Industries & Material Types That Benefit Most from Pneumatic Conveying

When it comes to handling powders, pellets, and bulk solids, not every material can be treated the same. Some are toxic or explosive. Others are hygroscopic and easily damaged by moisture. Certain materials can attract pests, create dust hazards, or react poorly to oxygen exposure. It’s important for these types of materials to control the process environment and keep it separate from the ambient environment. Bulk material handling requires precision, safety, and efficiency—and that’s exactly where pneumatic conveying systems excel.

At Dynamic Air, we specialize in designing custom-engineered pneumatic conveying solutions for a wide variety of industries. From food to chemicals, from plastics to building products, we’ve built systems that move even the most challenging materials safely and efficiently. 

Below, we’ll explore the best industries for pneumatic conveying systems, the types of materials that benefit most, and how Dynamic Air products provide reliable, long-term solutions.

Why Pneumatic Conveying?

Unlike mechanical conveyors, pneumatic systems use air or gas to move materials through a closed pipeline so the process environment is controlled and separate from the ambient environment.

This design offers several advantages:

• Limited dust for safer, cleaner facilities.

• Precise material handling with reduced degradation or contamination.

• Flexible layouts that adapt to existing plant footprints.

• Improved hygiene and safety in sensitive applications like food and pharmaceuticals.

It’s these advantages that make pneumatic conveying the technology of choice across multiple industries, especially when dealing with problematic materials like toxic powders, fragile materials, hygroscopic ingredients, or bulk solids prone to dusting.

Pneumatic Conveying for the Food Industry

Food processing plants deal with a wide range of powders and bulk materials, from flour and sugar to starches, milk powder, coffee, and cocoa. Many of these materials are hygroscopic, meaning they easily absorb moisture, which can lead to clumping, spoilage, or bacterial growth. Others like cocoa powder are dusty and create cleanliness and safety concerns.

Pneumatic conveying is ideal in these situations because it provides:

• Sanitary transfer with closed systems that reduce contamination risk.
  
• Controlled environments that prevent oxygen or moisture exposure. A typical compressed air system with a regenerative dryer produces compressed air with a pressure dewpoint (PDP) of around -40F.  When expanded to the atmosphere, this air has a dew point of around -60F.  So, just by using normal dry compressed air, the process environment is drier than the Sahara desert! And for hygrosopic materials, it means we are not adding moisture to an already moisture-sensitive material.
• Controlled environments that prevent oxygen exposure. Pneumatic conveying systems can use an inert gas, such as nitrogen, to create an inert gas process environment that can be beneficial to eliminate material oxidation, dust explosions, or fires.
  
• Gentle handling to preserve product integrity.

Dynamic Air’s Pressure Conveying Systems and Vacuum Conveying Systems are frequently used in the food industry to move powders while protecting product quality. For example, our Dense Phase Conveying Systems can transfer fragile food ingredients without breakage, making them a perfect fit for applications like food processing powder transfer.

Pneumatic Conveying for the Plastics Industry

The plastics industry relies heavily on pneumatic conveying for plastic pellet conveying and powdered resins. These materials must be handled carefully to prevent moisture, absorption, and degradation. The plastics industry wants dry pellets, not pellets saturated with moisture and streamers.

Benefits for the plastics sector include:

• Clean and dust-free pellet transfer for injection molding and extrusion processes.

• Efficient long-distance conveying for resin transport within large facilities.

• Reduced material waste, since streamers must be removed.

Dynamic Air’s Pneumatic Conveying and Processing Systems are widely used in plastics manufacturing to move pellets, powders, and additives. With capacities ranging from small batch operations to continuous large-scale production, these solutions ensure that plastics processors can maintain consistent, high-quality output.

Pneumatic Conveying for Chemicals

In the chemical industry, bulk powders and granular materials often bring serious challenges: many are toxic, abrasive, corrosive, or explosive. This is where chemical bulk powder transport puts safety above all else.

Dynamic Air has decades of experience designing conveying systems for materials like:

• Citric acid

• Catalysts

• Adipic acid

• Terephthalic

• Specialty chemicals

Our systems are engineered to eliminate leakage and dusting, protecting both workers and the environment. For instance, our Dense Phase Conveying Systems allow for safe, low-velocity conveying of abrasive or explosive materials—reducing particle degradation and mitigating safety risks.

By providing a fully enclosed system, pneumatic conveying also prevents materials from being exposed to oxygen or moisture, which is critical in chemical production environments.

Pneumatic Conveying in the Foundry Industry

Foundries deal with some of the dirtiest, heaviest, and most abrasive materials: sand, clay, dust, and refractory products. These materials are tough on equipment and create significant dust hazards.

Pneumatic conveying is particularly effective in foundries because it offers:

• Equipment durability for abrasive materials like casting sand and dust.

• Dust-free transfer to improve worker safety and air quality.

• Reduced maintenance compared to mechanical systems prone to wear and dust emissions.

Dynamic Air’s sand handling systems are designed for heavy-duty environments, moving bulk foundry sand with precision and reliability. Our systems also ensure minimal pipe wear when handling highly abrasive materials, extending the lifespan of conveying equipment.

Pneumatic Handling in the Railroad Industry

When it comes to rail operations, traction and braking efficiency depend on consistent, precise sand delivery. That’s where Dynamic Air’s rail sanding systems come in.

Rather than handling large-scale bulk unloading, Dynamic Air’s railroad solutions are purpose-built for rail sanding applications, ensuring safe, efficient, and dust-free sand transfer to locomotives.

Our traction sand systems for the railroad industry combine high-capacity pneumatic conveying with user-friendly automation—allowing operators to safely load dry sand without the mess, manual handling, or downtime of traditional methods.

Pneumatic Conveying for Building Products

Cement, lime, fly ash, and gypsum are some of the most common materials in the building products industry—and also some of the most challenging to move. They are dusty, abrasive, and environmentally sensitive.

Dynamic Air offers specialized solutions for cement conveying applications and other building materials, ensuring:

• Dust-free transfer for cleaner, safer facilities.

• Durability in abrasive conditions, extending system life.

• Efficient bulk transport, even across long distances.

Our Dynamic Air Systems are proven in some of the toughest building material applications worldwide. Whether you need to transport fly ash from silos or move lime into production, we provide reliable, efficient solutions.

Other Industries Benefiting from Pneumatic Conveying

While food, plastics, chemicals, foundry, railroad, and building products are core industries, pneumatic conveying also plays a vital role in:

• Pharmaceuticals – with precise pharmaceutical powder handling in sanitary, oxygen-controlled environments.

• Energy – moving biomass and alternative fuels.

• Agriculture – conveying grains, herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers safely and efficiently.

Why Choose Dynamic Air?

Dynamic Air is more than a system supplier, we’re a partner in solving complex material handling challenges. With over 15,000 systems in 75 countries, our solutions are built around your specific material properties, plant requirements, and industry standards.

Find Pneumatic Conveying Solutions With Dynamic Air

The best industries for pneumatic conveying systems are those dealing with fragile, dusty, abrasive, or hazardous materials—from flour and plastics pellets to cement and chemicals. By offering clean, reliable, and efficient material transfer, pneumatic conveying with Dynamic Air improves safety, reduces waste, and ensures long-term product quality.

Ready to Find the Right Pneumatic Conveying Solution for Your Industry? 

Whether you’re exploring our pneumatic conveying solutions, bulk materials handling systems, needing support for an existing system, or simply wanting to learn more about us, we’re here to assist. Contact Dynamic Air today!