Comparison of Rotary Valve and Blowtank Feed Rate Capacities

Rotary valves and blowtanks are widely used in industry for the pneumatic conveying of products, each having their pros and cons depending on the required application. This paper aims to show the differing results that can be obtained when conveying a product through a common pipeline using either a drop-through rotary valve or a bottom discharge blowtank. The rotary valve system has a number of issues, the main one being air leakage effects, whereas the blowtank system does not as it is an enclosed unit. The results of these experiments showed dramatic differences in product tonnage.