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Things to Consider
Are the characteristics of my dust important when selecting a dust collector?
When sizing a dust collector in the food industry we will work very closely during this process to understand all aspects of your application and verify the characteristics of your dust. In many cases, food processing dust is agglomerative (sticky), hygroscopic (retains moisture), explosive, or a fire hazard. When dealing with dust with these properties, it’s important to select a filter to maintain efficiency with suction and pulse cleaning. Dust cakes from oily or sticky dust are very common and special considerations must be made in these circumstances.
Based on the type of dust present in your facility, we can make recommendations about the specific type of dust collector that will best suit your facility. Using the right dust collecting equipment, you can remove dust that can gradually cause equipment wear over time, contamination of food or nonfood products, potential damage to machinery, or injury to employees in the event of combustion.
Is my dust explosive?
Combustible dust can put your facility and employees at serious risk of injury or damage, resulting in potentially devastating lawsuits and insurance claims. Unfortunately, OSHA and NFPA codes are consistently changing and determining if your dust is explosive is the first step to protecting your facility and employees. Pollution Control Systems can help! Our team is knowledgeable and informed of dust testing procedures and can assist you in getting proper dust samples and obtaining dust explosibility test.
Most dust in the food industry carries a KST value. If explosive dust carries a KST value greater than zero, even weak explosions can result in serious injury and significant damage. It’s very important to get your dust tested prior to installing a dust collection system, because you may discover that your facility is vulnerable to explosions resulting from combustible dust. Based on our findings we will recommend explosion/fire protection equipment that we install in the duct system and on the dust collector to meet NFPA codes. This equipment can drastically improve the safety of your facility, offering consistent protection for equipment and employees from the hazards of explosive dust.
‘Special’ applications
“Special” applications are very frequent in the food industry. Almost all facilities are in need of certain types of cleaning equipment. With high volumes of residual dust on the walls, duct and floors, explosion proof industrial vacuums are a necessity. Custom duct applications for blender/mixer lids with duct collars, bag chutes, negative pressure concerns, mist collection needs for pan spray, are standard requests we our sales specialists receive here at Pollution Control Systems.
