What is pneumatic conveyor?
In industrial applications it is increasingly necessary to transport granular or powder materials in fluid suspension through numerous stages of the production process. In this regard, RGS has been developing innovative pneumatic transport solutions for all industrial realities.
Pneumatic conveyors transfer solid powdered or granular substances into pipes, usually circular, by means of a stream of air of adequate speed.
The fundamental distinction between the various types of pneumatic transport derives from the way in which the motion of the material is realized, through a current of air that can be:
- IN VACUUM (aspiration)
- IN PRESSURE (thrust)
How pneumatic conveyors work?
Pneumatic conveyors are systems widely used in industry to transfer materials at different points through closed pipelines. Material transfer is the combination of a difference in depression or pressure and the flow of air or gas within the pipes.
Depending on the needs, a different gas can be used, such as nitrogen, which being inert lends itself to the transport of potentially explosive materials, or for products of easy oxidation.
The purpose of a pneumatic conveying system is to transfer materials from one or more points to a final destination or to a further production process; among these we can find the processes of mixing, granulation, concentration, processing and packaging.
* These different technologies will be explained in specific applications.
Advantages
Small Foot Print
Very small dimensions, extreme flexibility of positioning and management, no external pollution, speed in the internal sanitization of the components.
Dust Free
The basic idea is to maintain high standards of cleanliness and hygiene in all production departments. In this regard, the use of a closed-circuit pneumatic transport system using vacuum is the best solution for the elimination of annoying dust emission points. All our systems can also be ATEX certified.
Food Grade
RGS pneumatic transfer systems are used in the food industry where high quality standards must be met. Thanks to our long experience in this field we are able to produce a wide range of conveyors and systems, both standard and customized, all in accordance with the regulations regarding materials and articles intended to come into contact with food products: 1935/2004, as well as the USA FDA regulations.
Think safe – Work safe – Work easy
Our conveyors are designed with features to make them easy to use, install and maintain. You can easily access the filters for inspection or change. The ease of disassembly allows you to remove filters without the use of tools, reducing the time needed to perform the reclamation for material change and ordinary maintenance.
How pneumatic conveyors work in a vacuum and in pressure?
Vacuum Dilute Phase Pneumatic Conveyors
Normally fans (much air and little depression or pressure) or side channel impellers (good depression or pressure and good amount of air) are used. In some applications also the lobe pumps (excellent depression or pressure and air).
These applications are ideal for medium-range and distance pneumatic transfers, maintaining an excellent price performance ratio. With these systems one or more discharge points can be served starting from a single sampling point and using a single pump.
In this system the material floats in the air at a speed of about 30/40 m/s.
High Vacuum – Semi-Dense Pneumatic Conveyors
For this particular type of pneumatic transfer, where the product must not be de-mixed or even laminated on arrival, normally used by pharmaceutical and food companies to serve packaging machines, vacuum pumps or hooks are used (little air and a lot of depression or pressure).
In this system the material travels at a speed of about 20 m/s.
Vacuum Dense Phase Pneumatic Conveyors
Dense phase transport is ideal for transporting fragile products, abrasives and mixtures. It is then used for long distances and/or large volumes.
In this system the material travels at a speed of about 2/5 m/s.
We pick up product from:
- Hoppers / Big bags / Silos / Drums
- Sacks / Dryers
- Cutting machines / Floors
- Centrifuges / Hoppers of product sockets
- Containers / Bag breakers
- Vibrating Channels / Vibrating screens
We transport directly to:
- Mixers / Reactors
- Filling machines
- Hoppers with weighing systems
- Sieves / Tablet Press Machines
- Bag / Drum filling systems
- Silos / Packaging machines
- Filters
- Lines of work
* During the transport process we can also foresee mixing, screening, weighing and dosing systems.
What can you convey?
Our pneumatic conveyor systems are widely used in many sectors of which the main ones are: food, tobacco, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, mechanical engineering and many others.
Chemical and Pharmaceutical
- Coal
- Bentonite
- Diatomite
- Sodium nitrate
- Silicon dioxide
- Cellulose powder
- Magnesium
- Sodium bicarbonate
- Plants drugs
- Preparations of vitamins
- Pharmaceutical powders
- Tablets
- Capsule
- Resins
Food
- Aromas
- Malt and hops
- Legumes
- Chocolate
- Cacao
- Spices
- Sugar
- Animal food
- Pectin
- Rice
- Tea
- Tobacco
- Milk powder
- Cereals
- Roasted and wheat coffee
- Dried fruit (hazelnuts, peanuts, pistachios…)
- Flour
- Spices (pepper, salt, paprika, garlic…)
Oenological and Oil
- Perlite
- Fossil flour
- Bentonite
- Coal
Mechanic
- Aluminium powder
- Iron powder
- Metal shavings
- Steel granules
- Zinc powder
Plastic
- Plastic stoppers
- PE-PP powder caoutchouc
- Granules of polyethylene
- Granules of polyurethane
- Calcium carbonate
Ceramic
- Colouring and decorating powders
- Teflon powder
- Oxides
- Toner powder
- Biossids
- Pigments
- Atomized
Packaging
- Trims of packaging lines
- Textile cuttings
Applications
Agri-Food Industry
The agri-food and chemical-pharmaceutical divisions are an important reality for RGS. In these years, an excellent specialization has been achieved in pneumatic loading — both for mixers with multiple mono-component products (on request also dosed or weighed) and for emptying them with mixed products, while maintaining the degree of mixing of the final product (without having separation and no stratification of the product).
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Pneumatic conveyors system for flour and processing residues in an industrial pizzeria. System realized in ATEX version for zone 22 powders.
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Conveyor and dosing plant with recipe management (10 products) in an industrial bakery. System realized in ATEX version for zone 22 powders.
