Design Considerations of Long-Distance Pneumatic Transport and Pipe Branching

The pneumatic transportation of bulk solids through pipelines has been in existence for over one hundred years. Some of the earlier applications included the vacuum unloading of grain from ships and the extraction of sawdust from timber mills. 

This method of conveying now is being selected for an increasing number of industrial applications and products and hence, is playing a more vital and integral role in numerous bulk handling operations and processes. Some of the major reasons are listed below. 

Unfortunately, many new and old systems have not been designed properly and are being operated inefficiently. Some of the major consequences include high energy consumption, excessive system erosion, inadequate conveying capacity, unexpected pipeline blockages, excessive product damage and hence, poor quality control and/or increased maintenance. These problems have resulted mainly from 

A significant number of developments have occurred over the past decade to address these important issues of pneumatic conveying (Wypych, 1995a). This chapter summarizes some of the major design considerations that have resulted from this work in relation to long-distance and pipe branching applications. 

With the advent of high-pressure feeders after World War II (e.g., blow tanks, screw pumps), many designers and users began to apply pneumatic conveying to much greater distances and/or capacities (e.g., 

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Design Considerations of Long-Distance Pneumatic Transport and Pipe Branching... 

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