The Camas separator uses fluidized bed technology for very precise separation of agricultural commodities. Although the physics of fluidized beds have been used for several decades, it was not used for separation of materials. The technology needed for separation, for which patents have been granted by thirty countries, has been developed by Camas. The application of this technology has been proven in facilities in fifteen countries, on machines which have run thousands of hours.

Many types of commodities can be separated in the Camas machine, but the principles are the same for each. Using wheat as an example, micro jets of air are forced through the bed of a chamber loaded with wheat. With the addition of vibration, the wheat then behaves like a dry liquid. The chamber is sloped slightly, allowing the fluidized wheat to flow to the lower end. Light, less dense kernels float to the top of the grain mass while the more dense particles sink down.

At the end of the chamber the dry liquid stream is divided by a valve. The light particles, which consist of diseased, damaged, and underdeveloped kernels plus light foreign material, are removed from the top of the stream as rejects. The heaviest particles, which are the healthiest and most dense, are sent to the good product hopper. The intermediate particles are sent on to the next chamber for further separation. Another specially designed chamber can be added for the removal of up to 99% of heavy impurities.

The Camas separation technique is so precise that particles with density differences as small as two percent can be separated. This is far more accurate than the 13% density difference required by gravity tables, the most widespread cleaning equipment currently in use. The two percent difference is sensitive enough to remove mycotoxin-infected kernels from healthy grain. This has been proven for corn, wheat, peanuts, beans, rice, sunflower seeds, soybeans, pecans, almonds, and peas. It is also precise enough to do many other types of separation never before possible.

View inside Camas Separator chamber

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The first picture is of a fluidized product being separated in the chamber of a Camas, notice the impurities have risen to the top for precise separation. Picture two is the adjustable cut plates as seen from inside the chamber. Picture three is of an optional heavy discharge for the densest product to be used for seed or to go to an optional de-stoner.