Using inert gases for pneumatic conveying
Using compressed air as the conveying medium in pneumatic conveying pipelines can create explosive or unstable conditions for some materials and in some applications. In many cases, you can safely use inert gases that don't support combustion as substitutes for air. This article profiles three inert gases -- nitrogen, argon, and carbon dioxide -- as media for pneumatic conveying applications, provides some examples of pneumatic conveying applications using inert gases, and discusses the equipment you'll need for conveying with inert gases.
Pneumatic conveying with compressed air is a way of transferring your product gently and economically to a storage container or process. In most cases, air is an excellent conveying medium. But what if your product is potentially explosive? Or what if your conveyor feeds the product directly to a process? Conveying with air in these cases may be dangerous because the oxygen contained in air supports combustion.