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4 hoppers to receive the product on a mixer for milk, sugar and cocoa transport.
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Loading system for vertical instant coffee packaging machines.
Chemistry and Pharmaceuticals Industry
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Conveyor system for pharmaceutical blending on a capsule filling machine in a pharmaceutical industry.
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Pharmaceutical mixer working in depression.
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Hopper on mixer for the transport of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical powders.
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Conveyor system for mixed pharmaceutical powders made of 316L AISI stainless steel with polished finishes in a pharmaceutical industry. System realized in ATEX version for zone 21-22.
Oenology Industry
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Fossil flour conveyor system with big-bags emptying system and transfer on filter in a cellar.
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Loading system of barley and malt on a kettle in a craft brewery.
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Perlite transport system, compressed air for ATEX 1-2 zone on a filtering unit in a distillery.
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System consisting of two single-phase conveyors that load two tanks for the preparation of the fossil flour filtration compound.
Packaging Industry
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Seed conveyor system on packaging machine, made with single-phase loader equipped with anti-shutter tangential inlet.
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High vacuum conveyor system of pharmaceutical powders with pneumatic lifter to facilitate the positioning of the hopper over the packaging machine.
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Loading hoppers for conveying of sugar.
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Pneumatic transport system on a total of 9 packaging machines with 4 big-bags removal in a sugar packaging industry. System realized in ATEX version for zone 22.
Ceramics Industry
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Conveying and dosing system for dry coloring. Battery of 4 dosing systems in line on the same press.
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Conveying and dosing system for dry coloring. Battery of 6 dosing systems.
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Multiple pump unit.
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Conveying and dosing system for dry coloring. Battery of 6 dosing systems.
Tobacco Industry
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Lobe compressors for the conveyor of tobacco powders.
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Conveyor system for tobacco powders.
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Pneumatic conveying system for tobacco powders, storage in silos and dosage on mixer.
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Pneumatic conveying system for tobacco powders, storage in silos and dosage on mixer.
Range of Products
To design and build the most suitable and economical transport system to solve customer problems, based on the type of product and the needs of the industry.
Compact Single Phase Pneumatic Conveyors
With reduced dimensions for easy installation for the transport of granular and dusty products.
Compact High Vacuum Conveyors and Compressed Air
Ideal for the transport of mixed powders in semi-dense phase: taking advantage of a high depression and a very low air flow rate, you can use both vacuum pumps with electric motor, and systems with pneumatic ejectors (Venturi). The homogeneity of the product is maintained in both cases.
Suction Units
Three-phase suction units starting from 1.5 kW up to 40 kW. Models with side channel turbine, with high vacuum pump, with hook and lobe pump, can be in mobile version (wheeled up to 15 kW) or fixed, also some models working with compressed air.
Loading Hoppers
Loading hoppers in painted iron or stainless steel, of various capacities and diameters, with discharge systems with butterfly valve, clapet (tilting), and rotary valves.
All models are available in ATEX version.
Food and Pharmaceuticals Hoppers
Load hoppers for BT-H (Blue Tech-Hopper) RGS pneumatic conveyors allow the handling of different types of materials such as powders, granules, and particles of irregular shape.
Electrical Panels
Custom electrical panels interfaced with loading cell weighing systems with PC or PLC systems for recipe management.
Dense Phase Pneumatic Conveying Systems – DPC
Dense phase pneumatic conveying systems are suitable for conveying materials at very long distances by using high-pressure compressed air (> 1 Bar).
The tank is therefore designed to withstand high pressures (PED or ASME certified) and can have a variable volume depending on the design flow rate.
The Pressure Vessel is the heart of dense conveying systems. The conveyor can be made of painted carbon steel, stainless steel AISI 304 or AISI 316. The interior and exterior finishing can be customized according to the needs of customers. All tanks can also be equipped with suitable components for installation in ATEX zones.
The use of high pressure and low air flow allows you to push the material along the pipe to the destination at very low speeds (1–10 m/s), avoiding breakage of fragile materials, segregation of mixtures, and wear of abrasive materials.
* Maximum approximate flow rate, considering an average number of cycles and a bulk density of 1 kg/L
NB: We can realize even bigger engines depending on the customer’s capacity requirements.
Fluidization Kit – AIR-FLUYD
Additional fluidization kit to be installed along the transport line to reduce the friction of the material and consequently the energy required for its transport.
Fluidizing the material is important to minimize pressure losses, balance the pressure inside the pipe, and prevent the formation of obstructions.
Thanks to the AIR-FLUYD kits, it is possible to achieve greater control of the product speed, thus managing to transport more gently fragile or abrasive materials.
They also allow reducing dynamic loads along the pipes and to stop and start the transport with the full pipe.
They are necessary in the case of full pipe, but can also be used in conventional transport in case of products difficult to convey (e.g. abrasive materials and/or materials with uneven grain size).
Ways of Working (Dense Phase)
Batch (or Empty Pipe)
It’s a non-continuous functioning according to which the material, loaded into the pressure vessel, is pushed by compressed air along the pipeline till the destination; at the end of the cycle, both the pipeline and the pressure vessel are empty and all the material has been transferred to the destination.
This kind of convey is suitable for short/medium distances (up to 50–60 meters).
Full Pipe
Expects functioning cycles according to which the pressure vessel is loaded and emptied, pushing the material little by little along the pipe. After having filled all the pipeline, the material begins to be discharged into the destination with very low speed.
This kind of convey is suitable for reaching very long distances (beyond 100 meters) and for conveying very fragile or very abrasive materials.
Full Pipe Continuous
When continuous functioning is required, we can use a twin system with two pressure vessels working alternatively in parallel, pushing the material along the same pipe.
BATCH (OR EMPTY PIPE)
FULL PIPE
