Diverter Valve

What Is a Diverter Valve?

A diverter valve is a type of specialized, automated valve. It allows the user to direct (or divert) the flow of products (material) from one source to another.

Its used in industrial systems, as well as home and commercial plumbing applications. The diverter valve is usually used when two separate but equally important components must interact with each other for optimal performance.

Diverter valves are designed to handle extreme operating pressures, temperatures, and corrosive environments. They are a key component in various industries because they allow for the safe and efficient transfer of material without having to physically interact with them.

The Pneumatic Conveying Diverter is used to reroute product from one conveying line to another. The body is available in cast iron, cast aluminium or cast stainless steel. An internal flap plate is fabricated of mild steel or stainless steel, with a polyurethane rubber wiper seal.

What Are the Applications of Diverter Valves?

Diverter valves have many applications in pneumatic conveying because of the hygienic and smooth passage they facilitate for materials.

For instance, diverter valves are particularly useful in the pneumatic conveying of food and beverages because they avoid product retention, thus providing hygienic transportation and mitigating the risk of food contamination.

Diverter valves can also be used in dense phase pneumatic conveying systems to safely transport fragile, and even abrasive materials. By having a tight seal, diverter valves are also ideal for materials that have a tendency to clog or become easily contaminated.

Finally, since their primary purpose is to direct material flow to multiple outlets, diverter valves are not only ideal, but necessary for applications where multiple product pick-up points are required.

Different Types of Diverter Valves

There is a huge range of diverter valves designed for different pneumatic conveying systems and their unique needs. Even still, there are some common characteristics that can be seen across the board: they must provide a tight seal, maintain hygienic conditions, minimize pressure drops and pipe blockages, and preserve the integrity of the material particles.

Here are some of the different types of diverter valves out there:

Drum diverters: Also known as rotating plug diverters, these are among the best designs for hygienic applications. This is because their design allows them to provide a tight seal up to a 6-bar operating pressure, thus avoiding any kind of product retention.
Rotary tube selector valves: These can be used in both dilute phase, dense phase, and vacuum pneumatic conveying systems to direct the flow of material to one or multiple locations. They’re particularly useful in high pressure applications for transporting fragile or abrasive powders.

Rotating pipes: This diverter valve system has the advantage of being cheap, compact, and offering up to twelve outlets. Its drawback, however, is that it doesn’t provide as tight a seal as other diverter valve designs, meaning it’s only really suitable for dilute phase conveying.

Y-type diverter valves: These are also useful for dilute phase pressure systems, as well as vacuum pneumatic conveying systems. However, they’re not ideal for abrasive materials and should only be used to convey non-abrasive powders.