ALC - Aerodyne

When designing a dust collection system, the ductwork is like the highways of the system. They allow the dust to move from the area of production to the dust collector. The dust should move fast enough so it doesn’t fall out while not moving too fast to cause undue wear and pressure drop. What this means is when you are designing your dust collector ductwork, pay attention to the ductwork diameters. When picking the ductwork diameters throughout the system, make sure the velocities correlate with the design velocities shown below.

There are multiple ways to collect dust from the air. The most common are:

Dust collectors are required in facilities for multiple reasons. After installation, they are often forgotten about until something isn’t working right.  In order to fix the problem, the system has to be almost re-engineered to figure out what the design originally was. The following things are signs your dust collector isn’t working how it was designed and you need to perform a checkup.

When designing a dust collection system, the static pressure required of the system is extremely important.  The reason is because the exhaust fan must be able to pull the design airflow at the design static pressure in order to get the design performance.  Usually the higher the static pressure is the greater power is required by the fan at a constant airflow.  This means, dust collector system designers usually try to keep the total static pressure low, in order to go with a smaller fan that costs less to operate.

Many dust collectors spend their time operating far below their potential.  Whether the system was designed incorrectly, the process has changed, slow maintenance, or a combination of these, the dust collector isn’t operating at its finest.    One possible solution is to install a pre-filter before your dust collector to help your dust collector to be all it can be!

When selecting the cyclone for a dust collection process, there are different factors affecting sizing and cost of the cyclone.  The cyclone should be sized to compliment the airflow of the system and the required dust removal efficiency.  Process conditions will dictate suitable materials of construction as well as any special design requirements.

Part 4: Application Requirements

Cyclones also need to be constructed so that they meet the specifications and requirements of the applications they are going in.  Some applications, like woodworking or where the material being collected is waste, don’t need any special constructions.  Applications such as food and pharmaceuticals can be very specific.  Every application, customer, process, and facility has their own set of requirements.  These could include a special quick clean access or a higher weld spec to prevent accumulation in the vessel.

Not only do NFPA regulations require a DHA (Dust Hazard Analysis) to be done on all systems that might have explosive dust, they also require the DHA to be updated every 5 years and whenever the system changes.