IQS Newsroom Articles on Pneumatic Conveyors
About Pneumatic Conveyors and Pneumatic Conveyor Manufacturers
Including: Air
Conveyors, Pneumatic
Conveying, Pneumatic
Conveying Systems, & Vacuum
Conveyors.
Pneumatic conveyors, also known as
air conveyors,
are enclosed tubular conveyors which use air to transport bulk solids
and powder bulk materials from one location to another. Movement within
pneumatic conveyors is typically generated by a blower at the starting
end of the conveyor, although pneumatic
vacuum conveyors
pull products through using a vacuum at the conveyor's destination.
Pneumatic conveyors are used largely in the bulk material handling
industry for a wide range of in-facility bulk solid, heterogeneous
mixture and powder handling applications. The transportation of bulk
materials such as flour, grains, seeds, coffee, fly ash, alumina, talc
and plastic pellets throughout the manufacturing and processing stages
depends on
pneumatic conveying
to carefully and efficiently transport these potentially difficult
materials. Food, pharmaceutical and mineral processing industries are
particularly dependent on pneumatic bulk conveyors to fluidize finely
powdered, sticky, liquefiable or delicate materials for transportation
to and from cargo cars, trucks and railcars well as through various
processing stages within facilities.
Pneumatic conveying systems
may be built and installed within facilities to handle bulk solids
across floor levels through every handling stage, including precisely
measured product dispersal into mixers and packaging stations. Bulk bag
handling equipment allows bulk solids to be gathered and, if necessary,
packed into measured bulk bags for easier storage and transportation
throughout facilities. Pneumatic conveyor tubes are hooked up to bulk
bag unloaders and bulk bag fillers to carry materials to and from bulk
bags and loading stations or designated processes. The flexibility of
pneumatic conveying systems saves manufacturers enormous amounts of
wasted time, labor and product damage which result from more
traditional handling methods, such as belt conveying, bucket elevator
conveying and hand measuring.
Manufacturers of pneumatic conveyors design conveyor systems to handle
a broad range of materials with various properties. Most pneumatic
conveyors are designed to handle specific material types, such as
abrasive materials (silica sand), hazardous materials (sodium sulfate),
materials which cake, smear or plug (fly ash), sticky or moist
materials (sugar), non-free flowing materials (flour), friable
materials (graphite flakes) and heterogeneous mixtures (cereal). Most
pneumatic conveyors and vacuum conveyors belong in one of two
categories: dilute phase conveying and dense phase conveying; these two
different methods differ by pressure and rate of conveying speed. Dense
phase conveyors are operated by air pressures above 15 PSIG and push
materials through at a fairly low velocity with a low air to material
ratio. Dense phase systems convey materials at a general average of 275
feet per minute are used for conveying mainly heavier materials. Dilute
phase conveyors operate much more quickly and with a higher air to
material ratio. This method, the more common of the two, fluidizes
smaller, lighter materials into a continuous stream of air, using
considerably less power.
Besides the large variety of materials pneumatic conveyors are able to
handle, they also have the benefit of low product leakage. This remains
particularly important in industrial applications involving the
conveyance of hazardous materials where a leak can be dangerous as well
as a threat to the operation. Other benefits of pneumatic conveyors
include sanitary operation and a wide range of models to suit the
varying needs of different industries and products. Product damage in
pneumatic conveyors is minimal compared to occurrences of product
damage or loss in screw conveyors and tubular drag conveyors. Flexible
screw conveyors and tubular drag conveyors are used for bulk material
handling applications similar, and in some cases identical, to those of
pneumatic and vacuum conveyors. Although screw conveyors and tubular
drag conveyors tend to require less energy than pneumatic conveyor
blowers and vacuums due to their mechanical operation, screw conveying
is more susceptible to incur product damage by caking, smearing,
packing or grinding. Non-free flowing, friable and liquefiable products
in particular are most efficiently and carefully handled by pneumatic
conveyors.
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Types of Pneumatic Conveyors
- move coarse rough materials
at a slow pace. Abrasive materials conveyors often use compressed air
to move the material through the system efficiently.
- use pneumatic power to transport materials.
- handle a variety of materials for a wide
and ever-increasing range of industries. These conveyors fill bags
with
bulk materials and transport them.
- are useful in transporting abrasive, friable
or heavy materials, such as sands, soils, minerals and rocks. Dense
phase conveyors use an air compressor to generate high pressure
levels to move materials slowly through the system.
- move non-abrasive, light materials like powders
and grains. Dilute phase conveyors use low pressure air levels
during the quick transportation of materials through the system.
-
are conveyor systems that are completely covered. Enclosed conveyors
protect against product contamination, and are particularly useful in
applications involving the conveyance of sensitive products, such as
for the pharmaceutical, chemical and medical industries.
- are used in the food processing industry
to convey a variety of food products, including beans,
nuts, powders and
formulas. Because food handling conveyors transfer products
that will eventually be ingested, cleaning is very important
to avoid product
contamination
- are rolled to and positioned at a desired discharge
point. Material can be drawn from a container, a feedbin
or a pickup adapter under a bin or process vessel.
- uses forced gas to transport solid goods.
- consist of all of the components used in air-powered conveyors.
- are generated by compressed air-driven vacuum pumps
that can be controlled automatically. When the material
container is full, the vacuum pump is stopped and the bottom
valve opens so the
material can be discharged
Common Terms Related to Pneumatic Conveyors,
Air Conveyors, Vacuum Conveyors, Pneumatic Conveying Systems, and Pneumatic
Conveying.
-
The piece of equipment that creates pressurized air above atmospheric
level in a dense phase pneumatic conveyor system ( http://www.iqsdirectory.com/air-compressors).
- A tank that holds compressed air obtained from the
system's air compressor in a dense phase pneumatic conveyor system.
- The amount of force the atmosphere exerts
upon the earth's surface. Air in a pneumatic conveyor with pressure
greater than 14.7 psi is considered compressed, and pressure below 14.7
psi is considered a vacuum.
- In a pneumatic conveyor, the mechanism that removes
or filters dust from system components, such as silos.
- Wheels that make the
pneumatic conveyors portable.
- A mechanism that
changes/diverts material flow in pneumatic conveyors to a different direction.
- The mechanism that transfers the conveyed material
from the tubing to the receiving bin.
- The total space that
pneumatic conveyors occupy on the production
floor.
- A measure
of the time rate of doing work.
- The tubes through which the conveyed material travels
to reach the intended destination. Pneumatic conveyors piping is arranged
in a network that travels through the facility, avoiding obstacles.
- The entire system of pneumatic conduits
used to transfer air or other gases between various operating components
of the pneumatic system such as pumps, valves and actuators of the
pneumatic conveyors.
- Force per unit of area.
- A unit that measures the amount
of pressure applied to an object.
- Pneumatic conveyors component that obtains or
receives conveyed material.
- A mechanism attached to different pneumatic conveyors
components that alleviates built up pressure created by the system.
- A mechanism responsible for releasing pneumatic
conveyors materials under gravitational pressure.
- A large container in which material is stored prior to conveyance.
- Sections of tubes containing various degrees of curvature
to facilitate the efficient maneuvering of pneumatic conveyors pipes,
through which conveyed materials are transported.
- A container in pneumatic conveyors that stores material
to be conveyed at a certain rate. Dense phase pneumatic conveyors transporters
often accept compressed air into the container to move or transport the
material under pressure.