Bin system and method of regulating particulate flow from bins

A method for storing and delivering particulate materials using a bin comprising:

• a) a housing comprising a top, a bottom and side walls;
• b) a particulate materials support plate within the housing positioned towards the bottom of the housing, the support plate having a porous structure allowing air flow upwardly through the support plate, pores in the porous structure having diameters smaller than the number average size diameter of the particulate materials;
• c) the support plate having a central area elevated away from the bottom of the housing and surrounding sides;
• d) an air flow area between the bottom of the housing and through the support plate;
• e) a particle drop region surrounding the sides of the support plate;
• and
• f) sealing an opening region and opening the opening region within the particle drop region to respectively seal and open a particle drop path between the support plate and the side walls of the housing to respectively allow particles to flow downward through the opening and prevent particles from flowing downward through the opening;
• wherein the sealing and opening is performed by expanding a sealing and opening expandable annular component when sealing the particle drop region against downward particulate material passage and the expandable annular sealing component is in a retracted position when opening the particle drop region to downward particulate material passage, the method further comprising
• adding the particulate materials into the housing while the sealing and opening component is in an expanded position sealing the drop region against passage of particulate material;
• and
• removing at least some particulate material from the housing by retracting the sealing and opening expandable annular component and allowing the at least some particulate material to pass through the drop region into a particulate material exit from the housing.