Conveying of Solids

Transport of solids

(In plant transport)

Unassisted manpower- that is to carry the load on ones own

shoulders. However this is applicable only to where manpower
is cheap and easily available and also to short distance transport.

Assisted manpower-utilizing hand trucks, trolleys or carts.

This can be utilized for lifting loads weighing more than 50 to
70 kg.
Portable power driven machines can be used for longer
distances and large capacities. Cranes may be used. Electric
power shovels are used where cheap electric power is available.

Transport of solids by mechanical conveyors

For long distance transport of material by rail or road often
becomes uneconomical, in such cases a continuous mode
of transport such as hydraulic or pneumatic transport or
commonly called the slurry transportation is employed.

Scrapers (they push the material along the tubes eg screw con

Mechanical conveyors

Carriers ( load is carried on belt, bucket)

Conveyors
Gravity chutes-down which the solid falls under the action of
gravity. Gravity feed through vertical chutes can be used
economically, particularly when the material has to pass through
a series of operations. In such cases, the material is first brought
to the top of the building or structure by a conveyor or elevator
and then fed downwards by gravity, operation by operation,
until removed as product at the bottom. The only power
requirement will be that for lifting the solids to the required
elevation.
A chute is a vertical or inclined plane, channel, or passage through which objects are moved by
means of gravity.
Chutes are in common use in tall buildings to allow the rapid transport of items from the upper floors
to a central location on one of the lower floors or basement. Chutes may be round, square or
rectangular at the top and/or the bottom.

chutes are in common use in tall buildings to allow the rapid transport of items from the upper floors to a central
location on one of the lower floors or basement. Chutes may be round, square or rectangular at the top and/or the
bottom.

Applications

 Laundry chutes in hotels are placed on each floor to allow the expedient transfer and
collection of dirty laundry to the hotel's laundry facility without having to use elevators or
stairs.
Garbage chutes are common in high-rise apartment buildings and are used to collect all the
building's garbage in the one place. Often the bottom end of the chute is placed directly above
a large waste receptacle. This makes garbage collection more efficient.
Mail chutes are used in some buildings to collect the occupants' mail. A notable example is
the Asia Insurance Building.
Escape chutes are used and proposed for use in evacuation of mining equipment and high-rise
buildings.[4][5]
Construction chutes are used to remove rubble and similar demolition materials safely from
taller buildings. These temporary structures typically consist of a chain of cylindrical or
conical plastic tubes, each fitted into the top of the one below and tied together, usually with
chains. Together they form a long flexible tube, which is hung down the side of the building.
The lower end of this tube is placed over a skip or other receptacle, and waste materials are
dropped into the top. Heavy duty steel chutes may also be used when the debris being
deposited is heavy duty and in cases of particularly high buildings.

(a)
Air slides-where the particles which are maintained partially
suspended in a channel by the upward flow of air.

Application: transportation of cement or gypsum

(b)
Belt conveyers- where the solids are conveyed horizontally or at
small angles to the horizontal, on a continuous moving belt. They have
large load carrying capacity over long distances. Simple design, easy
maintenance and high reliability of operation. Principle components of a
belt conveyor are a supporting structure, two pulleys, drive pulley at the
head and take-up pulley at the rear end and a closed belt that runs around
these pulley and is fastened to the frame.

(c) Screw conveyers- are widely used for

transportation of grains, crushed coal, gravel, sand.
They are less recommended for handling sticky and
abrasive materials. The solids are moved along a pipe
or channel by a rotating helical impeller. Their draw
backs are high unit power consumption, high wear on
the screw.
The rotating part of the conveyor is sometimes called simply an auger.

Centreless screw conveyor

It consists of a Screw Auger Rotating in a pipe for vertical lifting or in a U-shaped trough
for horizontal conveying.
They usually consist of a trough or tube containing either a spiral blade coiled around a shaft,
driven at one end and held at the other, or a "shaftless spiral", driven at one end and free at the
other. The rate of volume transfer is proportional to the rotation rate of the shaft.

Screw conveyors can be operated with the flow of material inclined upward.
When space allows, this is a very economical method of elevating and conveying.
As the angle of inclination increases, the capacity of a given unit rapidly decreases.

(d) Bucket elevators- the particles are carried upwards

in buckets attached to continuously moving vertical
belt. Bucket elevators have relatively small crosssectional dimensions and they are capable of lifting
loads to large heights. Their main limitation is that the
material must be supplied in a uniform flow since on
overloading the buckets may break off from the belt or
chains.

Bucket conveyor: It is mainly used in construction sites to transport materials

such as gravel, cement, sand and so forth. These conveyors are operated with the
help of buckets and chains. It can move horizontally and vertically according to
placement of the entire apparatus. It can however be powered electrically,
mechanically and hydraulically. It can also be manually powered.

(e)
Vibrating conveyors-in which the particles are subjected to
asymmetric vibration and travel in a series of steps over a table. During
the forward stroke of the table the particles are carried forward in contact
with it, but the acceleration in the reverse stroke of the table is so high
that the table slips under the particles.
Vibrating conveyors are also suitable for harsh, very hot, dirty, or corrosive
environments. They can be used to convey newly cast metal parts which may reach
upwards of 1,500 F (820 C).

(f)

Pneumatic / hydraulic conveying installations- the

particles are transported in a stream of air/water. Long

distance transport of solids by rail or road often
becomes uneconomical. It is in such situations, a
continuous

mode

of

transport

such

as

slurry

transportation becomes highly desirable.

Solids can be conveniently conveyed through pipe lines in

the form of a slurry or suspension in a fluid. If the carrier fluid
is water, then it is called hydraulic transport and if air is the
carrier fluid, then it is called pneumatic transport.

Slurry transportation through underground pipe lines has the

distinct advantages such as
i) continuous operation
ii)practically immune to adverse weather conditions
iii) less man power requirement
iv) possibility of following a relatively shorter route.

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 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.
Air is the most commonly used gas, but may not be selected for use with reactive
materials and/or where there is a threat of dust explosions.
Pneumatic conveying can be used for particles ranging from fine powders to pellets and
bulk densities of 16 to 3200 kg/m (1 to 200 lb/ft ). As a general rule, pneumatic conveying
3

will work for particles up to 2 inches in diameter @ typical density. By "typical density" we
mean that a 2 inch particle of a polymer resin can be moved via pneumatic conveying, but a
2 inch lead ball would not.

Types of Pneumatic Conveying

three main categories: dilute phase, dense phase, and air conveying

High velocity conveying @ 3,200 to 8,000 feet per minute

Operating pressures in range of 5-12 PSIG (positive) or negative pressures of 4-12 Hg
High air to solids loading ratios (> 2.0)

Return leg- conveyors that carries the empty belt or

chain back from the discharge to the loading point.
Vibrating conveyors and screw conveyors have no return
leg.