Pneumatic conveying involves the transportation of a wide variety of dry powdered and

granular solids in a gas stream. In most cases the gas is normally air. However, where special
condition prevails (e.g. risk of explosion, health, fire hazards, etc.), different gases are used.
The concept of pipeline transportation of fluids is by no means modern. The history of
its use dates back to antiquity. The Romans, for instance, used lead pipes for water supply
and sewerage disposal, whilst the Chinese conveyed natural gas through bamboo tubes. The
record of pipeline transportation of solids in air is more recent with the inception of fans to
activate the first pneumatic conveying in 1866.
The first large-scale application of pneumatic conveying was the vacuum conveying
of grains in the late nineteenth century. By the mid-1920s, negative and positive pressure
conveying of grain was common. Since that time the practice of pneumatic conveying has
grown enormously and has extended to cover a wide variety of particulate solids. A survey
carried out by the British Hydrodynamics Research Association [1] showed that between
1971 and 1977 the pneumatic conveying market in Britain grew by an order of magnitude
and that during the one year period 1977-1978 a further 50% increase in the sales of
equipment for pneumatic conveying systems was recorded.

Advantages of Pneumatic Conveying System

Pneumatic conveying offers the user the following advantages:
1. Dust free transportation of a variety of products.
2. Flexibility in routing can be transported vertically and horizontally by addition of a
bend in the pipeline.
3. Distribution to many different areas in a plant and pick-up from several areas.
4. Low maintenance and low manpower costs.
5. Multiple use one pipeline can be used for a variety of products.
6. Security pipeline can be used to convey high-valued products.
7. Ease of automation and control.
Disadvantages of a Pneumatic Conveying System
Offset against the advantages, there are certain disadvantages which include:
1. High power consumption.
2. Wear and abrasion of equipment.
3. Incorrect design can result in particle degradation.
4. Limited distance.
5. By virtue of the complex flow phenomena which take place, there is a requirement for
high levels of skill to design, operate and maintain systems.
Because of the high power consumption, pneumatic transportation systems are generally
more suited to the conveyance of fine particles over shorter distances (up to a few
hundred metres). The majority of existing system have capacities within the range of 1 to
400 tonnes per hour over distances less than 1000m with average particle size less than
10mm.
 The limitations are usually economic rather than technical. However, the economic
factor is changing and recent developments have ensured the transportation of materials at
lower energies. Recent applications include the conveyance of up to 40mm coal [2] in a
single lift over 300m vertical and a small number of long-distance pneumatic conveyors
[3] transporting various materials over distance up to 3000m.
With the growing increase in sophistication of pneumatic conveying systems,
potential applications are increasing all the time. Thus for the transportation of solid
materials, pneumatic conveying should be considered as a prime option and should be
evaluated against other modes of solid transportation.