TROUBLESHOOTING DRY FLYASH CONVEYING SYSTEMS By V K Agarwal Indian Institute of Technology Delhi And David Mills Pneumatic Conveying

Consultant, UK
INTRODUCTION Pneumatic conveying systems are now widely used to handle flyash in dry form at the thermal power stations. Both positive and negative pressure systems are used. The conveying distance may be small in case of evacuation of ash from a multitude of storage hoppers like the ESP hoppers into an intermediate hopper. The conveying distance can, however, be much longer from the intermediate hopers to the disposal silos. It is also reasonably established that different grades of ash can have entirely different behavior in the pipeline. While the ESP ash can be successfully conveyed in non suspension flow at very low conveying line inlet air velocity. On the other hand, the ash collected in the economizer hoppers can only be conveyed in dilute phase suspension flow. It is thus clear that the design of pneumatic conveying system involves consideration of many complex variables. Despite being simple in concept, pneumatic conveying systems present significant design problems, not least because of the fact that the conveying medium is compressible. The properties of the material to be conveyed also have a very significant influence on both the design of systems and the specification of components. Most designs are generally based on the use of existing data for the material to be conveyed, and if such data is not available it is usually generated by actually conveying a large sample of the material in a purpose built pneumatic conveying test facility. The majority of pneumatic conveying systems manufacturers have such test rigs for this reason. These facilities, and lists of materials with which they have experience, are often featured in the company advertising literature. The data obtained is then scaled from that of the test pipeline, or previous facility, to that of the plant pipeline being designed. This process is entirely empirically based and so it is not surprising, therefore, that problems do arise in the operation of these systems. This paper discusses some of the most common problems encountered in such systems and how to address a potential solution to these problems.

SYSTEM THROUGHPUT PROBLEMS

Problems relating to system throughput are potentially the most serious. The inability to convey a material, frequent pipeline blockages, and systems not capable of meeting the required duty, are some of the major problems. Particular note of changes in performance that might occur with respect to time should be made, for these should not occur with a pneumatic conveying system, and could well lead to failure over a period of time [Ref 1].

Pipeline Blockage
One of the most frustrating problems encountered in system operation is that of a pipeline blockage. In any pipeline blockage situation the first thing to do is to check all the obvious system features: Is the reception point clear? Are the diverter valves operating satisfactorily? Is the full conveying air supply available? was the pipeline clear on start up? has a pipeline bend failed?

The problem may relate to system components, such as the feeding device, or it may be a material related problem, such as particle size or moisture. The time of the day and year that it occurs, together with the prevailing weather conditions, and the nature of the blockage, are useful indicators of the potential cause. Pipeline blockages generally present a serious problem in most bulk solids handling situations, and particularly so if continuous process operations are involved, and so there is usually a need for speed of solution. For this reason a check list of possible causes and actions to take is given in Table 1. A detailed discussion on all the possible causes of pipeline blockage is not possible in this paper. A detailed explanation is presented elsewhere. [Ref. 2]. Moisture in Line Moisture can be a major irritant in the operation of the pneumatic conveying systems. If material is blown into a cold pipeline it is possible that the inside surface could be wet as a result of condensation. This is liable to occur in pipelines which are subject to large temperature variations, particularly where there are pipe runs outside buildings. If air drying is not normally necessary, the problem can be overcome either by trace heating of exposed sections of the pipeline, or by blowing the conveying air through the pipeline for a period to dry it out prior to introducing the material. Lagging may be sufficient in some cases.



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Table 1: Check List of Possible Causes of Pipeline Blockage This point is illustrated in Figure 1. This is a graph which shows the variation, with temperature, of the mass of water which can be supported as vapour in saturated air. If the temperature rises, for a given mass of water vapour, the humidity will decrease and air will become drier. If the temperature falls, however, condensation will take place and the humidity will remain at 100%. For initially saturated air, therefore, Figure 1 can be used to determine the mass of water vapour which will condense for a given change in temperature.

Figure 1: The Influence of Temperature on Water Vapour in Air

Moisture is often a problem in general high pressure plant air supplies. If plant air is used it would be wise to incorporate a moisture separating device. If the inside surface of a pipeline is wet, as a result of condensation, fine material will tend to stick to the wall surface. This is particularly a problem at bends prior to a vertical lift. Moisture condensing on the surface of the vertical pipeline will tend to drain down to the bend at the bottom and collect as a pool of water. It depends upon the nature of the material being conveyed, and its interaction with water, as to what will happen when the material meets the water. In some cases a hard scale will form, and this will gradually accumulate with successive cycles of condensation and conveying, to a point where the build up adds significantly to the pipeline resistance. For a conveying system operating close to its pressure limit the added resistance could result in pipeline blockage.

