Troubleshooting rotary airlock valve performance
This month's column addresses a PBE reader's question about improving a rotary airlock valve's throughput capacity. In fact, this question is fairly common among pneumatic conveying users. Because any of several problems can be behind poor rotary airlock valve performance, the information here will detail eight potential sources of this problem and how to investigate them. This information can be applied to a range of pneumatic conveying applications.
Mr. F., Coahuila, Mexico, lays out his plant's problem: We developed a dilute-phase pneumatic conveying system for handling fly ash from a vertical lime kiln fired with petroleum coke. The system transports the material caught in a baghouse to recirculate it inside the kiln's calcination zone. We want to incorporate this material with the final product to eliminate additional handling.