Diverter valves are processing valves commonly used in pneumatic conveying and bulk material transfer. Designed to direct flow from a single source to two or more downstream machines, they are also used to converge multiple upstream sources into one. 

There are many types of diverter valves. "One size fits all" is not an option. When selecting a diverter valve for your pneumatic conveying system application, many considerations are in play:

  • Material: What are the material characteristics - particle size, weight, flowability, hardness and abrasiveness?
  • Contamination: If contamination of product stream is an issue, ensure that each stream coming into or exiting the diverter is independent or that no areas inside the valve itself hold or trap material.
  • Sealing: To prevent environmental contamination or waste, seal diverters internally to isolate the various flow paths. Or, seal to atmosphere, preventing contamination from entering the product stream or from product or dust escaping.
  • System Design: Be aware that both air and/or material leakage affect both the system capacity and the blower/line size calculations.
  • Dilute or Dense Phase: Is your system is designed for dilute phase pneumatic conveying (vacuum or pressure) or dense phase pneumatic conveying? Dilute phase is conveying line pressures to 15 psig/1 bar, while dense phase is pressure to 90 psig or 6 bars.
  • Actuators: Manual, air actuated, electric motor actuators and hydraulic actuators are all available, depending on your site's power availability and system requirements.