Cold Air
The density of air decreases with increase in temperature. In normal operation the delivery temperature of the air from an air mover, such as a Roots type blower, could be some 60 degrees C higher than the inlet temperature. This means that the volumetric flow rate, and hence the conveying air velocity, will be 25% to 30% greater than the value at ambient temperature. On start up the air will initially be fairly cold for conveying the material, and so if the resulting conveying air velocity is below that necessary for the material, the pipeline could block. This point is illustrated in Figure 2. This is a graph of conveying air velocity plotted against a narrow band of air temperature. It is derived from Equation 12 once again, for a free air flow rate of 0.5 m3/s at a pressure of 1.0 bar gauge in a 150 mm bore pipeline.

Figure 2: The Influence of Temperature on Conveying Air Velocity Figure 2 shows that conveying air velocity is quite sensitive to temperature, as well as pressure. Since air density increases with decrease in temperature, it is essential that air requirements are based on the lowest temperature that is likely to be experienced. Thus a cold start up in winter with the lowest possible air and material temperatures must be catered for.

SYSTEM COMPONENT PROBLEMS

Many of the problems encountered in pneumatic conveying systems are associated with the various components which go to comprise the system itself. The problems generally result from either incorrect specification, or a failure to take account of the properties of the material to be conveyed.

Blowers
The rotary lobes in blowers are machined to close tolerances, as are moving parts in many other air compressors. Any ingress of dust or material into the machine will have a serious effect on the performance of the blower. Down-stream of the blower, or any

other air mover, non-return valves should be fitted into the air supply lines to prevent the possibility of back-flushing of materials. This is a possibility if the pipeline blocks. Some materials that have very poor permeability are capable of holding back air pressures of 6 bar gauge with just a short plug of material in the pipeline. If the pipeline blocks and the air mover is switched off, while the pipeline is being cleared, the material in the pipeline could easily be back-flushed to the compressor if it was not protected with non-return valves.

Air Filters
If a blower, or any other positive displacement air mover, is operating in a dusty environment an air filter should be fitted to the air inlet. This filter should be cleaned or changed periodically, for if it becomes choked with dust, the added resistance will have an adverse effect on the blower performance. A source of air away from the plant or outside the building is generally recommended in these circumstances. In negative pressure, closed loop and combined systems, blowers have to operate with air which has been used for conveying material. In these cases it is essential that the air is effectively filtered. Unless the filtration unit is 100% reliable, it is generally advisable to add a back-up filter in order to provide a measure of protection for the blower in the event of a rupture of one of the filter elements. If a gradual change in performance of a pneumatic conveying system is observed over a period of time, it could be due to wear of the blower. Ingress of dusty air into the blower will cause a gradual change in its operating characteristics.

Blow Tanks
Of all systems components, the operation and control of blow tanks is probably least understood. This is mainly due to the fact that there are generally no moving parts associated with blow tanks, and so it is not immediately evident how control of the material feed rate from the blow tank is achieved. A very wide range of blow tank types and configurations have also been developed which has increased the confusion.

Transient Considerations
Single blow tank systems operate on a batch-wise mode and so conveying is not continuous as it can be with rotary valves, screw feeders, venturi feeders and some twin

blow tank systems. A sketch showing the transient nature of the flow is shown in Figure 3. It will be seen from this that for a given averaged mean value of material flow rate to be obtained, a very much higher value must be achieved during the steady state portion of the cycle in order to compensate. It is important to realise that in order to obtain a given time averaged mean value of material flow rate, the pipeline bore and air requirements must be based on the steady state value of material flow rate achieved during the conveying cycle. If the desired material flow rate is not being achieved, methods of increasing the ratio of the time averaged mean to the steady state value should be considered. This would include an assessment of the times required for pressurising, de-pressurising and venting, valving and possible changes in operating procedures and conveying conditions.

Figure 3: Sketch Showing the Transient Nature of Batch Conveying

Control
The discharge rate of a blow tank is controlled by means of proportioning the air supply between the fluidising and supplementary air lines. Typical operating characteristics for a blow tank fed pipeline system are given in Figure 4. This combines the characteristics of the blow tank as a feeder and the potential of a given pipeline for conveying material. It is important that the required conveying duty can be achieved by both the blow tank and the pipeline In terms of blow tank control, if it is found that insufficient material is being fed into a pipeline, the proportion of the total air supply which is directed to the blow tank should

be increased. If too much material is being fed into a pipeline, this proportion should be reduced. By this means control over the blow tank discharge rate can be achieved without any moving parts, and so it is ideal for discharging abrasive materials such as fly ash. A very wide turn-down ratio can also be achieved with the one blow tank, as can be seen from Figure 4, which is another useful feature.

