TTE News: Zeppelin highlighting storage-silo technology

Hanover, Germany – Silos for storing carbon black and silica will be among the focal points for Zeppelin Systems GmbH at this year’s Tire Technology Expo.

Transport costs for silos have always been a major consideration in purchasing and plant-building decisions of tire manufacturers.

While modular welded silos can be shipped more easily, they require skilled assembly staff and weather conditions favourable for welding.

According to Zeppelin, as its Bolt-Tec silos are shipped in segments and do not require welding, they offer freight- and assembly-cost savings as well as flexibility.

The modular design, enables the silos to be economically transported around the world using a standard 40 ft. container for maritime freight and land transport, a company release added.

Freight costs for transporting for a 500m³ Bolt-Tec silo to southeast Asia, for example, would be around €10,000, said Zeppelin – this, it estimates is about a tenth of the cost of a conventionally welded silo of similar size.

On-site welding of the silo segments is no longer necessary, due to the high degree of pre-assembly, the company continued.

No special tools are required as the silo can be readily bolted together and mounted by skilled workers or site employees regardless of weather conditions.

Among other advantages, the storage volume is said to be easy to expand, while the silos can also be disassembled at any time and re-installed at a different location

Tire market demands

Tire plants are constantly expanded by additional mixing lines, thus steadily increasing the need for storage capacities, noted Zeppelin.

With Bolt-Tec silos, it said, several smaller storage silos of up to 100m³ could be replaced with one larger silo: saving a substantial amount of required floor space.

Moreover, install silos can be increased in height with no additional floor space required, according to the company statement.

In the tire manufacturing industry, since 2014, more than 50 Bolt-Tec silos have been installed throughout the world with capacities of 200 m³ and more for carbon black and silica storage.