High Efficiency Separating Valve

The high efficiency Separating Valve is the basis of the vacuum conveying systems in the Vacuum Bedding Removal Systems VBRS, Vacuum Bedding Delivery Systems VBDS, and Vacuum Bedding Transfer System VBTS.

Brief Description
The patented high efficiency Separating Valve has been designed and sized specifically for the variety of materials and conditions found in laboratory animal facilities. The Separating Valve represents a departure from traditional vacuum conveying systems that were designed for handling relatively uniform, free-flowing materials and eliminates the necessity for large blowers, large cyclone separators, large dust collectors, special sealed dumpsters, and costly utility rooms.

The Discharge Unit containing the Separating Valve shares the footprint of the receptacle (compactor, dumpster, bin or hopper) with no addition space requirements. A high performance regenerative vacuum/blower is housed in the Discharge Unit.

Theory of Operation
Animal bedding (sterile, soiled or wet material, including feed) is vacuumed out of the cages, Automatic Dump stations, Bulk Bag Discharges, or hoppers.

The material is transported via the Transport tube (1) to the Separating Valve and collected in chambers (3) of the Separating Valve. Each chamber, in the Separating Valve, contains a coarse filtration screen (4), which separates the vacuum air (2) from the material being collected. The chambers (3) in the Separating Valve, alternate between vacuum-intake (6) portion of the Separating Valve and the ambient pressure-discharge (5) portion of the Separating Valve. As the chambers rotate to the discharge portion of the assembly, the material leaves the chambers, descending into the receptacle (compactor, dumpster, bin or hopper) via the Discharge Tube.

After the coarse filtration screen, the vacuum air (2) passes through a Cyclone Separator to remove the dust and fines. The air is then filtered by first passing through a Filtration Collection Bag and then through a HEPA filter. The filtered air is then pulled through the Regenerative Vacuum/Blower and exhausted through the Discharge.