Venturi barge unloading system

In a method for unloading dry, bulk, particulate material from a ship, barge or the like into a pressure vessel and for thereafter transferring said material from said pressure vessel to a storage container or silo, said method including forcing air from a blower through a venturi for creating a flow of primary air through said venturi and for inducing a suction through the venturi, drawing said particulate material from said ship into said pressure vessel by said induced suction for filling said pressure vessel, and thereafter forcing air from said blower into said pressure vessel for transferring the material from said pressure vessel to said storage container, said steps of filling and transferring being repeated in alternating sequence, the improvement comprising the steps of:

• providing a cyclone separator having a first inlet connected to said pressure vessel by a first conduit means and an outlet at the top of the cyclone separator which is connected to said venturi by a second conduit means, and first, second, third and fourth valves, each of which is exterior to said pressure vessel, said first valve connected in a third conduit means between said venturi and said storage container, said second valve connected in said second conduit means between said cyclone separator and said venturi, said third valve connected in a fourth conduit means between said blower and a second inlet to said cyclone separator at the bottom of said cyclone separator, and said fourth valve connected between said pressure vessel and said storage container;
• opening said first and second valves and closing said third and fourth valves;
• then directing air from said blower through said venturi and then through said first valve exteriorly of said pressure vessel for filling said pressure vessel with particulate material by said induced suction wherein the drawing of said particulate material into said pressure vessel includes drawing air through said cyclone separator first inlet and exhausting air to said venturi through said second conduit means;
• thereafter closing said first and second valves and opening said third and fourth valves for by-passing the venturi and terminating both said flow of primary air through the venturi and said induced suction;
• then directing air from said blower through said third valve exteriorly of said pressure vessel and into the bottom of said cyclone separator and thereafter into said pressure vessel for transferring said material from the pressure vessel through said fourth valve and then to said storage container, and said step of transferring material from said pressure vessel to said storage container includes forcing any particulate material in said cyclone separator back through said cyclone separator first inlet and into said pressure vessel and thereafter into said storage container;
• and
• wherein said transferring of materials to said pressure vessel or from said pressure vessel to said storage container includes providing a fifth valve in said fourth conduit means which adjusts air flow between said blower, said third valve, and said pressure vessel, and opening said fifth valve for throttling a portion of the air from said blower into a different part of said pressure vessel for aerating the dry, bulk, particulate material in said pressure vessel.