Industrial Dust Extraction Systems

Benefits of Industrial Dust Extraction Systems

Dust can be either a substance to be processed, eg. pharmaceutical and food industries, or it may be an unwanted by product of a production process from many different industries.

Whether manufacturing, processing materials, or just handling vegetables, wood, metal and/or chemicals or any sort, the movement and operations involved will generate nuisance dust. This dust may not be visible, but it will be there, and as it is the dust you cannot see that is the most damaging to human lungs, companies engaged in any type of material handling will need to address dust extraction in some scale.

Why use Dust Extraction Systems to control dust ? 

There are several reasons why all dust should be contolled, whether it is useful, or a waste product formed during some other activity:

Safety: The vast majority of dustlike substances pose a danger of fire or explosionns. 80% of all dusts are combustible and even a layer as little as 1mm settled on surrounding surfaces is sufficient to tripgger an explosion if it starts to swirl around, and inadvertently gets ignited.

Health: Dust extraction will keep the working atmosphere your employees operate in clean and clear of harmful particles: those not seen with the nake eye ie <1micron. This will reduce staff sickness and improve retention, by providing a healthy pleasant atmosphere.

Harmful dust particles in the air are generally defined as those less than 10 micrometers (μm) in diameter. These are often further classified as PM10 (10 μm or less) and PM2.5 (2.5 μm or less). PM2.5 particles are especially dangerous because they can penetrate deeply into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream. A micron (μm) is 1/1000 of a millimeter. 

Protecting Machinery and Assets: The better air quality resulting from good dust extraction systems will help protect any sensitive machinery, reducing need for continual maintenance required if constantly exposed to a build up of settling dust.

Compliance: Your company will be compliant: demonstrating a regard for good safe workplace practices. Expectations of due diligence in this part of any operation, contiues to increase - safe clean air has become everyones responsibilty, along with contolling any other hazards recorded on your Health&Safety Hazard Register.

How does a Dust Extraction System work?

A well designed dust extraction solution :

Captures the dust: The person recommending the dust extraction solution will require in depth knowledge of dust behaviour and where your particular dust registers in terms of explosiveness/danger of ignition, possibly requiring specialist additions to the dust extraction solution such as dust explosion protective valves or fire repressors/flame arresters etc

The dust should be collected exactly where it is occurring to offer maximim protection but it is not a matter of just sticking any random hood device pointing in the general area.

Conveys the dust: The solution offered should reflect a full understanding of airflows, recommended velocities for pneumatic conveying (according to the dust type), AND how to correctly size ducting to maintain the required airflow velocity to ensure there is no settling of the material in any duct run. This reduces efficiency of the extraction process and potentially causes a fire hazard.

Collects the dust particles: The final destination for the collected dust is the filter unit itself.

Filter units available over the last 70 years are simple baghouses with or without regeneration fans to aid cleaning, (and therefore increase the dust load the filter can handle). These are still very popular particulary on the wood processing industry and in joinery workshops.

Some filters are available with cartridge filtration rather than cloth bags, which are ideal for certain sorts of finer dust such as welding/grinding dust, spices and food powders including dry milk powder, or plasma cutting,pwder coating and blasting glass. 

As dust loads increase in a larger manufacturing facility, the number of modules required for these simple modular filters takes up too much space on a production site so leaders in dust extraction technology - major European  companies - have developed better dust extraction systems to solve this issue - compact units capable of handling massive dust volumes.

Importance of well designed Dust Extraction Systems

What is a well designed dust solution?

EBCAM promote their consultancy services to ensure:

• The dust extraction system they provide will work as required i.e be fit for purpose and not leak, endangering the safety of the premises and all who work there. An experienced dust system designer will know that in most cases the filter for the extraction system should be placed outside, and not in the workshop or dedicated equipment room, in order that any safety explosion device is able to do the job it is their for. 
• The installation will last, and be future proofed ie will not block up in mere months and require continual maintenance costs for eg. new replacement filter socks which is costly, nor will it require a complete respecification should the facility expand in the near future with just a few additional machines. 

Every dust collection situation is different but seeking advice from a specialist, reputable company like EBCAM, with experienced staff dedicated to this unique subject is important. Our staff visit workplaces continually, and design extraction for a variety of dust issues, thus ensuring a well designed dust solution is offered to you. 

Choosing the right Dust Extraction System for you

Whatever your industry, companies do not expect to be replacing dust extraction systems every few years, unless they have moved to a new site, or their operations have dramatically changed, or, a dust extraction solution was purchaseed that was always hopelessly undersized - usually due to the 'best price'. Sourcing your dust extraction system from a company supported by a huge European manufacturer who supplies a range of filters in their 100's globally, meeting strict European safety and energy legistlation is ensuring your capital expenditure is spent on the best oprtions available at the time.

In the 21st Century, are you being offered a 21stC solution to your dust extraction issues?

 Dust technology has advanced enormously over the last 30 years - see our unique features offered by EBCAM specialists to ensure your CAPEX is well spent and will mean your new dust extraction system will serve you with minimum maintenance costs for many years to come. Generally these additional features come at no additioanl cost to less safe old 1970's type filters and will actuallty pay for themselves in just a fewe years due to the energy savings available

Ask for free appraisal now of your facility or discuss your new premises in time to set up the dust extraction system as a safe efficient integral part of your facility - not as an afterthought.