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An opportunity has arisen at The Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology, at the University of Greenwich, for the successful applicant to undertake a 3 year fully paid studentship (including bursary and tuition fees), supported by Schenck Process UK Ltd, global manufacturers of process engineering equipment.

Enhancing efficiency of dense phase conveying of powders to facilitate reductions in carbon emissions from in-plant transport of ingredients and products in food, chemicals, minerals and other industries.

Aim and objectives

To improve understanding of slug behaviour in dense phase conveying, in particular in relation to interaction between material properties, pipeline geometry and air control, and to enshrine this understanding in a predictive model.

This project is an opportunity to contribute towards significant energy saving in manufacturing processes, in a collaboration with a European multi-national process engineering company and a world-leading academic research centre.

A major consumer of energy in manufacturing is transfer of solid materials (powders, granules etc) in air in pipeline systems. In particular, food and pharmaceuticals find it beneficial because of containment, cleanliness and flexibility of routing. However this adds significant cost and carbon footprint to manufacturing which needs to be reduced.

One method that can be used is so-called “dense phase” flow of the material in slugs, instead of transport in disperse “lean phase” conditions, which has been seen to save up to 70% of energy in some instances. However the mechanics of slug transport are poorly understood. Some materials naturally support slug flow, whereas others block the pipe when slugs form; also, pipeline geometry appears to have an effect, especially pipe bends. The ability to negotiate bends is a major advantage of pneumatic conveying, so to apply dense phase conveying more widely to reduce power consumption, the effects of pipeline geometry including bends and their interaction with the properties of the conveyed materials, must be better understood. Previous work on bends is mostly limited to lean phase.

The industry sponsor has pilot plant data that hints at the importance of the geometry of the bends in this regard. However this has not been explored exhaustively; the behaviour of different materials is very different, but the role of the fundamental properties of the conveyed material (particle size distribution, shape, cohesiveness, friction, surface energy etc) are completely unclear.
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Closing date for application is 31 August 2023, with a potential start date in October.