It is well understood among chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers that hazardous bulk materials must remain contained throughout their entire lifecycle — from production and storage to transport and transfer into downstream processing. If toxic, ignitable, corrosive, explosive, flammable, or otherwise hazardous materials escape containment at any point in the material handling chain, the consequences can be severe — posing risks to personnel, equipment, infrastructure, and regulatory compliance.

For many food and nutritional product manufacturers, contained powder transfer has become equally critical. The risk of cross-contamination from allergens such as gluten, soy, peanuts, or shellfish now demands containment practices comparable to those used for lead oxide powder, fumed silica, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), and other high-risk materials.

Volkmann engineers understand these risks and design vacuum conveying systems specifically to ensure compliant, contained bulk material handling across a wide range of dry hazardous and high-value powders.

Volkmann Contained Powder Conveying Solutions

Volkmann pneumatic vacuum conveyors and contained powder handling systems for metal additive manufacturing can be configured for complete containment in compliance with FDA and ATEX regulations. Since Volkmann systems operate under negative pressure, they are inherently well suited for containment applications. If a seal were to leak, ambient air would be drawn inward rather than allowing material to escape outward. By contrast, positive-pressure pneumatic conveying systems can expel material into the workspace in the event of a leak, creating safety hazards and costly cleanup.

For applications involving hazardous chemical pigments, battery cathode materials, APIs, or food allergens, a contained vacuum conveying system creates suction that draws material into a sealed hose or stainless-steel tube from a bulk bag unloader or other pickup point. Material is then transferred efficiently to reactors, mixers, blenders, extruders, or other process equipment while maintaining containment throughout the transfer cycle. Worker exposure and environmental contamination risks are significantly reduced.

Contained Metal Powder Transfer for Additive Manufacturing

Volkmann provides advanced contained vacuum conveying solutions for the safe handling of metal powders used in additive manufacturing, including tungsten, cobalt, stainless steel, nickel alloys, titanium, copper, carbide, alumina, and other metallic materials. Closed-loop systems can be engineered to transfer powder from storage to printers, perform part depowdering, extract and recover unused powder, and operate under inert gas conditions when required.

This contactless, contamination-controlled approach helps additive manufacturers scale production, protect operator safety, and maintain consistent powder integrity for high-quality printed components. The required level of containment may vary based on material properties, regulatory requirements, and internal risk assessments. However, the engineering expertise required to design a reliable contained powder conveying system that operates safely and efficiently year after year should never be compromised.

Would your process benefit from automated contained bulk material transfer? Contact us here.