Method for transporting and delivering substances

A method of minimizing the delivery cost of a slurry, the method comprising:

• incompletely loading a mobile tank with an at least partially dehydrated component of the slurry, wherein said incompletely loading comprises introducing said at least partially dehydrated component of the slurry into the mobile tank;
• leaving sufficient room in the tank for a diluent to be later added and the slurry constituted in the mobile tank;
• transporting the incompletely loaded tank containing the at least partially dehydrated slurry component to a destination, thereby obviating expense associated with transporting a diluent portion of the slurry;
• adding diluent to the mobile tank at the destination;
• constituting the slurry in the mobile tank after reaching the destination by activating a mechanical agitator within the mobile tank, wherein the agitator includes a fluid conveyor having an inlet in an upper portion of the tank and an outlet in a lower portion of the tank;
• and
• off-loading slurry from the tank.

A method of minimizing the delivery cost of a slurry, the method comprising:

• incompletely loading a mobile tank with an at least partially dehydrated component of the slurry, wherein said incompletely loading comprises introducing said at least partially dehydrated component of the slurry into the mobile tank;
• leaving sufficient room in the tank for a diluent to be later added and the slurry constituted in the mobile tank;
• transporting the incompletely loaded tank containing the at least partially dehydrated slurry component to a destination, thereby obviating expense associated with transporting a diluent portion of the slurry;
• adding diluent to the mobile tank at the destination;
• constituting the slurry in the mobile tank after reaching the destination by activating a mechanical agitator within the mobile tank;
• and
• off-loading slurry from the tank,
• wherein the at least partially dehydrated component is salt and the slurry is a salt slurry, and
• wherein sodium chlorate is manufactured using the off-loaded salt slurry and thereafter manufactured sodium chlorate in substantially dry form is again loaded into a mobile tank, transported to a final destination where a further diluent is added to the tank, the tank contents are agitated to form a sodium chlorate slurry, and the sodium chlorate slurry is flowably off-loaded from the tank.

A method of minimizing the delivery cost of a slurry, the method comprising:

• incompletely loading a mobile tank with an at least partially dehydrated component of the slurry, wherein said incompletely loading comprises introducing said at least partially dehydrated component of the slurry into the mobile tank;
• leaving sufficient room in the tank for a diluent to be later added and the slurry constituted in the mobile tank;
• transporting the incompletely loaded tank containing the at least partially dehydrated slurry component to a destination, thereby obviating expense associated with transporting a diluent portion of the slurry;
• adding diluent to the mobile tank at the destination;
• constituting the slurry in the mobile tank after reaching the destination by activating a mechanical agitator within the mobile tank, wherein the agitator includes a series of blades radiating from a hub and wherein the blades and the hub are contained within a conduit;
• and
• off-loading slurry from the tank.

A method of delivering at least one component of salt slurry to a sodium chlorate plant, the method comprising:

• loading a quantity of substantially dry, loose salt into a mobile tank, the quantity filling substantially less than the entire mobile tank, wherein said loading comprises introducing said quantity of substantially dry, loose salt into the mobile tank;
• transporting the mobile tank containing the quantity of substantially dry, loose salt to a destination;
• introducing, at the destination, liquid into the mobile tank;
• mixing in the mobile tank, using a mechanical agitator having at least one mixing blade, the liquid with the loose salt to thereby form a salt slurry having a substantially uniform consistency;
• maintaining the liquid and the loose salt in the tank while the slurry is formed;
• and
• off-loading the salt slurry for use in the sodium chlorate plant.

A method of minimizing the delivery cost of a slurry, the method comprising:

• incompletely loading a mobile tank with an at least partially dehydrated component of the slurry, wherein said incompletely loading comprises introducing said at least partially dehydrated component of the slurry into the mobile tank;
• leaving sufficient room in the tank for a diluent to be later added and the slurry constituted in the mobile tank;
• transporting the incompletely loaded tank containing the at least partially dehydrated slurry component to a destination, thereby obviating expense associated with transporting a diluent portion of the slurry;
• adding diluent to the mobile tank at the destination;
• and
• constituting the slurry in the mobile tank after reaching the destination by conveying diluent through a conduit from a location in an upper region of the tank to a location beneath a phase boundary between the diluent and the slurry component to thereby undermine the slurry component and cause the diluent to mix with the slurry component,
• wherein the conduit is located within the tank.

A method of minimizing the delivery cost of a slurry, the method comprising:

• incompletely loading a mobile tank with an at least partially dehydrated component of the slurry, wherein said incompletely loading comprises introducing said at least partially dehydrated component of the slurry into the mobile tank;
• leaving sufficient room in the tank for a diluent to be later added and the slurry constituted in the mobile tank;
• transporting the incompletely loaded tank containing the at least partially dehydrated slurry component to a destination, thereby obviating expense associated with transporting a diluent portion of the slurry;
• adding diluent to the mobile tank at the destination;
• constituting the slurry in the mobile tank after reaching the destination by activating a mechanical agitator within the mobile tank, the activation of the mechanical agitator agitating the diluent and the at least partially dehydrated component, wherein the mechanical agitator causes substantially all of the agitation of the diluent and the at least partially dehydrated component while the slurry is constituted;
• and
• off-loading slurry from the tank.

A method of delivering at least one component of salt slurry to a sodium chlorate plant, the method comprising:

• loading a quantity of substantially dry, loose salt into a mobile tank, the quantity filling substantially less than the entire mobile tank, wherein said loading comprises introducing said quantity of substantially dry, loose salt into the mobile tank;
• transporting the mobile tank containing the quantity of substantially dry, loose salt to a destination;
• introducing, at the destination, liquid into the mobile tank;
• mixing in the mobile tank, using a mechanical agitator having at least one mixing blade, the liquid with the loose salt to thereby form a salt slurry having a substantially uniform consistency, wherein the mechanical agitator causes substantially all of the mixing of the liquid and the salt while the slurry is formed;
• and