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The pneumatic conveying of bulk materials through pipes is a proven technology that offers numerous advantages over mechanical systems. These include flexible installation, low space requirements and minimal maintenance. However, conventional dilute phase systems reach their limits, especially when conveying highly abrasive glass fiber reinforced plastic pellets.

In dilute phase conveying, the pellets are transported at high air speeds, which often leads to problems such as the formation of angel hair and severe wear on the pipe bends. Angel hair is caused by friction and heat build-up, which melts the plastic granules. Glass fiber-reinforced pellets with a proportion of 30 to 50 percent also mechanically wear down the pipe material and can lead to leaks.

The solution is provided by Gericke’s PTA® pneumatic dense phase conveying system. Here, a pressure vessel is used as a feeding device, which doses the product into the pipeline and acts a gas-tight valve. Small product plugs are formed in the pipeline, which are gently transported by compressed air at a low speed of less than 10 meters per second. The conveying speed is significantly reduced compared to dilute phase conveying, which minimizes wear. The pressure vessel ensures gas-tight feeding and also enables the conveying of abrasive or sensitive materials. The bulk material is pushed through the pipeline in compact plugs, which increases throughput and minimizes the required air consumption. For conveying distances of more than 100 meters, additional air nozzles can be integrated to ensure process reliability and continuous material flow. Due to the low speeds and gentle conveying, additional wear protection for the pipe bends is usually not necessary.

With Gericke’s dense phase conveying, wear problems in the conveying of glass fiber reinforced plastic pellets are a thing of the past. The technology stands for safety, efficiency and process accuracy and represents a real advance for modern production plants.