The Costly Plague of Degradation: How to Eliminate Angel Hair, Streamers, and Dusting in Bioplastic and PET Conveying
- John Forbes
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
The global push toward sustainable materials is undeniable, and bioplastics and PET are at the forefront of this shift. However, in the world of pneumatic conveying, these advanced polymers face the same costly, persistent challenge as traditional plastics: product degradation.
If your conveying lines are plagued by angel hair, streamers, ribbons, dusting, and build-up, you are losing far more than just material quality—you are sacrificing profitability through persistent system clogs, excessive downtime, and inflated maintenance costs.
🔬 The Science of Conveying Failure: Why Product Degradation is Inevitable
In a standard smooth-bore conveying line, the root cause of plastic degradation is simple, unavoidable physics: friction and impact. The very design of traditional piping turns your system into a destructive environment for sensitive materials.
Angel Hair, Streamers, and Ribbons: These long, wispy strands are a direct result of frictional heat. As polymer pellets are dragged along the smooth inner walls and bends of the pipe at high velocity, the intense friction generates enough heat to slightly melt the material. This melted film sticks, tears off in strips, and creates the notorious "angel hair" and "streamers" that clog filters and screens.
Fines and Dusting: This is the product of impact fracture. High-velocity collisions of pellets against each other or sharp points in the line (like standard couplings and elbows) shatter the material into tiny, unusable particles. This results in material loss, reduced product quality, and critical air quality issues.
Fish Eyes and Build-Up: Partially-melted material from frictional heat adheres to the pipe interior. This leads to product contamination and restrictive blockages, reducing line efficiency and throughput.
Both PET and bioplastics are highly sensitive to these forces, demanding a fundamentally gentler, low-friction solution than what conventional piping can offer.
⚙️ The SPIRA/flo® Solution: Engineered to Prevent Degradation, Not Manage It
At Delta Ducon, we know that a permanent problem requires a permanent, engineered solution. The SPIRA/flo Pipe is not a temporary coating or a quick fix—it is a long-lasting system designed to radically change the flow dynamic and eliminate the physics of degradation.
Our proprietary technology utilizes a pressed spiral groove to fundamentally alter how pellets move through the pipeline. Instead of a high-friction slide along a smooth surface, the unique internal "Hill & Valley" geometry forces the material off the pipe walls and into a gentle, low-friction rolling motion.
This engineered flow is the key to protecting your pellets, delivering guaranteed results:
With over 45 years of field-proven dominance, Delta Ducon's SPIRA/flo Pipe allows you to maximize the value of your bioplastics and PET. You can rely on cleaner pellets, higher throughput, and dramatically reduced maintenance costs—securing your operational efficiency and long-term profitability.
➡️ Ready to eliminate angel hair and maximize your material quality?
Upgrade your conveying system today. Learn more about the superior, engineered performance of SPIRA/flo Pipe at www.SPIRAfloPipe.com
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