Located in the industrial hub of Yichang, Hubei Province, a well-known chemical fertilizer manufacturer faced significant challenges in handling ammonium chloride — a critical raw material for compound fertilizer production. The existing mechanical conveying methods suffered from frequent blockages, high dust emissions, and severe equipment wear, leading to production downtime and increased maintenance costs. To solve these problems, the plant turned to Shandong Headpowder Engineering Co., Ltd. (Headpowder), a leading provider of pneumatic conveying solutions based in Shandong, China. Headpowder proposed a custom-designed ammonium chloride mixed pneumatic conveying system that integrates both positive pressure and negative pressure technologies, achieving a highly efficient and environmentally friendly fertilizer raw material conveying process.
The client's existing production line required the transportation of ammonium chloride powder from storage silos to blending and mixing units over a distance of approximately 120 meters, with multiple bends and elevation changes. The material is hygroscopic, slightly corrosive, and prone to caking under humidity, which made conventional belt conveyors and screw conveyors unreliable. The customer specifically demanded a positive and negative pressure combined conveying engineering solution that could minimize dust leakage, reduce material degradation, and operate continuously with minimal manual intervention. Headpowder's engineering team conducted a thorough site survey and material analysis, confirming that a mixed pneumatic conveying system would be the optimal choice.
The core of the solution is the ammonium chloride mixed conveying system, which combines the advantages of vacuum (negative pressure) and pressure (positive pressure) conveying in a single integrated pipeline. In the first stage, a negative pressure system gently draws the ammonium chloride powder from the storage hopper into a receiving vessel, ensuring dust-free pickup and preventing material bridging. In the second stage, a positive pressure system pushes the material through the pipeline to the destination at a controlled velocity, using compressed air as the motive force. This hybrid approach allows the system to handle the material's cohesive nature while maintaining a high conveying capacity of up to 8 tons per hour. Headpowder's proprietary rotary valve and filter receiver designs are specifically engineered for fertilizer raw material conveying, featuring corrosion-resistant stainless steel contact parts and easy-clean internals to prevent cross-contamination between batches.
The positive and negative pressure combined conveying engineering adopted in this project offers several distinct benefits over single-mode systems. First, the negative pressure section eliminates the need for a mechanical feeder at the pickup point, reducing capital costs and maintenance. Second, the positive pressure section can overcome long distances and high elevations without requiring intermediate boosters. Third, the entire system is fully enclosed, ensuring zero dust emission and compliance with strict environmental regulations. The conveying pipeline is equipped with automatically controlled air injection points to flush out any residual material, preventing clogging even when the system is idle. Headpowder's PLC-based control system allows real-time monitoring of pressure, flow rate, and material level, enabling precise adjustment of the air-to-material ratio for optimal ammonium chloride mixed conveying performance.
The project was completed within a 6-week timeline, including design, fabrication, installation, and commissioning. During the commissioning phase, Headpowder's engineers trained the plant's operators on system operation and troubleshooting. The system has been running continuously for over 12 months with an average availability of 99.2%. The customer reported a 40% reduction in dust emissions, a 60% decrease in maintenance labor hours, and a significant improvement in product quality consistency. The fertilizer raw material conveying process now operates smoothly even during high-humidity seasons, thanks to the drying air injection system integrated into the pipeline. The positive-negative hybrid design also reduced the overall energy consumption by 15% compared to the previous pneumatic system that used only positive pressure.
Shandong Headpowder Engineering Co., Ltd. (Headpowder) is a specialized engineering company headquartered in Shandong, China, with decades of experience in designing and manufacturing pneumatic conveying systems for bulk solids. Our team has successfully delivered hundreds of projects in the chemical, fertilizer, food, and mineral industries. For this particular ammonium chloride mixed pneumatic conveying system in Yichang, Hubei, we combined our standard modular components with custom-engineered parts to meet the unique material characteristics. We understand the challenges of handling hygroscopic, corrosive, and abrasive powders, and we provide comprehensive after-sales support including spare parts, remote diagnostics, and on-site service. If you are looking for a reliable partner for positive and negative pressure combined conveying engineering, please contact our project manager Mr. Zhang (Manager Zhang) for a free consultation. You can reach him via WeChat at 15662777102.
For more information about Headpowder's pneumatic conveying solutions or to discuss your specific application, please feel free to reach out to our team. We are located in Shandong, China, and serve clients worldwide. Our dedicated contact person is Mr. Zhang (Manager Zhang), who can be reached through WeChat: 15662777102. He will be happy to assist you with project evaluation, system sizing, and quotation. Headpowder looks forward to helping you achieve efficient, clean, and reliable fertilizer raw material conveying with our advanced mixed pneumatic conveying technology.
Shandong Headpowder Engineering Co., Ltd.
156-6277-7102（Zhang manager） 
0531-83386006 
Jinan City, Shandong, China Province 
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