Ecolan Oy got a more efficient and environmentally friendly production process thanks to fluid technology

Ecolan Oy is a responsible domestic circular economy company with roots in forest fertilization and the utilization of wood ash as a fertilizer. The company has operations in Viitasaari, Liperi, Kuopio and Nokia. The company manufactures Ecolan® Agra organic fertilizers, Ecolan® Silva forest fertilizers and Ecolan® Infra recycled materials. www.ecolan.fi

Lahti Precision has supplied the Nokia plant with fluid dosing equipment for fly ash silos with bottom cones equipped with fluid plates. The fly ash is transferred through a fluid cone and fluid hose and discharged through a discharge box and a rotary feeder into the process. About 15 tons per hour of dry fly ash is fed from the silo to a separate process.

In the past, the loading of fly ash has been handled with screws coming from the bottom of the silo. The unique fluid technology supplied by Lahti Precision is a material transfer method based on the fluidization of finely divided bulk material. A small amount of dry low pressure air is passed to the silo-fly ash interface through the fluid elements at the bottom of the silo cone. With expert design and implementation, fluid devices allow fly ash to be transferred by gravity like a liquid. Because there are no engines, significantly less energy is consumed and the efficiency of the production process increases.

When using a fluidization-based technique, the need for maintenance on fluid elements or fluid hoses is virtually non-existent. The material of the equipment and parts does not wear out at all in this case. It has been easy to build new technology into the old process thanks to the flexible fluid hose – it allows the rotation of fixed obstacles, eg load-bearing structures, etc.

In the past, the process has released a lot of dust into the environment, both inside and outside the plant. Thanks to the fluid technology supplied by Lahti Precision, the dust problem has also been solved. The plant’s environment now remains clean, as does the interior. The working environment remains comfortable and no material is wasted.