Related Newsroom ArticlesAbout Dust Collector and Industrial Dust Collector Systems, Including Baghouses, Cyclone Dust Collectors, Downdraft Tables, Dust Collecting Systems, Dust Collection, Jet Dust Collectors & Portable Dust Collectors.
Dust collectors minimize air particle contamination in workshops, plants and manufacturing facilities. Particles are released from material processing in nearly every fabrication industry, from large wood shaving or metal shaving particles to fine, respirable chemicals and smoke particles. Air particles released during manufacturing processes are hazardous to both worker and equipment health, quickly leading to a number of problems if particles are not captured and filtered from facility air. Dust collection addresses this problem by drawing contaminated air through a filter, trapping harmful particles and releasing clean air back onto the work floor. Several types of dust collectors and dust collecting systems are used in various applications, including fabric filter baghouses and jet dust collectors, cyclone dust collectors, portable dust collectors, workstation downdraft tables and dust collecting systems complete with overhanging ductwork.
Dust collection is a vital process for coal handling, cement fabrication, metal fabrication, mining, chemical processing, woodworking, recycling and agricultural industries, among many others. Any process which emits smoke, dust or particles into the air is held by industry-specific state OSHA regulations to filter facility air. Baghouses, the most common dust collector design and often the most efficient, draw contaminated air in through ducts to a hopper-shaped baghouse containing fabric filters. The air is pulled through the fabric bags by a vacuum-creating fan, leaving behind dust, smoke and particles; clean air exits through the fan at the outlet, while dust particles settle into an airlock at the bottom of the hopper, which is routinely emptied. Baghouse dust collectors are sometimes equipped with vibrators which shake filters free of dust. Similarly, jet dust collectors are baghouses which use jets of reversed air to shake the dust-caked fabric bag filters free of dirt.
Cyclone dust collectors are inertial separators which use centrifugal, or cyclonic, air movement within a hopper-shaped chamber to separate particles from the air; the particles, being heavier than air molecules, are thrown against the outer wall of the hopper and fall to the bottom, where they are collected. These may be single-cyclone multi-cyclone dust collectors; non-cyclonic inertial dust separators include settling chambers and baffle chambers. Facilities usually incorporate baghouses, jet dust collectors and inertial separators into large dust collecting systems, with overhead ductwork and capture arms (suction hoods) which hang over the workspaces where dust is formed. In large facility applications, the dust collector, baghouse or chamber is often located outside, connected to the interior through ductwork. Portable dust collectors, which generally use fabric filters, can be moved around to various workstations for localized dust collection.
For individual processes, downdraft tables are work tables used for stationary dust collection in a particular workspace; processes such as welding and wood sawing are performed over this table, which captures dust particles in the constant stream of air which is pulled down through the table's filtering body. Although wet scrubbers and electrostatic precipitators are generally considered to be air pollution control equipment rather than dust collecting equipment, wet scrubbers and electrostatic precipitators perform similar functions on molecular levels by removing soot, smog and fine chemical pollution from the air of oil refinery and similar facilities. As the dust collecting industry advances, smaller and more efficient filtering equipment is being developed to meet increasingly strict environmental regulations. The benefits of employing effective, efficient dust collecting systems in one's facility can be seen in equipment longevity and worker health, saving companies significant maintenance and worker compensation costs.
Dust Collector Types
- are dust collection filters typically constructed from glass fibers or fabric.
- are compact filters that have a much greater surface area than bags, which increases the airflow, lowers resistance and reduces frequency of cleaning.
- rely on centrifugal force to remove dust from air.
- filter dust particles by spinning the air around in its tank. The motion pins the particles against the walls; they gradually move downward and eventually end up in the collection bin.
- are systems that vent from the top and pull fumes and dust up past the worker's face.
- or workstations have perforated tabletops and back walls and draw dust and fumes away from the worker's breathing zone.
- filter air and remove dust before releasing clean air back into the environment.
- is the process of filtering air and removing dust.
- collect dust through ionization. As dust-filled gases move through the system's positively-charged, grounded electrodes called collection plates, discharge electrodes give the dust particles a negative charge, which causes the ionized dust particles to be attracted to and caught by the collection plates.
