Quality Air Management

Baghouse Dust Collector

Monday, August 20, 2012

Spark Arrestors and Booster - Duct Cleaners

Service Reports:

Chambly, QC: The installation was at a microbrewery. This is a problem common to all breweries that recycle their boxes. In the process, they have an automated machine including a band saw which cuts up the boxes and then bundles the cardboard for recycling. A good deal of paper dust is generated by the process and needs to be collected through an extraction duct from the saw to a dust collector.
The problem is that these boxes may still have staples and bottle caps in them. When the saw hits the staple or bottle cap a spark is generated which is drawn into the extraction system and produces a fire in the duct and in the dust collector itself by igniting the cardboard dust.
Our proposal was to install an LC series high ratio dust collector providing the maximum filtration efficiency and making the system the most compact possible. Floor space was an issue. However, to protect both the duct system and dust collector from ignition, a QUENCHER in-line spark arrestor/cooler was installed in the ductwork at the outlet of the extraction hood for the band saw.

Read more about ... Quencher Spark Arrestor

The installation has been running since June 2005. The maintenance supervisor indicated that the system should have caught fire within a maximum of two months of operation, which was the experience they've had until then on the other systems in the plant. There have been no incidents to date. He also stated that there was no light dust accumulation around the dust collector outlet which was typical in the other systems that they had. This is an indication that the dust collector is operating at a high level of efficiency and that there has been no sparks which would have burned holes in the filter material.

London, ON: This is a metalworking shop which does a good deal of welding and grinding. The dust and fumes are extracted to a central dust collector through source capture articulated arms and downdraft tables. These processes produce a lot of sparks which get drawn into the dust collection system.
In one system, the main duct line is oversized and the dust is dropping out into the duct work prior to reaching the dust collector. As a result, the sparks that are transported through the duct will ignite this volatile dust in the duct causing a fire to be drawn into the dust collector.
We recommended that they. install a "booster duct cleaner" which would blow this settled dust down the duct and to the dust collector before it could be ignited by the sparks We also recommended that they install a QUENCHER in-line spark arrestor/cooler to quench the sparks and prevent them from going down the duct work. The client has yet to install the booster which means that he has not solved the dust settling problem but they did install the QUENCHER. Since the installation of the QUENCHER, there has been no further ignition of the dust in the ductwork or in the dust collector.

Read more about ... Booster-Duct Cleaner