How To Balance Energy Efficiency And System Capability In Pneumatic Conveying Systems

For food processing companies, pneumatic conveying systems are a major source of energy consumption. This makes the system an area of focus for energy efficiency. As such, it is common for companies to specify or retrofit a system with a blower that uses the smallest possible size motor.

Unfortunately, this overlooks an issue of equal if not greater importance: system capability. While a blower with a motor that meets the minimum power requirements can deliver good performance under normal operating conditions, not every day will see normal conditions — pipes get clogged and other unforeseen issues can arise that reveal the motor to be underpowered. A clogged pipe must be disassembled and cleaned manually, leading to downtime and other unnecessary costs.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of factors to consider in order to determine the ideal blower motor size. This article will discuss those factors and how to choose the right system and vendor for a pneumatic conveying system.