For transportation within the chemical plant, the simplest method

shall be to utilize unassisted manpower, that is to carry the load on

ones own shoulders.
Assisted manpower utilizing hand trucks, trolleys or carts is
recommended when the radius of transport is larger (say, 40 to 70m).
This is applied for lifting loads weighing more than 50 to 75 kg as
well, where mechanical devices like chain falls, pulley blocks could
be employed to supplement the manual labour.
Portable power driven machines can be employed for longer
distances and larger capacities. Electric trucks: general purpose
trucks (with fixed platform or lift-platform), special types (crane
truck, dump body truck).

For long distance transport of large tonnages of solids, bulk

transport by rail, road or by ships (if the locations are conveniently
connected by waterways) is used.
For very large distance (more than 600 to 1000 km), rail or road
transport becomes uneconomical. In such cases, a continuous mode
of transport such as hydraulic or pneumatic transport are used.
Mechanical conveyors are used both for short and long distances:
generally 10-20 km with the rates of 12,500 60,000 kg/hr. These are:
Screw conveyors scrapers
Belt conveyors
Bucket conveyors

Carriers

Used for transporting granular solids such as grain, crushed coal,

ashes, gravel and sand.
Transport up to 40 m horizontally and 30 m vertically.
Less recommended for handling sticky and abrasive materials.
Advantages
Simple design
Easy maintenance
Compactness requiring little headroom
Convenient intermediate unloading
Tightness of conveying space which is of
special value with dusty, hot or odorous
materials
Disadvantages
High power consumption
Substantial rubbing and crushing of the conveyed material
High wear on the screw and the trough
Load accumulation in the bearings

Continuous screws are used for conveying granular solids

Band like and bladed screws are suitable for thorough intermixing of
the material during conveying

Most versatile among the mechanical conveying equipment.

Application:
Distribution of moulding sands and removal of wastes
Fuel supply systems of power stations
Underground and surface transport of coal
Delivery of ores and coke in metal making industries
Transport building materials, fossil minerals, grain, sand and gravel

Carrying capacity: Upto 30 million kg/hr

Distance: 3-4 km in a single conveyor and upto 100 km in systems
comprising of a number of conveyors
Simple design, easy
maintenance and
high reliability of
operation are their
additional features.

The principle components of a belt conveyor are a supporting structure

or frame with two pulleys at its end:
Drive pulley
Take-up pulley
A closed belt that runs around these pulleys and supported along its length by
roller supports which are fastened to the frame.

Width of belt: 0.3 m to 3 m

Spacing between rollers: 1 m 1.5 m
Return rollers are greater intervals than
those carrying the load
The material is fed onto the belt
through one or more filling funnels or
hoppers

Cleaning devices are mounted at the

terminal or head pulley from which the
material is unloaded

Employed for lifting solids vertically upwards or over a steeply

inclined path (at 60-80 with the horizontal).

In a country like India where the coal fields are highly localized, it has been
observed that the cost of transportation of coal over long distances (600
1000 km) by railways often exceeds the cost of the transported coal itself. In
this situation a continuous mode of transport such slurry transportation is
desirable.
Solid can be conveniently conveyed through pipe lines in the form of a slurry
of suspension in a fluid.
If the carrier is water Hydraulic transport
If the carrier is air Pneumatic transport

Advantages

Mode of
transport

Specific transportation
capacity, kg/kW

Power consumption,
W/(kg.km)

Continuous operation
Practically immune to
adverse weather conditions
Less manpower requirement
possibility of following a
relatively shorter route.

Automobiles

65 200

0.149

Railways

270 800

0.037

Waterways

2700 6700

0.011

Airways

1.5 4.0

0.746

Pipeline
transport

5400 40000

0.011

In the case of settling slurries, minimum conveying

velocity required for hydraulic transport is proposed by
Spells:

It is assumed that 85% (by weight) of particles have a

size less than Dp. b is the bulk density of the slurry
and can be estimated from as:

Where, = volume fraction of liquid (water) in the slurry

This equation is based on experiments performed

using slurries containing particles of size less than 1
mm and pipe diameters in the range of 0.025 to 0.3 m.

Conveying From a Machine to Silo

Dosing Different Granular Materials and Filling a Mixer or Blender

No single correlation is available for the

accurate prediction of minimum carrying
velocity (Vmin) for all solid to gas ratios in
horizontal pipes. At low solid to gas ratios
(less than 10 by weight):

Where Dp is the diameter of the largest

particle to be conveyed, m.
This equation is based on experiments with
particle size less than 8 mm and specific
gravity less than 2.65.

In pneumatic transport through horizontal pipes,

the air velocity should be adjusted in such a way
that the particles remain uniformly distributed in
the fluid.
With the low-density solids or low solid to gas
ratios and high gas velocities, the solids normally
remain fully suspended and fairly uniformly
dispersed over the pipe cross-section.