Pneumatic Conveying System, what is and how it works

Handling powders, granules and solids within a production plant is often critical, since the movement can cause dispersion, leakage and so the risk of contaminating both the product and the environment. The related consequences are waste of products, production inefficiencies and high management costs.

Pneumatic conveyors are hermetic systems that allow to overcome all of these problems. Moreover, they increase the productivity and the efficiency of the production plants where they are installed, avoid any waste of product and improve the environmental quality of the premises. Let’s see how pneumatic conveying systems work.

What is a pneumatic conveyor: applications and how it works

A pneumatic conveyor allows to move dusty, granular or solid material from one point to another inside a production plant.

Pneumatic conveyors use vacuum as a driving force to transfer the material to the designated process machinery. The receiving system will then continue the processing of the product or allow its packaging.

Thanks to the extreme simplicity and flexibility of the system, a powder conveyor can carry out several functions that go beyond the simple transfer of material between two points:

• dust separation
• loading and unloading of industrial machineries or different types of containers
• distribution of powders at multiple points of discharge
• multiple collection

These characteristics make pneumatic conveyors the optimal solution for many food, chemical, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies.

The benefits of pneumatic conveying and pneumatic transport of powder

Traditional mechanical transport systems, such as conveyor belts, augers, bucket elevators or aeromechanical conveyors have characteristics that may represent an obstacle in certain situations:

• a transport in open system increases the risk of environmental pollution or contamination of the product
• some may transport material only in a straight line, considerably increasing costs at every necessary change of direction
• require a lot of space for installation in the production department
• the presence of many mechanical components subject to wear drastically increases the costs associated with maintenance, spare parts and downtimes
• difficult sanitization and large waste of time dedicated to these operations
• critical issues in preserving product integrity

Pneumatic dust conveying systems, on the contrary, simplify the process and make it hygienic and safe:

• easy and fast installation and connection to other process machinery
• they do not take up much space, thanks to the use of flexible piping, and can be added at a later stage, thanks to their modularity
• they avoid leakage and product contamination; some models even prevent demixing
• the required maintenance is minimal, extremely simple and fast to do, as they are systems with few mechanical parts in motion that are subject to wear. The exclusive use of uncontaminated compressed air contributes to the maintenance of maximum transport efficiency.
• increase of hygiene and safety within departments

Pneumatic conveying: system sizing

The sizing of a pneumatic powder conveying system depends on multiple factors and must be carried out by experts in the field.

The transport capacity must be related to the amount of Kilos per hour to be handled; the distance to be covered and the type of product. This is to guarantee the perfect functionality of the machinery and the production lines they are installed on.

Delfin pneumatic conveyors: the safer solution for your production lines

Delfin range of pneumatic conveyors has been developed in collaboration with important users by taking into account their different needs.

Delfin range of conveyors is one of the most comprehensive on the market:

• electric or pneumatic conveyors
• certified filters for food contact
• automatic filter cleaning systems
• a funnel for complementary product outlet
• complete modularity and integrability of systems with pre-existing production lines

For further information about our conveying solutions, feel free to contact us.