A Comparison between Steel and Rubber Pipelines for the Pneumatic Transport of Bulk Particulate Materials

The technology associated with pneumatic conveying through steel pipelines has been developed to such an extent that it is now possible to design a system for minimum plant erosion, product degradation and energy consumption with a high degree of reliability. However whilst the majority of pneumatic pipelines are of steel construction (and as a consequence permanently installed) there are many cases where flexible pipelines are used, for example, the unloading of bulk tankers or where the pipeline is only of a temporary nature. This paper examines the results of a recent test programme carried out at The Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology at Thames Polytechnic, together with other observations made during the extensive conveying trials made by The Wolfson Centre over the past fifteen years. A comparison is made between the performance of the two types of pipeline and cases are considered where a permanently installed flexible pipeline may be selected in preference to steel. The results demonstrate that although the pressure drops, and hence energy consumption tends to be greater in a flexible pipeline for given flow conditions, there are significant advantages to be gained in other directions, eg reduced product degradation. In addition, the paper shows that there are instances where certain materials that can either not be conveyed or conveyed with difficulty in steel pipelines, can be satisfactorily conveyed through flexible pipelines.