Streamlined Fly Ash Blending and Conveying at Salt River Materials Group

Overview

Cyclonaire worked with an Industry leading supplier of cement, fly ash, pozzolans, and aggregates serving Arizona and the broader Southwestern United States. With strategically located manufacturing facilities, rail-served terminals, and an extensive logistics network, customer plays a critical role in supplying materials for regional construction and infrastructure projects.

At its 19th Avenue Terminal near downtown Phoenix, customer identified the need to expand the availability of high-quality fly ash for concrete producers. To support growing demand, the company partnered with Cyclonaire to modernize its fly ash handling process through an integrated blending and pneumatic conveying solution.

Challenges

Customer faced several operational challenges at the terminal:

• Increasing demand for consistent, high-quality fly ash in concrete production
• The need to blend different fly ash types to produce a uniform, market-ready material
• A desire to upgrade the facility without disrupting existing terminal operations
• Complexity and maintenance concerns associated with traditional mechanical blending systems
• The need for a simplified process that would complement the existing material flow
• Expectations for reliable operation and ease of maintenance

The solution needed to improve efficiency while remaining flexible, dependable, and cost-effective over the long term.

Solutions

Cyclonaire engineered a semi-dense phase pneumatic blending and conveying system tailored to customer’s operational requirements.

Key features of the solution included:

• Cyclonaire CB Series Blend-Veyors capable of weighing, batching, blending, and conveying material within a single unit
• Redundant pneumatic conveyors to support continuous production during maintenance or service events
• Integrated blower packages and system controls for automated operation
• A design that allows blended fly ash to be conveyed directly to storage silos for truck or railcar loading

By blending fly ash within the same vessel used for conveying, the system eliminated unnecessary handling steps and simplified the overall production process. All routine maintenance is performed at grade level, reducing downtime and improving serviceability.

Results

The Cyclonaire blending and conveying system delivered meaningful operational benefits for customer:

• Increased availability of consistent, specification-compliant fly ash
• A simplified production process combining multiple steps into one integrated system
• Improved operational reliability through system redundancy
• Easier and more economical maintenance compared to mechanical blending approaches
• Enhanced efficiency that supports growing demand from concrete producers across the region

With the upgraded terminal in operation, customer strengthened its ability to supply high-performance fly ash while maintaining a streamlined and dependable bulk material handling process.