Pneumatic vertical conveying of fine-grained and powdery dry bulk materials
Airlift™ pneumatic elevator - a high-flyer in the world of pneumatic conveying
Vertical transportation of up to 1000 t/h dry bulk materials is a fixture in many applications. But transporting fine-grained and powdery bulk materials to heights of 100 m or more is challenging. Mechanical conveying systems tend to have a lot of moving parts and that means maintenance. Any dust escaping the system is an environmental concern and a safety issue. The Airlift™ doesn’t use any mechanical or drive elements and is therefore not subject to wear like conventional vertical conveyors. This means high availability for up to 1000 t/h lifting capacity. What little maintenance there is can be carried out with ease. The bottom part of the conveying line – centrally arranged above the booster nozzle – can be simply exchanged. If extremely abrasive materials are conveyed, the exchangeable pickup pipe will be made of particularly wear resistant material. And should the bulk material contain large contaminants, the Airlift™ can be equipped with a grating to easily remove these contaminants from the conveying process. When the plant is shut down, they can be removed through the manhole.
Low-maintenance, smooth high-capacity pneumatic conveying elevator with no dust
Maximum reliability
Compact layout
efficient and cost-effective
An Airlift™ System consists of a feed bin, a pickup and conveying pipe, bulk material-air-separation at the end of the conveying pipe, and the necessary conveying and aeration air supplies. Airlift™ feeding with bulk material takes place from the top. The bulk material will be fluidised with air at the bottom of the Airlift™ and sucked into the pickup pipe by the upstream oriented conveying air stream. The primary air conveys the material upward through the conveying pipe. At the upper end of the conveying line, bulk material and air flows are separated – usually by an expansion separator (pre-separation), a cyclone and a bag filter. The actual conveying capacity in terms of line (back) pressure, the bulk material column inside the airlift and the pressure level of the conveying air supply are in balance to each other. In operation, the Airlift™ system is self-compensating. As the product feed rate and the corresponding conveying capacity increases or decreases, the bulk material level inside the Airlift™ adjusts automatically. In this way, the Airlift™ system matches the conveying rate to the incoming feed, and compensates for any variations of the feed rate. Inspection glasses in the cylinder help control the filling level, while a control circuit is enabled between the Airlift™ filling level and the feeding dosing unit for fully automatic operation.