Solutions · Silica Storage
Silica ranges from extremely light fumed silica to hard, abrasive silica flour – two very different storage tasks. PW Silo Systems designs aluminum and stainless steel silica silos with you – with the right venting, discharge, and dust collection for your grade.
Silica Storage at a Glance
A silica silo stores fumed silica, precipitated silica, silica flour, or other silica products close to production – for rubber and tires, plastics and silicones, paints and coatings, adhesives, foundries, or building materials. It keeps the product dry and contained and feeds it in a controlled way to dosing and mixing.
Fumed and precipitated silica have a very low bulk density and are very dusty. Silica flour is hard and abrasive. Silo geometry, venting, discharge, and wear protection are therefore designed together with you for your grade and your site.
Why Silica Is Demanding
Very low bulk density, dust, and abrasion decide whether a silica silo runs reliably.
Fumed and precipitated silica have a very low bulk density. They need more volume and behave differently in filling, venting, and discharge.
Light silica dust spreads quickly during pneumatic filling and settles on equipment and surroundings.
Silica flour and quartz-based products are hard and abrasive – especially at the outlet and in conveying.
Depending on grade and aeration, silica can build bridges – or flow uncontrollably when fluidized.
Many silica products take up moisture from the air, which changes flow behavior and product properties.
Fumed silica, precipitated silica, and silica flour 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 your product.
Which of our two materials fits your silica silo depends on the grade, its abrasiveness, your process, and your site. We select the material and the design with you.
Your Silica 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 moreSilica Products
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
Fumed silica, pyrogenic silica
Fumed silica is on our list of bulk materials tested in our lab. Its extremely low bulk density is considered in silo volume, venting, and filtration.
Tested in our lab
Precipitated silica, silica filler, white reinforcing filler
Precipitated silica is on our tested list – for tires, rubber, and many other applications. Discharge and dust collection are planned for its light particles.
Tested in our lab
Silica flour, ground quartz, quartz flour
Silica flour is on our tested list. Its hardness is considered at the outlet and in conveying.
Tested in our lab
Silica, silicon dioxide, SiO₂
Silica is on our tested list. Silo and discharge are designed for the grain size and flow behavior of your grade.
Review with us
Silica gel, silica xerogel
Silica gel takes up moisture by design. We review your product and requirements with you.
Review with us
Quartz sand, silica sand, foundry sand
Quartz sand is heavy and abrasive. We review your material 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:
Silica Check
Type in your silica product or any other bulk material to see whether it has already been tested in our lab. The list covers 287 bulk materials.
Try: , ,
Service in the U.S.
With more than 40 years of experience in silo engineering, we support your silica 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 fumed silica, precipitated silica, and silica flour in silos.
Dry silica products can be stored in a properly designed silo. These products are on our list of bulk materials tested in our lab:
Silica gel, quartz sand, and other silica products we review with you based on your material data.
Fumed silica has an extremely low bulk density. It needs more silo volume per ton and behaves differently in filling, venting, and discharge than denser powders. Silo volume, hopper geometry, venting, and dust collection are designed with you for your grade.
Silica flour is hard and abrasive. Wear at the outlet and in conveying is considered in the design – we review the right solution with you for your product and your throughput.
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.
In mass flow, the entire silo content moves downward when material is discharged – not just a channel in the center. Your silica 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.
We build silos exclusively in aluminum and stainless steel – never in coated carbon steel. Which of our two materials fits depends on the grade, its abrasiveness, your process, and your site. We select it with you.
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.
