A lifting mechanism for operably attaching to one of the plurality of support legs on a bin is provided where the lifting mechanism is configured to sequentially lift and drop the support leg by a predetermined amount, whereby an impact shock generated by the drop is transmitted to the bin through the support leg and promote dislodging of any of the particulate material that may be in a non-flowable state to enhance dispensing of the particulate material from the bin. A bin assembly incorporating such lifting mechanism on at least one of its plurality of support legs is also disclosed.

A lifting mechanism for operably attaching to one of the plurality of support legs on a bin is provided where the lifting mechanism is configured to sequentially lift and drop the support leg by a predetermined amount, whereby an impact shock generated by the drop is transmitted to the bin through the support leg and promote dislodging of any of the particulate material that may be in a non-flowable state to enhance dispensing of the particulate material from the bin. A bin assembly incorporating such lifting mechanism on at least one of its plurality of support legs is also disclosed.

A method of dislodging entrapped particulate material from an assembly of a bin and a hopper for dispensing the particulate material is disclosed. The method includes lifting at least one of a plurality of support legs off of the foundation by a predetermined amount by using at least one lifting mechanism that is resting on the foundation and operatively attached to one of the plurality of support legs; and dropping the at least one support leg into a free fall down on to the foundation using the lifting mechanism, whereby an impact shock thus produced is transmitted to the assembly of the bin and the hopper through the support leg and promote dislodging of any of the particulate material that may be in a non-flowable state to enhance dispensing of the particulate material from the assembly of the bin and the hopper.

The present invention provides a method for emptying a reactor containing at least one bed of spent catalyst particles, wherein the reactor comprises at least one dump tube that opens into the reactor. The method comprising the steps of: (a) causing a portion of the bed of spent catalyst particles to flow out of the reactor via the dump tube; and (b) extracting the remainder of the spent catalyst particles from the reactor by driving the remainder of the spent catalyst particles toward the opening of the dump tube using a removable device comprising at least one flexible extraction sleeve introduced into the reactor via the said dump tube and connected to an extraction system situated outside the reactor, the sleeve being provided on its external surface with protuberances and being able to move, inside the reactor, translationally and rotationally with respect to the dump tube.

The present invention provides a method for emptying a reactor containing at least one bed of spent catalyst particles, wherein the reactor comprises at least one dump tube that opens into the reactor. The method comprises the steps of: (a) causing a portion of the bed of spent catalyst particles to flow out of the reactor via the dump tube; and (b) expelling the remainder of the spent catalyst particles from the reactor by driving the remainder of the spent catalyst particles toward the opening of the dump tube using a removable device comprising at least one rotary brush fixed to the end of an articulated arm introduced into the reactor via the dump tube.

A method of dislodging entrapped particulate material from an assembly of a bin and a hopper for dispensing the particulate material is disclosed. The method includes lifting at least one of a plurality of support legs off of the foundation by a predetermined amount by using at least one lifting mechanism that is resting on the foundation and operatively attached to one of the plurality of support legs; and dropping the at least one support leg into a free fall down on to the foundation using the lifting mechanism, whereby an impact shock thus produced is transmitted to the assembly of the bin and the hopper through the support leg and promote dislodging of any of the particulate material that may be in a non-flowable state to enhance dispensing of the particulate material from the assembly of the bin and the hopper.