🔍 Key Concepts

• Fluidized bulk cargo systems – how air is used both to loosen (fluidize) the powder in the tank and to push it through the discharge line. • The function of the small branch valve (C) off a larger line – is it likely for venting, sampling, or adding air into the product line? • The difference between the piping used when filling the tank versus when discharging the powdered cargo.

💭 Think About

• Trace the dashed lines for pipes B and D in the illustration: which one clearly goes to the bottom to supply air, and which one lines up as the main cargo line? Where does valve C tie into that? • Imagine the tank is being filled: if valve C were open then, what would try to flow through it, and would that be useful or create problems? Do the same thought experiment for the discharge operation. • For a powdered cargo to move out of the tank through the line, do you ever need to introduce extra air into the cargo line itself, and if so, at what stage of the operation would that be helpful?

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify which line actually carries the pulverized material (look at where B enters the tank and how it’s drawn), and which line brings compressed air to the aeration system (D to the bottom). • Confirm how valve C is connected: is it a small line from the tank top into the main cargo pipe, or is it a vent/sampling line to atmosphere? • Before choosing, ask: at which option (filling, discharging, checking level, preventing condensation) would operating valve C best support the flow of powdered cargo without creating dust, overpressure, or unsafe conditions?