Solutions · Feed Ingredient Storage
Feed mills and livestock operations handle protein meals, grains, by-products, and pellets side by side – many of them oily, dusty, or prone to bridging. PW Silo Systems designs aluminum and stainless steel silos with mass-flow discharge and discharge aids for reliable feed production.
Feed Storage at a Glance
A feed silo stores feed ingredients – such as soybean meal, canola meal, fish meal, grains, or bran – close to dosing and mixing in feed production. It protects them from moisture, pests, and contamination and feeds them in a controlled way to the mixer.
Protein meals with residual oil tend to cake, fish meal is rich in fat, and mixed particle sizes can segregate. PW Silo Systems designs silo geometry and discharge equipment around your feed ingredients.
Why Feed Is Demanding
Feed ingredients differ widely in flow behavior. Every challenge below affects mixing accuracy and uptime.
Soybean meal, canola meal, and fish meal contain residual oil and tend to bridge and cake at the outlet.
In funnel flow, feed ingredients can stay in the silo for a long time while fresh product passes through the center.
Fine feed dust is combustible. Filling and conveying release dust into the silo and its surroundings.
In coated carbon steel silos, flaking paint and steel particles can end up in the feed.
Meals, grains, and pellets with different particle sizes separate during filling and discharge.
Feed production handles many components that must not be mixed by accident.
Silo Materials
Aluminum and stainless steel silos are widely used for flour, sugar, starch, and other food ingredients. Both materials offer high corrosion resistance, good hygiene, and a long service life.
Carbon steel is not an option for us: its coating is the only protection against corrosion. Once it wears, paint particles and steel can get into the product. Which of our two materials fits your feed silo depends on your product, your process, your cleaning requirements, and your site – we review it with you.
Your Feed Silo System
Silo, discharge, blending, filtration, and safety equipment 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 filling and conveying, in a hygienic design for the food industry.
Learn moreSafety & Monitoring
Rupture discs or explosion vents for combustible dust, level measurement for reliable monitoring of the silo content.
Learn moreFeed Ingredients
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
Soybean meal, soy meal, SBM
Soybean meal is on our list of bulk materials tested in our lab. Discharge aids are planned for its tendency to bridge.
Tested in our lab
Canola meal, rapeseed meal
Canola meal is on our tested list. Its residual oil content is considered in the discharge design.
Tested in our lab
Fish meal
Fish meal is on our tested list. It is rich in fat and protein – a closed silo and first-in, first-out discharge protect its quality.
Tested in our lab
Soybeans, whole soybeans
Whole soybeans are on our tested list. Silo and discharge are designed for the round, heavy beans.
Tested in our lab
Thick stillage
Thick stillage is a by-product of ethanol production and on our tested list. Storage is designed with you around its moisture and flow behavior.
Tested in our lab
Corn, feed corn, maize
Corn is on our tested list. Large, free-flowing kernels are discharged in mass flow for clean stock rotation.
Review with us
Feed pellets, pelleted feed
Pelleted feed should be stored gently to limit fines. We review pellet size and durability with you.
Review with us
DDGS, dried distillers grains with solubles
DDGS is known for difficult flow behavior. We review your product data with you before designing the silo.
Also tested in our lab:
Send us your material data and we will review the right solution with you:
Feed Check
Type in your feed ingredient 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 feed 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 feed ingredients in silos.
Most dry feed ingredients can be stored in a properly designed silo. These products are on our list of bulk materials tested in our lab:
Feed pellets, DDGS, mineral feed, and premixes we review with you based on your material data.
Both. Aluminum and stainless steel silos are widely used for feed and other food ingredients because they offer high corrosion resistance, good hygiene, and a long service life. Which material fits your project depends on your product, your process, your cleaning requirements, and your site. We review the options with you.
In a carbon steel silo, the coating is the only protection against corrosion. If it wears or flakes off, paint particles and steel can end up in your feed. That is why we build silos exclusively in aluminum and stainless steel.
Soybean meal and other protein meals tend to bridge and cake. Concentric mass-flow discharge combined with PW SpeedBlow air fluidization or bin activators keeps the product moving and the outlet clear.
In mass flow, the entire silo content moves downward when material is discharged – not just a channel in the center. Your feed leaves the silo in the order it came in (first in, first out), and no product is left behind in dead zones where it could age or cake. Our PW StoreLine silos are designed for concentric mass-flow discharge without asymmetric flow zones.
Fine feed dust is combustible, and many bulk solids carry an explosion risk. For combustible bulk solids we supply explosion-protected silos designed in accordance with applicable codes and regulations. Venting devices – rupture discs or explosion vents – are selected for your silo, your product, and your application. Integrated filters and dust collectors reduce dust during filling and conveying.
Deliveries vary, and a silo filled in batches forms horizontal layers of different quality. PW BlendLine gravity blending silos homogenize the content so your production receives a consistent product. We offer four blending technologies; the right one depends on your feed and on whether you operate continuously or in batches.
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 – kernel size, 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.
Your Project
Whether you need a single feed silo, several silos for different products, or a complete system with blending and discharge, tell us about your requirements. We'll develop a solution that fits your product, your process, and your site.
Send a Request NowWhat Happens Next
Tell us about your bulk material, your process, and your site conditions.
We work with you on material, silo type, and configuration – based on a bulk material analysis if needed.
You receive a custom-engineered solution with a detailed quote.
