo model, a tall and narrow dome with drive-through capability was designed to store more product on a smaller footprint than a silo of comparable dimensions; this increased storage is made possible by the dome itself, which can be filled to the top since it can support the pressure of product at all points of the structure, combined with a nearly flat floor rather than a steep cone.
The preceding is an excerpt of a Dry Cargo International feature published in the May 2019 issue. For more information on DCI, click here. And for more about the Drive-Thru, click here.