Conveying

Sucking Cost and Complexity out of Conveying Systems

By Bruce Boyers

In choosing a system for the safe, clean conveyance of materials, it seems that the choices can be remarkably complex. Prior to such a choice, a facility is usually operating with, live personnel, open conveyor belts and implements such as buckets. While employees may be protected by proper clothing, masks and goggles, materials are exposed to air and dirt, waste is a constant worry, and expensive equipment is endangered by particulates that can slow or jam it.

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Show Report: Pneumatic Conveying at the 2023 Powder Show

By Kimberly Hill, Sustainability Events & Operations Manager, Blower & Vacuum Best Practices Magazine

The 2023 International Powder and Bulk Solids Conference and Exhibition took place April 25-27, 2023 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. The event, sponsored by the Process Equipment Manufacturers’ Association (PEMA®) and produced by Informa Markets, is the leading powder and bulk handling and dry processing event in North America. It attracted more than 3,000 attendees and featured over 30 conference sessions and 350 exhibitors, showcasing bulk material handling equipment from 30 different countries. Blower & Vacuum Best Practices and Compressed Air Best Practices Magazines were among the publications available at the show’s entrance.
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Vacuum Pumps for Pneumatic Suction Conveying

By Uli Merkel, Busch Vacuum Solutions

Nowadays, pneumatic suction conveying is an important technology for feeding bulk goods gently through piping systems to the various process steps. In the area of food processing, the pharmaceutical and chemical industry and for material feed in plastics processing, suction conveying is indispensable when powder or granular materials have to be transported. The proper choice of the vacuum generator essentially determines the operating costs of a pneumatic conveying system.
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Tea Packaging Quality Improved with Vacuum Conveying Upgrades

By Nora Ashmen, VAC-U-MAX

In an ongoing project to improve processes whenever and wherever it can, a global manufacturer of private label retail, food service and specialty brand teas, purchased an extension conveyor system to improve efficiency and ergonomics. Prior to implementing the extension conveyor, a vacuum conveyor system transferred raw materials into portable silos that workers rolled from one production machine to the next.
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Riding the Waves to Resolve Common Issues with Dilute-phase Pneumatic Conveying

By Mike Grennier, Blower & Vacuum Best Practices Magazine

A long-held practice in the plastics industry is the use of high-speed, dilute-phase pneumatic conveying to deliver plastic resins to plant processes even if those same materials are the kind that can create problems ranging from excessive dust to damaged resins and more. All the while, slower-speed conveyance is normally unthinkable given production goals and the potential for plugged conveyor lines.
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Pneumatic Conveying Helps Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Excipients Manufacturer Safely and Efficiently Meet Demand

By Doan Pendleton, VAC-U-MAX

A major challenge our customers face is the way bulk materials are supplied to the market. We needed a material handling system that would keep up with our demand, ensure worker safety and limit manual manipulation of material. The VAC-U-MAX team designed and manufactured a material handling system capable of conveying over four and half million pounds of powders per year that now allows us to continually meet our growing business.
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The Importance of Particle Velocity in Dilute Phase Pneumatic Conveying

By Hank van Ormer, Van Ormer Consulting

In open end pipe line suspension flow, or dilute phase pneumatic conveying, proper particle velocity is critical to continuing productivity and product quality. Until recently, measurement of actual particle velocity within the pipe has not been practical outside the laboratory. The plant operating personnel depend on a much less accurate metric - estimating the conveying air velocity in the pipe and relating that to particle velocity.
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The Heart of Pneumatic Conveying Systems - Positive Displacement Blower Calculations

By Roger E. Blanton, P.E., Sales Manager, Howden Roots

Pneumatic conveying systems are widely used in manufacturing plants and process industries. They provide a practical method of bulk-solid material transport. A surprisingly wide variety of powders and granular material can be effectively moved from one location to another within the plant. “Compared with other bulk-solid transport systems, a properly designed pneumatic conveying system affords many advantages".
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Formaldehyde Monitoring in the Poultry Industry

By Nancy Aulisa, ENMET

Formaldehyde is an organic compound that can adopt several different forms. It can be used in solution form as formalin, as a free gas, or in a solid form as paraformaldehyde prills. Formaldehyde is highly toxic to humans, regardless of the method of intake. At room temperature it is a colorless gas characterized by a pungent odor. Even with very short-term exposure, formaldehyde will cause irritation to the eyes including pain, redness, blurred vision followed by sneezing, soreness, coughing, shortness of breath, headaches and nausea. Exposure to elevated levels can lead to accumulation of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema).
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From Pharma to Coffee: Pneumatic Conveying Design Basics

By Doan Pendleton, VAC-U-MAX

It’s one thing to move materials during the production process, but when it’s a finished product on the packaging line, choosing the right material handling system is essential. Getting it wrong results in squandered production time when product loss occurs, and wasted raw materials.
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Powdered Egg Company Implements Energy-Saving Pneumatic Conveying System

By Doan Pendleton, VAC-U-MAX

Nutriom sets the bar high when it comes to producing its premium quality natural powdered egg products Ova Easy® and Egg Crystals®, that are sold at outdoor retailers such as REI, and online merchants such as Amazon.com; so, when the screw conveyor in their FSIS USDA facility required regular unexpected attention, Leonardo Etcheto, Plant Manager at the Lacey, WA facility knew it was time to look for a better solution.
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Pneumatic Conveying Energy Assessment Saves $321,000

By Don van Ormer, Air Power USA

The plant air system consists of eight, single-stage, lubricated, Sullair rotary screw compressors. All units are in good working order. Units 2, 3, 4 and 7 are water-cooled and units 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are air-cooled. The main plant air system has two primary compressed air dryers, a Thompson Gordon model TG 2000 refrigerated dryer, and a Sullair model SAR 1350 heatless desiccant dryer. Both units are working according to their design. The TG 2000 uses approximately 11.2 kW and is a non-cycling type unit, and the SAR 1350 uses approximately 200 cfm of purge air to regenerate the wet tower.
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