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Digital Re-print - May | June 2010 Feature title: The use of peripheral machines in flour mills of today

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Whilst there can be no disputing the fact that the rollermills and the

sifters are the main, key machines within a flour mill, there are a host of other machines scattered around the mill, wheat cleaning, bulk storage and packing areas that have signifi-cant roles to play in maintaining or enhancing operational efficiency on a site and it is these machines I intend to look at in this article.

Let us start at the beginning in the wheat silos where we see an intake separator, often

much maligned and rarely maintained since it is such a simple piece of equipment which rarely breaks down or goes wrong.

I don’t class the intake separator as a peripheral machine but I do class the magnet in the silo as being peripheral to the process.

Magnets, wherever they may be, in the intake house, the wheat cleaning plant, scat-tered around the mill or in the bulk flour silo should have the material they collect examined regularly and for me that means at least once every eight hours unless there is a large quantity of product passing over them in which case twice a shift would be more acceptable.

Looking at what has been collected on a magnet can often give warning of a disaster about to happen elsewhere. If a large quan-

tity of sifter bolts starts to appear then further examination is required at the sifter since one or more is clearly about to fall apart.

New items appearing

In the wheat clean-ing house the principal machine are all familiar to us but there are some new items appearing which need our attention.

Colour sorters are common place now and often can be seen replac-

ing cylinders and disc separators in the older, more established mills. In the new mills they are now the accepted norm and often just

a separator and a colour sorter is all that is required to provide a clean wheat stream to first break.

However, colour sorters come under my heading of peripheral devices and they do require regular servicing, bulb changes and nozzle checks. The compressor which sup-plies air to these machines is definitely on my list of peripheral machines and needs good servicing if it is to work efficiently.

We have a great dependence on clean dry air for many functions in our mills and I see many mills where the compressor is stretched to its limit due to the air supply having ever increasing demands placed upon it as additional machines are added.

In my strongly advocated daily walk round the mill I recommend turning on the com-pressed air supply when the mill is not run-ning. It is much easier to hear air leaks and track them down when plant is stopped and you would be surprised just how many traps and water separators jam open, costing you money when it is unnecessary.

The principle of colour sorting is to use the diffused light to make the wheat grains “disappear” into the background which then allows impurities to be much more easily identified. If bulbs are not maintained then the wheat remains visible and the colour sorter will reject it. A good maintenance contract will pay dividends … literally.

The importance of calibrationDamping systems are important and

when operating accurately can improve the

“It pays to know your mill and screenroom but we must not forget the ancillary machines, they all have a role to play”

by Jonathan Bradshaw

The use of

peripheral machines in flour mills of today

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Grain&feed millinG technoloGy24 | may - June 2010

FeaturePeripheral machines

condition of wheat to first break to such an extent as to allow the mill operative to set his mill up properly and optimize extraction rates.

Calibration is required regularly and records of “as found” conditions should be kept to identify seasonal trends. For example if the local vegetable processing factory uses high levels of water in the season then you will need to make adjustments to allow for that.

As we move on into the mill I would class the scales as peripheral machines, since they do not change the nature of the product as it passes through.

Scales do however play an enormously important part in the running of the mill since all our information about mill efficiency, extraction rates, throughput rates etc comes from the scales, more often than not these days linked to a central processor that gives a continuous read out of the scale readings and the calculations which we would other-wise do long hand at the end of each shift.

It goes really without saying that proper calibration is required on all scales and their proximity to blowing lies should be checked for any adverse effects on scale operations.

The use of flake disruptors on the head reductions, detachers on the lower reduc-tions and other similar devices, either posi-tioned in the basement, on the top floor or mounted directly in the pneumatic lift all have an impact on extraction and ash.

Keeping rotors in good order is of para-mount importance and I believe it pays to change pins once a year ideally just prior to harvest. The number of rollermills in a mill has now drastically reduced since the mid-

1950s when mills often had two roller floors.

The fact that if a roll was set to grind too hard then flakes were produced which were scalped off and lost down the coarse reduc-tion side of the mill was apparent to most millers and engineers and hence the flake disrupter was introduced so that hard grinds could be achieved and any flakes could be broken down before they reached the scalp-ing covers. Similar maintenance tasks should be carried out periodically on disruptors and blades should be kept sharp by running an angle grinder over them to maintain the leading edge.

I also class sieve cleaners, throughs tray cleaners and other devices on purifiers and in sifters as peripheral devices and I believe that regular inspection of these and replace-ment of worn ones will give you a handsome return for very little expenditure.

Recognizing odoursRegular strip down of sifters will reveal

the tell tale signs of bug urine which has a

very pungent and unique odour. So unique is the

smell that many operatives do not recognize it and it goes unattended to. It pays to train all staff correctly to recognize this odour and also in the accepted practices for dealing with insects.