Figure 4: Typical Operating Characteristics for Blow Tank Fed Pipeline Conveying System

Discharge Limit
The discharge limit of a blow tank will be reached when all the air is directed to the blow tank. If a further increase in material flow rate is required, this can be achieved by increasing the volumetric flow rate of air, although this may have an adverse effect on the conveying of the material in the pipeline. The alternative is to increase the diameter of the blow tank discharge pipe.

Change of Distance
If a blow tank is to be used to convey a material over a range of distances it will be necessary to change the proportion of the air according to the distance conveyed. If this

is not done the pipeline will be under-utilised for shorter distances, and may block on longer distances. Feeder control, with respect to a change of distance, is an issue that must be considered with regard to any type of feeder. This is where a pressure gauge in the air supply line is particularly useful, for it can be used to ensure that the material flow rate through the pipeline is always the maximum that can be conveyed with the given air supply, regardless of the distance.

Change of Material
Material type also has a significant influence on the discharge capability of a blow tank, and for a given material the performance will differ between top and bottom discharge . In general, top discharge blow tanks are capable of achieving the highest feed rates and are to be recommended for materials conveyed in dense phase. Bottom discharge blow tanks are best for materials conveyed in dilute phase as they provide better control for this mode of conveying. Because of the different conveying capabilities of different materials, a pressure gauge in the air supply line will also help with regard to ensuring optimum feeder control to achieve maximum utilisation of the pipeline with different materials.

Control Systems
An automatic control facility for a blow tank system is shown in Figure 5. This will automatically proportion the total air supply between the blow tank and the supplementary line.

Figure 5: Blow Tank Control System In this case the feed-back signal is from the air pressure in the supplementary air supply line. Controls are usually taken from pressure signals since, assuming that the blower or compressor operates within a prescribed range, any change in conveying rate, and hence solids loading rate, will be reflected in a change of operating pressure. If too much material is discharged into the conveying line the pressure will increase and so the modulating valve will decrease the proportion of air passing to the blow tank to compensate. If the pressure drop across the conveying line is low the modulating valve will reduce the supplementary air and so allow more air to pass to the blow tank and hence increase its discharge. This type of control is particularly useful on the start-up and tail-out transients associated with the conveying cycle. During start-up, for example, all the air will automatically be directed to the blow tank to effect a rapid pressurisation. Control will also be automatically achieved with conveying pipelines of different length and with different materials. Similar control facilities can be applied to most other pipeline feeding systems.

SYSTEM RELATED PROBLEMS

One part is concerned essentially with environmental factors such as altitude, temperature variations and condensation. Another part deals with physical problems which can happen to the system such as an explosion, bends eroding and electrostatic discharges. Many of these problems are caused directly by the material being conveyed. Of all the problems, erosive wear is probably the most serious, particularly in relation to the conveying of fly ash. The operation of a pneumatic conveying system at altitude should present no problems at all, provided that due account has been taken of the local air pressure, and hence density of the air. This will influence the specification of the air mover, since the volumetric flow rate is generally quoted in terms of free air. It will also influence the size of the filter required, as discussed earlier in the section on component related problems. For a plant located at an elevation of 1000 m above sea level, for example, there is a reduction in ambient pressure of about 11.4 kN/m2 or 85 mm Hg, which is more than 10% of the standard atmospheric pressure at sea level. The normal atmospheric pressure at sea level can fluctuate quite naturally by 25 mm Hg on a day to day basis, which equates to a change in elevation of about 300 m. Figure 67 can be used to assess the influence of elevation on the local value of atmospheric pressure.

Altitude

Condensation
Condensation is liable to occur in pipelines which are subject to large temperature variations, particularly where there are pipe runs outside buildings, and air drying is not employed.

Electrostatics
Pneumatic conveying systems are known to be prolific generators of static electricity. In a large number of cases the amount of charge generated is too small to have any noticeable effect, but sometimes appreciable generation can occur. Very often, this is just a nuisance, as is likely to be the case with fly ash, but occasionally it can present a hazard, particularly with a material such as coal dust. The electrostatic problem can be reduced by earthing the pipeline and ensuring that electrical continuity is maintained across all flanged joints. The humidity of the conveying air can also be used as a means of controlling static build-up. The use of humidity for charge control, however, is clearly not suitable if the material being conveyed is hygroscopic, or where condensation might be a problem.

