What is an industrial dust collector? An industrial dust collector is a system used to enhance the quality of the air being released from an industrial and commercial process by collecting dust and other types of impurities from air or gas. This system is designed to handle high-volume dust loads. This system consists of a blower, dust filter, a filter-cleaning system, and a dust receptacle or dust removal system. This system is distinguished from air purifiers which are using disposable filters to remove dust.

These industrial dust systems are usually devices wherein other toxic materials are being caught midway in these extraction systems so that the fumes that are being released are no longer harmful and fatal to the health and environment. With the help of these industrial dust extraction systems, the quality of the air is being looked after by collecting the impurities of the gas.

These systems are mainly intended in such a way that they can be able to handle and withstand high volumes of dust and dirt load without breaking down. These dust collectors generally are made up of dust filter that is strong enough and are specially made for such specific purposes. These dust collectors should not be considered the same with air purifiers because the function of dust collectors is that they collect and accumulate the dust along with a filter cleaning system to dispose of the dirt. Air purifiers, on the other hand, use disposable filters which can be removed if they become dirty and dusty.

The use of industrial dust extraction systems is absolutely mandatory these days because of the increase of pollutants and the lack of hygiene and sanitation. Different kinds of the environment are being greatly affected by the harmful and toxic disposable of fumes from a lot of industries and factories.

This means a lack of responsibility and humanity towards nature and environment along with the people working in around that environment. Indeed, the industrial work like is full of difficulties and it is being toughened more because of lack of hygiene and sanitation in work areas and the spread of illness and diseases with complete unawareness. Thereby making the use of such industrial dust extraction systems mandatory by the government of different countries so that the right of the people and nature are protected.

Industrial Dust Collector Design

As stated, industrial dust extraction systems are just dust collectors which are specifically designed to collecting dust, dirt and toxic pollutants from the release of fumes or air and then purify it. This is specifically designed in such a way that the harmful contaminants are being collected from the air so that there will be no harm being caused to the environment.

There is a lot of dust collector that is having the same structure from the inside, therefore their mechanism is more or less the same. These systems have an inlet of a collector which will allow them to filter in all of the toxic and dirty fumes that are inside the mechanism along with a blower which helps with the purified air pass through the mechanism itself.

There is also the main internal body which serves as the cleaning system for the filters that are being used in the industrial dust extraction systems. The internal body of the system is also composed of a discharge mechanism which collects the particles for removal or reusable purposes. These component remain more or less the same, which involves a slight deviation according to the application. Aside from that, there are also parts that are the key foundation to all ties of dust collectors without which they will not be able to function efficiently.

“What is the right dust collector for me?”

There is no room for error when it comes to competitive companies. There are already a lot of approaches when it comes to dust collection, therefore, you will need expertise that you can trust. Here are some industrial dust collection systems that you can choose from:

1. Baghouses with Filter Bag Collectors

This type of collectors is ideally suited for applications which have light or fine specks of dust and low to moderate gain loading levels. There are certain specks of dust that require only minimal flexing of the media during the cleaning process; therefore, cartridge collector will only be able to perform satisfactorily in certain applications.

The size of standard cartridges can have 350 square per foot or more of filter media each. This will enable the units to handle large airflows within a much smaller unit than a comparable baghouse. But, higher temperatures or abrasive specks of dust including heavy dust loading application can overwhelm and also wear down the lighter duty units and cartridges.

Some of the common uses of this system are sandblasting, food processing, bulk materials handling, welding fumes, laser and plasma cutter fumes, metalworking, powder coating, and graphite, pharmaceutical, and fine chemical powders.

2. Cartridge Collectors

This type of collectors are ideally suited for applications which have light or fine dusts and low to moderate gain loading levels. There are certain dusts that require only minimal flexing of the media during the cleaning process; therefore, cartridge collector will only be able to perform satisfactorily in certain applications.

The size of standard cartridges can have 350 square per foot or more of filter media each. This will enable the units to handle large airflows within a much smaller unit than a comparable baghouse. But, higher temperatures or abrasive dusts including heavy dust loading application can overwhelm and also wear down the lighter duty units and cartridges.

Some of the common uses of this system are sandblasting, food processing, bulk materials handling, welding fumes, laser and plasma cutter fumes, metalworking, powder coating, and graphite, pharmaceutical and fine chemical powders.

3. Cyclone Collectors

This type of system is often employed as an initial stage collector or pre-filter so that it will lighten heavy dust loads before it is being sent to a primary stage fabric collector like a baghouse or cartridge collector. Because the coarse particles from the gas stream are already being removed and the later stage fabric collectors to solely remove finer particles are done, this will result to an increased service life of fabric collectors and their filters. This type of design works by creating a vortex in the airstream within an enclosure that is similar to water going down a drain. The particles will then strike the wall and fall into the hopper below as the stream is spun around the collector.