Pheromone traps can help identify insects on the wing and also give warning that a fumigation should be performed. Pheromone traps should be logged and should not be placed anywhere where they are likely to be dislodged or fall off into the process. If you are not careful you could cause yourself more of a problem than you bargained for.

Several sifter sections are prone to

Bran Finisher

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Grain&feed millinG technoloGy may - June 2010 | 25

Feature Peripheral machines

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sionally with very few, if any operatives at all. Such highly efficient items of equipment obviously require a sizeable investment and a large volume is needed to justify the expense. Well worth it however in the larger mills around the world.

In these larger mills it is quite common to pellet the bran produced and in mills where there is a low demand for bran it is common to place the bran in the wheat silos as they are emptied and then trans-ship the bran back to the origin of the wheat on the next available grain vessel.

Occasionally larger mills will have their own feed mill and will use the bran as part of the diet for local livestock. In such cases they may bring in mixed cargoes of commodities such as wheat, maize, soy, etc to make up a balanced diet often using local ingredients such a guinea corn where available.

And, finally, I include in peripheral machinery such items as generators, labo-ratories and vehicles used for transporting finished products locally.

All of these need to be maintained, par-ticularly genera-tor sets. Where

they are installed to supply power as

an alternative to the main supply company

it is done for reasons of continuity of supply

and to maintain a constant voltage, not often achiev-

able from the local power company. Using fuel from the

incoming grain vessel to power the generators can show some

economies, but there is little need to justify the expense of a generator

set when the alternative is invariably no power supply at all.

As a last comment, it is attention to detail that keeps all these peripheral and ancillary machines performing satisfactorily and daily walks around the mill and other processes will pay handsome returns come the days of reckoning.

A simple check list of functions that should be examined daily is well worth keeping especially of the operations that are being monitored. It pays to know your mill and screenroom but we must not forget the ancillary machines, they all have a role to play.

will struggle all day trying to set a good grind.

Screw conveyors collecting flour and being used to mix in additives should have the additives feeders posi-tioned as far away from the discharge point as possible in order to attain a good mix.

Additive feeders should be equipped with level alarms so that flour cannot be produced without the correct additives. It varies from country to country as to wheth-er the miller or the baker adds the bakery improvers but it is becoming the norm for the miller to do it, hence it is vitally important for there to be good indication of low levels in all the feeders. In the case of mills who have an automated mill control system the mill will be sent into suspend mode whenever low levels of additives are reached rather than produce any flour that is not acceptable to the baker.

Health and safety has precluded the use of gas to bleach flour but several mills still maintain agitators through which dif-

ferent flour streams may pass. Whilst this is somewhat over the top for most operations, I see no reason not to maintain agitators to assist with blending of flour additives.

In the bulk flour silos and through to the packing plant there is usually a liberal use of magnets. My earlier notes about mag-nets applies just as much here as earlier in the flow.

Making a large investmentPacking houses have changed beyond

all recognition since the mid 20th Century. High speed packing using carousels has

led to direct loading onto vehicles, occa-

sweating if not exhausted properly and careful attention should be paid to estab-lish which sections are prone to this since when sweating or condensation does occur the sifter cannot perform prop-erly and flour covers will simply blind over gradually.

Spouts should be checked regularly under sifters that sweat to ensure moth frasse and webbing does not build up. If it does then spouts should be cleaned by “dragging”. Fortunately such evidence of insect activity is rarely seen these days.

Definitely classed as a peripheral machine in my book but with a very important role to play is the bran finisher.

Now fully recognized by most engi-neers, Satake in particular, this machine not only removes the last remnants of flour from bran but is also marshalls coarse stocks into a recognizable stream. Given the use of inclination in the new Satake machine the bran finisher can be used to great effect, espe-cially as far as extraction levels are concerned.

The last ‘policeman’Redress sifters are all important since

they are the last ‘policeman’ in the mill. I am seeing more mills using level

probes under redress sifters to tell the mill operative when the bag is full of excess overtails, indicative of a burst cover back up the mill somewhere. Drawing samples will quickly identify where the burst cover lies.

As well as sieve cleaners being impor-tant then so too are roll brushes and other roll cleaners, criterion cleaners and similar These, when working correctly will enable the miller to set a good grind but if they are damaged or ill fitting the miller

Intake Separator SATAKE GFID

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Grain&feed millinG technoloGy26 | may - June 2010

FeaturePeripheral machines

Grain&feed millinG technoloGy may - June 2010 | 27

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June 2010

• Flour mill design

In this issue:

• Grain storage - The Canadian way

• Simultaneous determination of

mycotoxins

• Hygienic Compact

Containment System

• The use of peripheral machines

in flour mills of today

• Horizontal twin-shaft paddle mixers

The ultimate in mixing technology

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