Aerodyne Environmental, a manufacturer of industrial dust collectors and material handling valves, now offers dust collection system operators a range of system evaluation services through its Dust Efficiency Clinic. These services can be tailored to boost the efficiency of an operation’s dust collection system, decrease maintenance costs, prolong equipment life or improve compliance.
“There’s much more to dust collection than installing equipment like cyclones and baghouses,” said Dan Navicky, an applications engineer at Aerodyne. “Every facility represents a unique set of challenges because each has a different set of applications, operating conditions, and dust types. Our system evaluations offer facilities a cost-effective way to gain an understanding of their system’s operation and get recommendations on increasing its efficiency.”
Navicky described the dust collection problems that have led some system operators to turn to Aerodyne for help recently. He noted, “We consulted with one company that had installed a hood to prevent fugitive dust from escaping, but the hood was located too close to their process and the airflow was too high, so it was actually picking up product and sending it to waste. We also worked with another company that had piles of dust around their facility in a combustible process. This could have led to a fine for housekeeping if there had been an inspection. Another customer’s baghouse was clogging up due to moisture that was coming in through the cleaning system. We advised them to install a cyclone prefilter to minimize the amount of dust reaching the baghouse filters, which extended bag life while increasing dust removal.”
Aerodyne charges system operators a consulting fee of approximately $1,000 for each day required to perform the evaluation, plus expenses. System evaluations may include:
- A safety assessment: An Aerodyne dust collection specialist will review and inspect the facility’s equipment, installation, controls, and protective devices. This assessment evaluates the facility’s hoods, ductwork, explosion vents, housekeeping, and other related areas. The assessment report will include suggestions for areas of improvement so that the dust collection process will comply with the latest NFPA standards. This safety assessment is recommended as a preliminary step before conducting a Dust Hazard Analysis.
- A collection assessment: This assessment starts with gathering physical data on system airflow, temperature, static pressure, etc., in addition to a review of the various parts of the system, including the dust collector, fans, dampers, ductwork, hoods, etc. It includes recommendations for changes and operating suggestions to improve system performance and removal efficiency and decrease maintenance, filter replacement frequency, etc.
Aerodyne Environmental, www.dustcollectorhq.com