nuts, care must be taken to maintain an airline velocity that does not result in an impact forceful enough to cause damage to them. For ground and mixed nuts, preventing particle segregation during this process is important. Almonds, pecans, walnuts and other tree nuts are usually abrasive, either in full nut or ground form. This means the equipment used to convey them must be able to withstand the potential for abrasion.

If the tree nuts arrive at the processing facility in bulk bags (either as whole nuts or in some pre-processed form including flour or meal), the frames used to discharge these bags should ideally be equipped with additional accessories to completely empty the material from the bag. This includes features such as "periscoping" unloader frames that will stretch the bags, making them rigid and removing any accumulations of material lingering in the bags. Activating devices positioned on the discharger frame closer to the bag spout will promote a better material flow and help ensure complete evacuation of the almonds, pecans, walnuts and other tree nuts from the bags. Some of these bag activating devices also serve as a dust tight seal between the bulk bag and the receiving hopper.

After the bulk bag has been connected to the receiving hopper and the material begins to flow, the air inside the hopper is forced out. Unless this air passes through a filter, airborne dust particles can escape into the surrounding atmosphere. A dust collector mounted on the discharger frame will contain this dust inside the conveyance system. A pneumatic pulse through the filter can remove the dust collected there after the bag has been completely emptied. This reduces the time necessary to perform the routine cleaning and sanitation typically required in most food processing environments.

In whole form, almonds, pecans, walnuts and other tree nuts are generally free flowing and will pass through most processing equipment without the need for flow promotion devices. On the other hand, sliced or ground almonds, pecans, walnuts and other tree nuts tend to interlock in hoppers, impeding flow into downstream processing equipment. To promote a better flow, the feed hoppers may need to incorporate devices such as mechanical agitators or vibrators.

Many orchards prefer to ship whole tree nuts in 50 lb (23 kg) boxes. A dumping station with a dust hood, filtration devices and a pneumatic pulse cleaner is the recommended solution to support the manual unloading of the material. A hopper screen above the receiving vessel will help to prevent the introduction of foreign objects and protects the operators if the nuts are being dumped manually into a hopper that is equipped with agitating devices.

If a flexible screw is being used to convey the almonds, pecans, walnuts and other tree nuts it is important to use a screw that matches the nuts' application requirements. Generally a screw with a wider and rounder profile will be effective in moving a material with the characteristics of tree nuts from the hopper to a filling machine undamaged and with no separation of blended products. For chopped or ground nuts, a wider, flatter, spiral is usually the best option.

Should your almonds, pecans, walnuts and other tree nuts require loading into bulk bags, the bag capacity will be maximized by use of a vibratory densification deck to level the nuts as they fill the bag and by the application of load cells to achieve the desired weight. Seals and other dust containment devices will ensure a dust-tight operation.

 

Flexicon Applications:

Flexicon's FLEXI-DISC^® Tubular Cable Conveyor is particularly suited for gentle conveying of whole almonds, pecans, walnuts and other tree nuts, transferring the material over short or long distances from single or multiple inlets to single or multiple outlets. FLEXICON Flexible Screw Conveyors move tree nut materials short to medium distances, satisfying an exceptionally broad range of applications. Both conveyors are ideal for feeding tree nut packaging lines.

Flexicon also offers bulk bag dischargers, bulk bag fillers, bag dump stations, drum/box/container dumpers and weigh batching systems as stand-alone units or as integrated systems with Flexicon conveyors.

Flexicon's expert design and engineering staff can recommend the best solution for your specific need. Upon your request, Flexicon's test lab can simulate your tree nut handling application using your actual material before building your equipment, and perform Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) prior to shipment.

 

About Flexicon:

The ability to move your material efficiently, together with equipment designs and finishes that meet numerous regional and national codes worldwide for chemical, food, dairy and pharmaceutical applications, enables Flexicon to satisfy virtually every aspect of your bulk handling requirement, regardless of material, industry or location worldwide.

In addition to engineering and integrating your system, Flexicon can guarantee its performance, removing the risk and the resources associated with managing multiple vendors.

For performance data on your specific material(s), please contact a Flexicon regional applications engineer.