- , or baghouses, contain filters called fabric bags, which efficiently trap fine particles of dust, while allowing gases to move through the collector.
- separate dust particles from gas by changing the direction of gas streams as the streams flow through the collector.
- use a jet-based cleaning cycle.
- can be moved from place to place.
- use compressed air to force a burst of air down through the fabric bag and expand it violently. When the bag reaches its limit, the dust separates from the bag, and the escaping air carries the dust away from the fabric surface.
- collect the product in filter bags as the silo is being filled with material. The bags are then shaken to return the valuable product to the silo.
- are small dust collecting systems that contain a fan and either a fabric collector or a cyclone.
- pull a continuous stream of air from the environment, removing airborne dust particles.
- soak dust-filled gas streams with water and separate the wet dust particles through varying degrees of pressure drops.
Dust Collector Terms - The amount of process gas or air entering the fabric collector (baghouse) divided by the square feet of cloth in the fabric collector.
- Form of pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of asbestos minerals into the lung, resulting in lung scarring, breathing problems and various forms of cancer.
- Also called "leakthrough," it is the ability of particles of dust or fumes to migrate through the fabric bag.
- Also referred to as "filter cake," it is the dust buildup occurring on the surface of the filter medium during filtration that often aids in the filtration process.
- International professional designation available through training and testing by the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE).
- Family of chemicals used as refrigerants, being tightly regulated and phased out of production due to stratospheric ozone depletion potential. Examples: R-11, R-12, R-113, R-114, R-115.
- The act of dipping the filter medium into a solution in order to lubricate the fibers to reduce self-abrasion.
- Electrodes in an electrostatic precipitator that attract and collect negatively charged particles of dust.
- The amount of dust that the gas or air contains. Concentration is expressed in grains per cubic foot or pounds per hour.
- Electrodes in an electrostatic precipitator that negatively charge dust particles.
- Conductors or parts of a semiconductor that create an electrical connection with nonmetals or control the movement of electrons.
- Filter in a fabric collector consisting of woven or felt material such as cotton.
- Toxic particles that penetrate the lungs, causing lung dysfunction and scar tissue formation.
- The porous barrier used in the filtration process to separate the particles from the fluid stream.
- The fabric collector equipment from inlet flange to outlet flange.
- Cloth wear in a fabric bag caused by excessive bending.
- A hood-shaped inlet designed to collect contaminated air and direct it into the exhaust dust system of a baghouse.
- In dust collecting systems, the area in which the collected dust is stored.
- Also called "nuisance dust," it consists of particles of which quartz and other silicates compose less than one percent.
- Medium- to large-sized dust particles that do not reach the lower respiratory tract but remain in the upper respiratory system, nose and throat.
- A device that sucks up fine particles from fluids like oils and even dry smoke using a three-phase motor. The inner drum rotates and draws the mist particles to the center of the drum where they are forced together and eventually pass through perforations in the drum and back into the machine's coolant tank, while clean air blows past the motor and back into the outside environment.
- Centrifugal separators containing several parallel cyclones that separate dust particles according to texture.
- Common high-voltage electrostatic precipitator consisting of flat collection plates along which discharge electrodes lie.
- Respiratory ailment caused by excessive inhalation of metallic or mineral dust matter. Pneumoconiosis also includes diseases such as silicosis and asbestosis.
- Part of electrostatic precipitator that transfers dust from the collection plates to the hopper.
- Small dust particles inhaled into the lower regions of the lungs that are responsible for different types of pneumoconiosis.
- Incurable, potentially deadly type of pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of silica dust particles, resulting in lung diseases such as emphysema. Silicosis progresses even after contact with silicates has ceased.
- More or less consistent wear on the dirty side of the fabric bag cloth.
- Consists of all dust particles, whether respirable or inhalable.
- High-voltage electrostatic precipitators consisting of cylindrical collection plates that rotate around the discharge electrodes.
- Part of an electrostatic precipitator that transfers dust from the collection plates to the hopper. |