CocoaPowderHygienicPneumaticConveyinginSilkeborg

Project Title: CocoaPowderHygienicPneumaticConveyinginSilkeborg

Keywords: Pneumatic conveying case, European pneumatic conveying, cocoa powder pneumatic conveying, hygienic pneumatic conveying.

Engineering Company: Headpowder (Shandong Headpowder Engineering Co., Ltd.), located in Shandong, China, is a professional supplier of pneumatic conveying systems. With decades of experience in powder handling solutions, Headpowder has completed numerous projects across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. This particular European pneumatic conveying project for cocoa powder in Silkeborg demonstrates the company’s capability to meet strict hygiene and safety requirements in the food industry.

The city of Silkeborg, Denmark, is the site of this successful project. The end user operates a modern cocoa processing facility, producing high-quality cocoa powder for the global chocolate industry. The existing production line needed an upgrade to replace manual transport methods and traditional mechanical conveyors, which were difficult to clean and posed contamination risks. The objective was to install a dense-phase pneumatic conveying system that could handle cocoa powder gently, without product degradation or segregation, while maintaining a completely enclosed and hygienic material flow.

Cocoa powder is known for its hygroscopic nature, fine particle size, and high fat content. These properties create unique challenges for any conveying system. Conventional equipment often suffers from material buildup, clogging, and inconsistent flow. Furthermore, airborne cocoa dust can form explosive mixtures when the concentration is within the explosive range. Therefore, the design of the system had to account for hydraulic and pneumatic parameters, such as conveying velocity, air-to-material ratio, and pressure drop, to ensure smooth operation while minimizing the generation of fines and the risk of dust ignition.

Hygienic pneumatic conveying was the central concept of this project. Every component in contact with the product was manufactured from stainless steel, specifically AISI 304L or 316L, and finished with a surface roughness of Ra ≤ 0.8 micrometers. All welds were orbital and ground smooth to eliminate dead zones where bacteria or residue could accumulate. The system was designed to be fully cleanable using wet or dry cleaning procedures, with smooth bends, self-draining pipelines, and removable components where necessary. These sanitary design features meet the strict standards of the European food industry, including EHEDG guidelines.

The pneumatic conveying system installed in Silkeborg consists of several key components. At the inlet, a specially designed rotary airlock valve meters the cocoa powder into the conveying pipeline. A positive displacement blower supplies compressed air, which is filtered and dried to avoid any moisture contamination. The product is conveyed in dense phase from the milling station to multiple receiving bins located above the packing machines. The system uses a ring pipeline layout that allows the same air stream to carry the powder over a distance of approximately 80 meters, with a vertical lift of 12 meters, at a conveying capacity of up to 5 tons per hour.

Automation plays a key role in this hygienic conveying system. A programmable logic controller (PLC) with a human-machine interface (HMI) monitors all operational parameters, including pressure, vacuum, velocity, and filter cleaning cycles. The system automatically adjusts the conveying air pressure to match the product characteristics, ensuring stable flow and minimizing product damage. In addition, the control system is integrated with the existing factory network, allowing remote monitoring and data logging. Alarm functions immediately notify operators of any deviations, such as pipeline blockage, filter differential pressure, or temperature anomalies, to prevent potential safety hazards.

The installation was carried out by Headpowder’s experienced engineering team. After a detailed site survey, the system layout was optimized to fit within the existing footprint of the factory. The installation process was carefully planned to minimize downtime, and all modifications were performed in close coordination with the client’s production schedule. After mechanical installation, the system underwent extensive commissioning, including leakage tests, load tests, and sanitation validation. Operators and maintenance personnel received on-site training in system operation, cleaning procedures, and troubleshooting, ensuring that the local team could run the system efficiently from day one.

Since the commissioning of the cocoa powder pneumatic conveying installation, the plant in Silkeborg has achieved a significant improvement in production efficiency and product safety. The enclosed conveying system completely eliminates the risk of contamination from external sources, while also reducing cocoa powder losses to below 0.1%. The gentle conveying action preserves the original particle size and texture of the cocoa powder, ensuring consistent quality in the final product. Cleaning time has been reduced by 70% compared with the previous mechanical conveyor, and dust explosion hazards have been effectively eliminated through inert design and strict grounding. This project has become a benchmark for hygienic pneumatic conveying in the European food processing industry.

Contact Headpowder for more information: Shandong Headpowder Engineering Co., Ltd. is committed to providing reliable and hygienic pneumatic conveying solutions for powders and bulk solids worldwide. For business inquiries, please contact Manager Zhang via WeChat: 15662777102. The company is located in Shandong, China, and always welcomes customers to visit and discuss their specific conveying requirements.