Solutions · Calcium Carbonate Storage
Calcium carbonate is a fine mineral powder that bridges, dusts, and has to reach your process in a steady stream. PW Silo Systems designs aluminum and stainless steel silos for calcium carbonate, chalk, PCC, and dolomite with you – with mass-flow discharge, discharge aids, and dust collection.
Calcium Carbonate Storage at a Glance
A calcium carbonate silo stores ground calcium carbonate, chalk, precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), or dolomite close to production – for plastics compounding, paints and coatings, paper, building materials, or food and feed. It keeps the powder clean and dry and feeds it in a controlled way to dosing, mixing, or extrusion.
Fine calcium carbonate tends to bridge at the outlet and releases dust during filling. Silo geometry, discharge aids, and dust collection are therefore designed together with you – based on your product, your process, and your site.
Why Calcium Carbonate Is Demanding
Calcium carbonate looks like an easy product, but fine particles, dust, and lot-to-lot variation decide whether a filler silo runs reliably.
Fine calcium carbonate and PCC compact under their own weight. Bridges form over the outlet, or only a narrow channel flows.
Pneumatic filling from bulk trucks or railcars releases fine dust that settles on equipment and surroundings.
Damp powder flows worse and can form lumps that block the outlet or the feeder.
Particle size and whiteness can vary from delivery to delivery – and show up in your compound or coating.
In funnel flow, powder can stay in the silo for a long time while fresh product passes through the center.
Ground calcium carbonate, PCC, chalk, and coated grades must not be mixed by accident.
Silo Materials
We build silos exclusively in aluminum and stainless steel. Carbon steel is not an option for us: its coating is the only protection against corrosion – and flaking coating or rust can end up in a white filler.
Which of our two materials fits your calcium carbonate silo depends on the grade, your process, your quality requirements, and your site. We select the material and the design with you.
Your Calcium Carbonate Silo System
Silo, discharge, blending, filtration, and monitoring are engineered as one system. That means fewer interfaces for your team and components that are designed to work together.
Storage
Concentric mass-flow discharge without asymmetric flow zones – as standard, site-assembled, indoor, or multi-compartment silos.
Learn moreBlending
Gravity blending and homogenizing with four technologies, including PW ConeBlend with a hopper that is quick to clean.
Learn moreDischarge
Air fluidization for uniform discharge of poorly flowing products – prevents bridging and can be retrofitted to existing silos.
Learn moreDischarge
Vibration from unbalanced motors breaks up cohesive forces, resolves caking, and keeps the outlet clear.
Learn moreFiltration
Dust separation during pneumatic filling and conveying – sized for fine powders.
Learn moreMonitoring
Level measurement for reliable monitoring of the silo content – so you know when to reorder.
Learn moreCarbonates & Fillers
Products marked “Tested in our lab” are on our list of bulk materials. The others we review with you based on your material data before designing the silo.
Tested in our lab
Calcium carbonate, ground calcium carbonate, GCC, CaCO₃
Calcium carbonate is on our list of bulk materials tested in our lab. Outlet and discharge aids are designed for its fine particles.
Tested in our lab
Chalk, chalk powder, whiting
Chalk is on our tested list. As a fine, cohesive powder, it is planned with discharge aids and dust collection.
Tested in our lab
Precipitated calcium carbonate, PCC
PCC is on our tested list. Its very fine, light particles are considered in hopper design, venting, and filtration.
Tested in our lab
Dolomite, dolomite powder
Dolomite is on our tested list. Silo and discharge are designed for your grain size – from fine powder to granules.
Review with us
Limestone powder, ground limestone, agricultural lime
Limestone products differ in grain size and moisture. We review your product data with you before designing the silo.
Review with us
Coated calcium carbonate, surface-treated filler
Surface-treated grades for plastics flow differently from uncoated powder. We review your product with you.
Also tested in our lab:
Send us your material data and we will review the right solution with you:
Filler Check
Type in your filler or any other bulk material to see whether it has already been tested in our lab. The list covers 287 bulk materials.
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Service in the U.S.
With more than 40 years of experience in silo engineering, we support your calcium carbonate silo project from the first design discussion to commissioning. We deliver to every U.S. state and install with our own qualified personnel.
FAQ
Answers to the questions plant managers, engineers, and buyers ask most often about storing calcium carbonate and fillers in silos.
Dry calcium carbonate and related mineral fillers can be stored in a properly designed silo. These products are on our list of bulk materials tested in our lab:
Limestone powder, coated calcium carbonate, and marble powder we review with you based on your material data.
Fine powders such as calcium carbonate and PCC compact under the weight of the silo content and build bridges or narrow flow channels above the outlet. A mass-flow hopper geometry, PW SpeedBlow air fluidization, and bin activators keep the product moving. Which combination is right depends on your grade.
We build silos exclusively in aluminum and stainless steel – never in coated carbon steel, so no flaking coating or rust can contaminate your filler. Which of our two materials fits depends on the grade, your process, your quality requirements, and your site. We select it with you.
In mass flow, the entire silo content moves downward when material is discharged – not just a channel in the center. Your calcium carbonate leaves the silo in the order it came in (first in, first out), and no product is left behind in dead zones. Our PW StoreLine silos are designed for concentric mass-flow discharge without asymmetric flow zones.
Integrated filters and PW FilterLine dust collectors separate dust during pneumatic filling and conveying. Filter size and venting are matched to your filling rate and your product.
Yes. PW BlendLine gravity blending silos homogenize several deliveries before the product reaches your process – for more consistent properties in your compound, coating, or building material.
The right size depends on your daily consumption, delivery intervals, the number of products, and the space available at your site. PW StoreLine silos are available in a wide range of sizes and diameters, and silos too large for road transport are assembled on site. We size the system with you – without oversized investment.
Yes. We deliver to every U.S. state and support your project with silo transport, field assembly, silo installation and supervision, and site relocation of existing systems.
Very likely. Our silo systems are designed for nearly all free-flowing, granular, and powdered bulk solids. Send us your material details – particle size, bulk density, moisture, and how the product is filled and discharged – and we will review the right storage solution with you.
Tell us about your products, required storage capacity, how the silo is filled and discharged, and your site conditions. Based on this, we work out the material, silo type, and configuration with you and send you a detailed quote.
