An apparatus for collecting dust from a cutting unit is provided. The apparatus includes a rotary valve operatively connected to the cutting unit, a conduit in fluid communication with the rotary valve, and a compacting machine disposed downstream from the conduit and configured to receive dust from the conduit. A blower is configured to pull air downstream to carry the dust into the compacting machine. The compacting machine produces a compact from the dust.

An empties transport system has an airstream transport device with an empties transport conduit, which has a first attachment point for attachment to the reverse vending machine and a second attachment point for attachment to the empties collection container, and an airstream generator, which is attached to the empties transport conduit and is designed to make available, in the empties transport conduit, a transporting airstream by means of which the empties passing via the first attachment point from the reverse vending machine the empties transport conduit are moved to the empties collection container, and an airlock device which is arranged on the first attachment point and via which the empties are transferable from the reverse vending machine to the empties transport conduit.

A pressurized tank is provided in which no air flows back from a piping for conveying powder to the pressurized tank. A pressurized tank (A) is used for a device (B) for intermittently feeding a predetermined amount of powder to a piping (7) for conveying the powder when the powder is conveyed in a plug flow through the piping (7) by means of compressed air. The tank (A) has a first pressurized room (6) that is a pressure vessel and that has a funnel-shaped upper partition (3) that has an opening and a funnel-shaped lower partition (4) that also has an opening, a first check valve (9) that is provided beneath the opening of the upper partition (3) of the first pressurized room (6) and is vertically moved so as to be upwardly moved by means of compressed air to close the opening of the upper partition (3), a second check valve (10) that is provided beneath the opening of the lower partition (4) of the first pressurized room (6) and is vertically moved so as to be upwardly moved by means of compressed air to close the opening of the lower partition (4), and an elastic body (24) to upwardly bias the second check valve (10).

An air distribution apparatus including a manifold body and a plurality of ports defined through a wall of the manifold body. The apparatus also includes a delivery conduit connected to each one of the plurality of ports. On at least one of the plurality of ports, a port valve configured to communicate an interior of the manifold body with the delivery conduit associated with the at least one of the plurality of ports. The apparatus also includes a supply conduit connected at an output end thereof to the interior of the manifold body and connected at an input end thereof to receive a product air stream with agricultural products entrained therein. The apparatus also includes an exhaust orifice defined in the supply conduit and an exhaust valve configured to control a flow of pressurized air from an interior of the supply conduit through the exhaust orifice. The port valve and exhaust valve are controlled to operate oppositely to each other between open and closed positions of each valve such that when the port valve is in the closed position. The exhaust valve is in the open position with the delivery conduit being disconnected from the interior of the manifold body and, when the exhaust valve is in the closed position, the port valve is in the open position and pressurized air from the interior of the supply conduit is prevented from flowing through the exhaust orifice. The port valve and the exhaust valve are adjustable to intermediate positions between the open and closed positions.

A pneumatic conveying apparatus operable to transport material from a supply source to a process which requires a rate of change of feed rate far in excess of what is possible from a typical pneumatic conveying system and pipeline alone, and for a process where storage of large volumes of material directly adjacent to the process feed point is either not possible or disadvantageous. The pneumatic conveying apparatus (100; 101;102) comprises at least one conduit (11) and a compression device (8) operable to supply and transport pneumatic media through at least one conduit (11). The supply source (1) may be a feed hopper and is operable to discharge material into the pneumatic conveying system downstream of the supply source. In the pneumatic conveying system at least one vessel (9; 9A, 9B; 20) is arranged to receive material from the supply source (1) and to discharge material to at least one conduit (11). The system also includes a filter receiver (4), which is configured to simultaneously receive and discharge material and pneumatic media from at least conduit. The filter receiver has a working volume or capacity which is very small in relation to the feed rate, typically 1 to 2 minutes storage when operating at the maximum discharge rate, and with a volume typically th to th of the volume of the vessels feeding material into the start of the pneumatic conveying pipeline. The filter receiver is equipped with a discharge device operable to increase the discharge rate to the process from the minimum feed rate to the maximum feed rate in a time period of 2 to 30 seconds. The filter receiver (4) is configured and operable to separate material and pneumatic media such that the material can be discharged from the filter receiver to the downstream process (2), in order to separate the conveying apparatus from the process and provide further advantages described within the invention. The apparatus includes a control system (19) that is operable to maintain a target weight and/or level within the filter receiver, and recover the target weight and/or level in the filter receiver, by measuring the weight and/or level and the rate of change of weight or level, of all storage vessels discharging material to the pneumatic conveying pipeline and process and incorporating aspects of closed loop control methodologies.