How to maintain a safe industrial dust collector operation?

4. Equip the system with deflagration protection

The dust collector must be equipped with a deflagration protector if it is handling combustible dust, and a common cost-effective passive method is venting. Then an explosion vent will open when predetermined pressures are being reached inside the collector thereby allowing the excess pressure and flame front from the deflagration to exit to a safe area.

A flameless vent is composed of a housing that includes a panel of high-temperature mesh that absorbs heat and flame. This is then installed over a standard explosion vent so that during an event, the vent opens thereby releasing the pressure and fireball into the housing. The mesh of layers will absorb the heat and flame and then allow a portion of the pressure wave to safely pass into the working environment. This will then allow for conventional venting to be accomplished indoors where it could otherwise endanger personnel or ignite secondary explosions. There are also other protection devices that exist, so it is better that you consult with your dust collector expert so that you can find the best that fits your application .

5. Understand the pressure capabilities of the system

It is important to understand the pressure capabilities of the collection to determine the specification and selection of vent sizing. The key to effective deflagration protection is by comparing the venting vessel strength to the deflagration strength and vent burst pressure. There are also combustible dust properties that are required to understand this concept that is being described by the Kst (Bar m/s – a normalized rate of pressure rise) and the Pmax (Bar – maximum pressure for an unvented dust explosion) values.

6. Protect the ductwork of the system

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has required to protect for the ductwork and safety processes upstream of the dust collector. So when you equip the ducting with a flow-activated isolation valve, this will protect the downstream work areas and processes from the propagation of flame and pressure through the inlet duct when there is a deflagration occurring in a dust collector.

During a deflagration in a dust collector, the pressure of the wave will close the valve thereby preventing the passage of flame and then smoke to areas to upstream from the valve. The valve will then latch shut and then it must be manually opened. If this is activated, the composition of the valve may be damaged and then a thorough inspection will be required before returning the valve back into service.

7. Do not keep dust in the hoppers of the system

The hopper of a dust collector should not be used to store dust. It should only be intended to funnel the process dust to a storage bin. The dust that has accumulated in a hopper will then create a potential fire or deflagration risk. So the dust in the hopper may also decrease the collector’s performance by congesting the system and then preventing the pulse-cleaning from doing its job. Self-dumping hoppers will provide easy dust disposal while protecting it from unwanted dust leakage between the collector and hopper.

8. Use pulse-cleaning controls in the system

The cleaning system design of the dust collector work in combination with filter design. The selective cleaning controls provide an easy and maintenance-friendly way to keep the filters clean.

The continuous cleaning is also suited for porous specks of dust, like silica and other minerals with high dust loading applications like thermal spray or plasma cutting, or lightweight dust such as fumed silica and proper fines.

For most dust types, the on-demand cleaning is also recommended. This setting will monitor the differential pressure that is across the clean-air section and the dirty-air filter section of the collector. This will allow the operator to set a narrow range of differential pressures to activate and then stop the cartridge cleaning. This setting will use the least amount of compressed air and then provide the best filter cleaning efficiency and filter life.

The downtime cleaning allows for time-based pulsing at the end of a plant shift, and after completing a batch process or after a distressing condition that may affect the filter’s performance. After the cleaning period is done, the unit will then shut off completely.

This feature is important because when the cartridges are over-cleaned during operation, this will cause higher emissions, shorter cartridge life, and higher energy costs because of the overuse of compressed air.

9. Make sure that you comply with emissions regulation

The United States Environmental Protection Agency or the EPA and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or the OSHA want to know that the emissions will be at or below their required limits. The Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value or the MERV rating scale will serve as a good indicator of the initial efficiency of a filter. But, it does not measure the pressure drop, emissions while pulsing, energy performance or other parameters that better reflect the dust collector efficiency.

One way to measure dust of the collector’s emissions effectiveness is to test it according to recently published standards. The test will measure key parameters – emission, pressure drop, compressed air usage, and emission reading.

10. Be able to practice safe filter change-out

Usually, workers should never have to enter the dust collector to change the filters because dust collectors that require entry during service will put workers at risk and will require companies to file confined space entry permits and monitor it for gas.

For maximum safety, the filters should be placed to allow ease of access and then slide in and out of the housing readily. A simple, quick-open, heavy-gauge doors that will provide access to a fast cartridge change-out system that will not require entry into the collector. You should look for doors that have an exclusive lock-out feature for the safety of the workers.

The cleanliness and the sanitation of the workplace should be the top one priority of every company or factory as the employees work for them. If the employees themselves become unsatisfied with the work conditions, then it is natural that there will be low production with the low work quality. To be able to provide a safe and healthy working condition, it is the duty of the managers to decide of putting industrial dust extraction which will be a major step towards that safety of health.

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