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26 / March 2021 powderbulk.com BOOSTING PROFITABILITY AND REDUCING SAFETY RISKS WITH VACUUM CONVEYORS Vacuum conveying systems are useful for transporting powders and bulk solids throughout a plant. But these systems do more than just move material. Vacuum conveying systems also make the work environment safer, reclaim material from dust collec- tors, and make mixer loading easier. This article discusses how different vacuum conveying systems can benefit your plant and reduce costs. Doan Pendleton, Vac-U-Max addition, manually loading bulk solids and powders into a vessel creates a dust cloud that can be hazard- ous, get into operators' breathing zones, and settle on nearby equipment. Comparing mechanical and vacuum conveying Although there are still many processors that opt for manual ingredient transfer into mixers, some use mechanical conveyors as a remedy for the associated hazards. Dollar-for-dollar, mechanical conveyors are less expensive to operate than vacuum conveyors because they only require a power source, unlike vacuum con- veyors that need a power source and an air source. V acuum pneumatic conveying systems, which move material via suction, have many uses within the powder and bulk solids industry. The primary use of vacuum conveyors is to transfer material to and from processing or packaging equip- ment. One use that's gaining in popularity is loading large-scale mixers with vacuum conveying systems. From chemical applications to sanitary design pro- cesses, loading large mixers, which are often 6 to 7 feet tall and have open and close hatches, can be chal- lenging and risky to personnel's safety. Traditionally, processors have used manual and mechanical means to load mixers, but more and more facilities are turning to vacuum conveying systems. Along with transferring material into mixers, these conveying systems help to rein in fugitive dust, eliminate hours of laborious san- itation protocol, mitigate safety hazards, and combat rising material costs. Vacuum conveying systems are fairly simple and consist of five basic parts: a pickup point where mate- rial enters into the conveying system; conveying tubing that transfers material between equipment; a vacuum receiver that's typically equipped with a filter, and therefore often referred to as a filter-receiver, which is an intermediate holding vessel for materials; a vacuum source that powers the system; and a control panel that tells the system how to operate. A vacuum conveying system and a vacuum receiver are shown in Figure 1. Increased safety is one of the more common reasons processors seek vacuum conveying systems for mate- rial transportation, as manually handling materials is hazardous. Manually loading mixers typically requires operators to climb stairs to a mezzanine to load the materials. This arrangement presents fall, exertion, repetitive motion, and awkward position hazards. In FIGURE 1 A vacuum conveying system (left) minimizes manual lifting, stairclimbing, and dumping material into mixers, and includes a vacuum receiver (right), which acts as an intermediate holding vessel for materials.