During the pneumatic conveying of plastic pellets, it has been observed that materials with similar physical characteristics may develop a substantial difference in pressure drop. In this work, the pressure drop in a particle-laden 2.7 meter long horizontal channel with circular cross-section is presented from an experimental perspective. Experiments are carried out for cylindrical polystyrene beads with an average diameter of 3.2 mm and mass loadings of 0.06 to 0.11 (kg particles/kg gas). The air mass flow rate was studied in the range from 0.085 kg/s to 0.170 kg/s. The pressure drop curve is shown as a function of air velocity and particle load. Response surface methodology showed high statistical significance for air velocity, particle load and their cross-relation.
Pneumatic conveying; Particulate solids; Polystyrene; Particle distribution; Pressure loss