FACTORS AFFECTING THE DESIGN OF PNEUMATIC CONVEYING SYSTEMS.

Pneumatic conveying plant design considerations and inter-relationships between various design parameters are outlined. A reiterative procedure, which takes account of system pressure drop and blower volumetric intake for various pipe diameters, is suggested. The method is applied to an idealized horizontal pneumatic conveying system using a pressure drop correlation due to Richardson and McLeman. Using this technique, it has been found possible to select the most efficient running conditions. A best superficial conveying velocity of about 23 m/s, regardless of pipe diameter or solids feed rate, is obtained for conditions upon which the model is based. Larger diameter pipes are shown to be generally more efficient in terms of running costs, but this may be offset by the higher initial capital outlay.