Air Movers

The different industrial ways to blow air for pneumatic conveying

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Section summary
1. Introduction
2. The different types of air movers

Section summary

1. Introduction

2. The different types of air movers

1. Introduction

How to blow air in a pneumatic conveying system ?

Blowers constitute the air movers in many pneumatic conveying systems running lean phase. They can be placed at the beginning of the line, delivering an overpressure, or at the end of the line to produce a vacuum. The most common type of blower used for this purpose is the rotary Roots blower, a volumetric blower (positive displacement) that can be operated either in pressure or vacuum without specific changes. In recent years rotary screw blowers have however gained momentum for such applications as manufacturer report they are more energy efficient.

Example of an air mover in a pneumatic conveying line

Figure 1 : an air mover, here a Roots blower, in a pneumatic conveying system

2. The different types of air movers

Table 1 : The different types of air movers for pneumatic conveying lines, their use and operating pressure

Air mover	Service	Typical operating pressure
Roots blower	Dilute phase pneumatic conveying Can also be used in vacuum mode	400-500 mbar in pressure -250 to -300 mbar g in vacuum
Screw blowers	Dilute phase conveying, pressure service	600 to 1100 mbar depending on models
Fan	Very dilute and short distance pneumatic conveying Can also be used connected to the receiver's filter, in addition to a Roots blower to help keep a lower pressure in the receiver and thus increasing the volumetric flow of the system.	-100 mbar
Compressed air	Dense phase pressure conveying The compressed air can be taken directly from the compressed air network of the factory, or generated by a compressor	> 1 bar
Vacuum pump	Dense phase vacuum conveying Typically claws vacuum pumps or ring layer vacuum pumps	-700 mbar