Erosion

If the hardness of the particles to be conveyed is higher than that of the system components, such as feeders and pipeline bends, then erosive wear will occur at all surfaces against which the particles impact.

Influence of Velocity
Conveying air velocity is a major variable in the problem and any reduction that can be made in the velocity at which the material is conveyed will help to reduce the problem. Since the conveying air velocity increases along the length of a pipeline, the bends at the end of the pipeline are likely to fail first. Erosion here could be reduced by increasing the pipeline bore over the last part of the pipeline. Use of stepped pipelines to achieve a lower velocity profile is an accepted practice. Figure 6 is drawn from actual data obtained from a pneumatic conveying system pipeline. The erosive wear is expressed in terms of the mass of metal eroded from a bend, in grams, per tonne of material conveyed through the bend. With these bends failure occurred after approximately 100 g of metal had been eroded. At a velocity of 30 m/s, therefore, the bends would fail after only five tonnes of sand had been conveyed. This helps to explain why bends at the end of the pipeline will fail first and why it is necessary to convey abrasive materials at as low a velocity as possible.

Figure 6:

The Influence of Conveying Air Velocity on the Erosive Wear of Steel Pipeline Bends

Possible Solutions

A variety of solutions are possible for the bend erosion problem. One method is to reinforce the bend with a channel backing, which can be filled with concrete. Care must be exercised with this type of solution, however, for although it will solve the problem with respect to the outer bend wall surface, the deflection of the material out of the wear pocket formed could result in failure of the inside surface of the bend, and of the straight length of pipeline following the bend. The use of very hard materials such as Ni-hard cast iron, basalt or alumina ceramics will help to prolong the bend life. These materials are generally brittle, however, and so short radius bends should be avoided, because of the particle impact angle influence considered later. Blind tees will provide a cheap and effective solution to the problem, but consideration should be given to the possible increase in pressure drop, which can be very marked, particularly if there are several of these bends in a pipeline. The straight section of pipeline immediately following a blind tee bend should be reinforced, for this will suffer impact wear as a result of the turbulence generated by such an abrupt change in direction.

Straight Pipeline
Erosion of straight lengths of pipeline is rarely a problem. Should this occur, however, possible causes are misaligned flanges and poorly welded joints, and proximity to valves and bends, as mentioned above. Straight pipeline will suffer from erosive wear if the particles being conveyed are large. This is a particular problem with mill rejects conveyed in dilute phase suspension flow. In this case the wear is due to the skipping motion of the particles along the horizontal lengths of pipeline. Wear will generally be concentrated along the bottom of the pipeline and so the life of the pipeline could be extended quite considerably if the pipeline were to be rotated periodically.

Impact Angle Effects

The influence of the impact angle of particles against surfaces, and the response of different surface materials to erosive wear is illustrated in Figure 7. This shows that ductile materials, such as mild steel and aluminium, suffer maximum wear at an impact angle of about 25o and offer a reasonable degree of resistance at normal impact. Brittle materials, however, such as glass, basalt, concrete and cast iron, suffer maximum wear under normal impact and offer a reasonable degree of resistance to low angle impact.

Figure 7:

Variation of Erosive Wear with Particle Impact Angle for Various Surface Materials

It can be seen from this why misaligned flanges and poorly welded pipeline joints can cause such problems. Any situation in which turbulence or deflecting flows can occur could cause low angle impact and hence rapid failure of a ductile material. It will also be seen why brittle materials should not be used for short radius bends. The impact angle of particles against a short radius bend will be very high, and rapid failure of a brittle material will generally result.

Temperature Variations
For a plant subject to operating in extremes of temperature, from summer to winter and/or day to night, consideration will have to be given to the problems of condensation and changes in conveying air velocity. Air density increases with decrease in temperature, and so if a conveying air velocity is 15 m/s at 40oC, it will be about 12 m/s at -20oC for the same free air flow rate. Condensation may occur in pipelines subject to large temperature variations as discussed earlier in the section on system throughput problems. Fly ash is likely to be warm or hot in many cases and so it is important that the effect that this has on conveying line inlet air velocities, and flow rates into exhausters, is correctly taken into account. 1. D Mills. Identifying and Solving Material Flow Problems in Pneumatic Conveying Systems. Powder and Bulk Handling. pp 10 - 17. Oct - Dec 1998.

2. D Mills and V K Agarwal Pneumatic conveying Systems. Design, Selection and troubleshooting with particular reference to Pulverised Fuel Ash. Published by Vogel, Germany