By Hale Jim
The term “pneumatic conveying system” may not sound familiar, but you have probably seen them in action before. Pneumatic Conveying Systems are used in warehouses and manufacturing plants to transport materials using compressed air from one location to another. This blog post will explore the benefits of pneumatic conveying systems, how they work, and what types are available for purchase.
Benefits of pneumatic conveying systems
- Able to handle a variety of bulk materials
- Reduced worker injuries and fatalities from moving heavy objects manually
- Efficient, cost-effective way to transport goods safely and quickly over long distances. A pneumatic conveying system is an environmentally friendly option compared to diesel, or gasoline-powered conveyors that can release harmful fumes into the air.
- Simple to use
- Available in various sizes and types for handling light, medium, or heavy loads.
How do these systems work?
-A pneumatic conveying system uses compressed air to move materials.
-A large compressor sends high-pressure air through a hose and into the control unit, which is used to power an electric fan that blows on an intake belt located above or below the point of inflow.
The input material stream enters at this location, where it is lifted by two belts running in opposite directions (one lifting upward toward the feed end while the other lifts downward away from the feed end). This causes any content larger than about ½ inch diameter to be deflected directly off of one of these belts onto another conveyor belt for further processing or delivery or back into storage bins if no further processing is necessary.
Once all heavy objects have been deflected, the remaining material passes through a series of screens that remove any large or heavy contaminants such as rocks and other debris. The airstream carries lighter materials such as fine powders away from the input end (where they would settle in an accumulation) and toward storage bins at the far end where they can be collected for reuse.
Types: Pneumatic Conveying Systems come in two different types
- Pneumatic Conveyor Belt
– The belt is a flexible, nonmetallic conveyance that uses positive displacement to move materials.
-The material moves through the system in much the same way as it would via pneumatic tubes or chutes, but on a larger scale and at greater distances.
- Pneumatic Tube Conveyor
These systems are typically used for smaller, finer materials such as powder or granular solids.
Conclusion
Pneumatic conveying systems can be an efficient and cost-effective way to transport goods safely over long distances. As a result, pneumatics has been the leading source of air control equipment since 1993.
