Success in bulk material handling depends on steady material flow with minimal stoppage for housekeeping, maintenance, and repair. When the material flow is disrupted, it can impact operating efficiency and introduce significant safety risks.

One common cause of poor material flow is material build-up, which can lead to pluggage in system components such as chutes, bins, and hoppers. Material accumulation can be a particular problem for facilities handling wet, frozen, or sticky bulk material such as sand or cement.

Compounding the issue, clearing pluggage by traditional means such as with hammers can create dents, bumps, and ridges in equipment, making it even more susceptible to future material blockage. Using pneumatic vibrators can crack system components as well.

Specific problems with material build-up might often include:

  • Caking: Sticky material builds up on the inner wall of the chute, silo, bin, or hopper.
  • Rat Holing:  Material adheres to inner chute walls, which also restricts storage capacity. When the flow channel empties and the material flow stops, it can form a stable rat hole that can collapse and block the opening.
  • Bridging: Bulk material interlocks across the chute’s inner walls to form an arch above the outlet.
  • Plugging:  Material sticks to the inner walls, causing a complete pluggage.

These blockages often form out of view, meaning operators may have to enter tight or hazardous areas to investigate or clear them—raising both downtime and safety concerns.

Another risk of material accumulation is combustible dust. As material builds up, it can release airborne dust that poses respiratory, visibility, and explosion hazards. Industries most at risk include grain handling, food production, woodworking, recycling, and metal processing.

While material accumulation and blockage can meddle with operations, these challenges can be controlled with proper flow aids.

A Proven Solution: The Clean Sweep System

To prevent material blockage and ensure uninterrupted flow, well-designed flow aids are essential. Flow aids are components or systems specifically engineered to support consistent bulk material movement through the load zone and reduce the risks and downtime associated with build-up.

Benetech’s Clean Sweep system is a powerful and proven pneumatic flow aid solution proven to improve bulk material flow and eliminate blockage. Designed for heavy-duty industrial use, the Clean Sweep system clears material accumulation through high-pressure air bursts that are safe, targeted, and programmable.

The system includes:

  • A compressed air reservoir (or nitrogen for combustible environments)
  • Rapid-release solenoid valves
  • Strategically positioned air nozzles that fire in sequence
  • An electronic control panel for programmable operation

Clean Sweep nozzles deliver 360-degree air blasts at 80–100 psi for a tenth of a second, spaced 2–3 feet apart along chute and vessel surfaces. This targeted delivery breaks up caked or sticky material without damaging the equipment.

Key benefits of the Clean Sweep system include:

  • Flexible Installation: Mount on concrete, rubber, steel, or wood surfaces.
  • Customizable Performance: Adjust pressure, tank volume, valve design, and nozzle shape to meet system requirements.
  • Safe Automation: Program timing sequences for up to 45 nozzles to operate automatically, reducing manual labor.
  • Remote Accessibility: Air tanks and control stations can be installed at ground level for easier service access.
  • Enhanced Safety: Eliminates the need for air lancing, confined space entry, or hammering—reducing worker risk.
  • Explosion Mitigation: Can operate with nitrogen in combustible environments and reduces fugitive dust.
  • Universal Application: Retrofit to most systems, including ceramic-lined chutes and FDA-regulated environments.
  • Versatile Across Industries: Ideal for use in facilities handling abrasive, sticky, or combustible materials, including ceramic-lined chutes and areas with FDA compliance requirements.

By applying quick, controlled air blasts to dislodge material before it can accumulate, the Clean Sweep system prevents crusting, layering, and eventual pluggage. Loosened material is carried away by gravity or the surrounding product stream, maintaining continuous flow and reducing unplanned downtime.

It also plays a vital role in dust control, as preventing accumulation means less material breaks off into fugitive dust clouds—helping mitigate combustion risk and protect worker health.

The Clean Sweep system is also retrofit-friendly, making it a cost-effective upgrade for existing systems. In many cases, it can save facilities millions of dollars by avoiding the need for new custom-fabricated equipment.

Its strategic design promotes safety, reduces maintenance, and increases uptime—maximizing both operational and financial performance.

Benetech: Your Ally in Bulk Material Handling

With Benetech, you get more than products—you get a Total Solution to support your productivity from start to finish. We take pride in partnering with you to deliver full-service solutions, ensuring every step of the process is expertly managed for maximum efficiency and long-term success.

While you are pursuing your operational goals, Benetech remains busy developing ways you can achieve them even more safely, efficiently, and profitably. We can help you clear a wider way in your material flow. To learn more about how the Clean Sweep system can support your daily objectives, call us at (800) 843-2625 or contact us online to speak with a specialist.

Posted in Material Flow, and Material Handling