Pneumatic Magnetic Separation for Animal Feed

Bunting’s Technical Sales Engineer, Peter Buckley, recently conducted a site visit at an animal feed manufacturing facility to inspect the existing Pneumatic Inline Magnets and evaluate a new request. The four (4) PIMs in operation at the plant have been successfully installed over several phases from November 2020 to September 2023.

Inline Magnets are adaptable and economical magnetic separators designed to be integrated into both gravity-fed and pneumatic pipelines. Featuring a plate magnet on one or both sides, they are perfect for extracting occasional ferrous metal contaminants from materials conveyed through pipelines. Made from stainless steel and available in food-grade sanitary options, these pneumatic designs also come with ATEX certification.

Pneumatic Inline Magnetic Separators 

The Pneumatic Inline Magnets are installed in pipelines with diameters of 4” (101 mm) and 5” (127 mm). During operation, animal feed is pneumatically conveyed through the center of the housing, passing between two high-strength neodymium plate magnets. Ferrous metal contaminants and other magnetically-susceptible particles, including fine iron, are drawn to the plate magnets’ surfaces and held securely. Regular manual cleaning of the plate magnets, as part of a scheduled maintenance program, ensures the removal of any trapped magnetic particles.

The Pneumatic Inline Magnets are mounted in pipelines measuring 4” (101 mm) and 5” (127 mm) in diameter. As animal feed is pneumatically transported through the center of the housing, it moves between two powerful neodymium plate magnets. These magnets attract and hold ferrous metal contaminants and other magnetically susceptible particles, such as fine iron. To maintain efficiency, a scheduled maintenance program involves the regular manual cleaning of the plate magnets to remove any collected magnetic particles.

“The production and maintenance team are always surprised by the amount of magnetic tramp metal captured by the PIMs,” explained Peter.  “Removing the metal not only ensures that the end-product is metal-free, but also prevents damage to other processing equipment.  The additional PIM is for a new line as the level of production increases.”

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