Emty Perlite from annular space

An oxygen plant I was installing used perlite insulation.

Initially we cut a hole in the bottom and drained it out into bags. The remnants we extracted with what was basically a big vacuum cleaner.

Exact details depend on how thoroughly you need to do the job and the geometry of your tank and location, but I'm sure you can solve those details.

Thanks for your opinion but how did you prevent escaping air with perlite from the bag.

It's about 2000m3 perlite in the clindric tank near the sea port.

how did you prevent escaping air with perlite from the bag.

When we cut the hole, we improvised a sliding gate valve so we could allow or prevent flow at will.

The bags were collapsed before the perlite was allowed to flow, so there was no air to escape from the bag. I think we sealed them shut with duct tape, but I'm not sure now.

While this sounds fool proof, we still managed to make the adjacent lead smelter look like it was having a white Christmas! (No mean feat in the hot, dry, tropics!)

Unfortunately, even small amounts escaping are very visible. the stuff is also a nuisance as it gets inside your clothing and is scatchy and irritating. It is chemically inert, but physically quite an irritant.

We gave the laborers disposable overalls with hoods and equipped them with gloves and close fitting goggles (uncomfortable in a hot climate, but better than the alternative). We also had to rest the men at fairly frequent intervals. It was an unpleasant job.

I just remembered that just after we had done the job, I thought a better way would have been to wash it out into porous bags so the water could drain away, leaving you with a bag of wet perlite. This approach should prevent the stuff flying everywhere.

Our quantity of perlite was probably similar to yours, or perhaps a little greater.

Good luck

THANKS FOR YOUR ADVICE.