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Industrial processes such as manufacturing or processing of raw materials often leads to several byproducts including dust, particulate contaminants and debris. These high-volume byproducts lead to several undesirable effects on workers and the overall process, especially since some of these particulate contaminants are combustible. It is imperative for certain industries to invest in a comprehensive and effective dust collection approach. A number of US and European regulations also make it mandatory for companies to follow dust collection compliance measures. In many cases, this dust is comprised of wood, metals, fiber, plastics, and numerous other substances. Prolonged exposure to certain dust can lead to several irreversible health hazards. There have been a number of preventable accidents (explosions and fires) at manufacturing facilities where the presence of combustible was the main contributor to a catastrophic event. A number of companies are engaged in constant research and development pertaining to dust collection technologies and products. These companies offer various customized systems for collecting dust produced during industrial operations. There are various types of dust collectors that can be installed in your facility, after reviewing the specific operation and nature of your operations. The options include collectors for dusts of combustible nature, fume and dust capture arms, bin-vent type collectors, cartridge filter dust collectors, fabric filter dust collectors, portable dust collectors and custom designed dust collectors for your specific application. You can opt for standard or highly customized solutions based on your specific operation or requirements. In this article, we shall discuss the two main types of Combustible Dust Collectors, their importance and applications. Here’s more: 1. Dry type combustible dust collector: These dust collectors follow the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommendations and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. It can be used for effectively collecting and separating dust while processing dry agricultural products, chemical dust, metal dust, plastic dust, and carbonaceous dusts. A number of industrial processes such as paper manufacturing units, textile mills, pharmaceutical industries, food processing and metal finishing plants have effectively used these dust collectors to mitigate or reduce the hazards of collecting combustible dusts. 2. Wet type combustible dust collectors: This particular dust collection design approach effectively merges the combustible dust with water and the suspended dust in the air stream and renders it inert in the collection process. Water becomes the filtering media while additional means are selected to separate the collected solids continuously, on-line thus reducing maintenance-related downtime. Just like the dry type collectors, these units also closely follow OSHA regulations and NFPA guidelines. Some of the common industrial applications for wet dust collectors can be seen at gunpowder manufacturing plants, metal grinding and sanding factories, chemical manufacturing, plastics manufacturing, and food production facilities. In summary, a significant number of global manufacturing and processing plants must adhere to recommended safety practices as well as local, State and federally mandated laws.There are many options and approaches including engineering approaches that can be utilized to reduce the capital expenditures to reduce the economic impact of these types of industrial process controls. Hence, an investment in a professionally designed dust collection system by an ACGIH certified designer of dust collection systems ensures the capture, transport and collections of combustible dust is performed in the most efficient and safe method available today.
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dust collection, dust collection systems, industrial scrubber,
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