Article: Understanding Your Dust - Six Steps to Better Dust Collection

I would like to continue our dust collection journey by exploring past the dust identification and testing stages. An article by dust collection experts Lee Morgan and Mike Walters will help take the mystery out of the dust collector choosing process, by explaining how to analyze your application needs and dust characteristics.

The six sections will detail the steps in the decision making process. Let's face it, dust collection decisions are not easy and can be confusing with all the filter media choices, air flow requirements, regulations, preventive maintenance. By educating yourself, you will make the best dust collector choice for your application, thus avoiding unwanted and unnecessary issues down the road.

You can read the full article here. Understanding Your Dust - Six Steps to Better Dust Collection

Article: What's The Best Type Of Dust Collector Filter For Applications Involving Sticky Dusts?

This week I would like to get away from combustible dust and address a different and unique application involving sticky dusts. This is not a common issue but it comes up from time to time and the solution can be hard to find. When moisture is combined with dust the outcome can produce many types of issues for a dust collector.

A recent article by John Dauber in Powder and Bulk Engineering PBE-News addresses testing, types of filter media, coatings, and external devices involved in the solution process.

You can read the full article here.

Article: How Well Do You Know Your Dust?

In my last post we explored an OSHA bulletin that highlighted the hazards associated with combustible dust. This week I would like to expand on how to determine the explosibility and physical properties of the actual dust. It is one thing to collect the dust but what exactly are you collecting?

While knowing your dust has always been good practice, it is rapidly becoming a necessity in today's regulatory climate. OSHA has identified and contacted 30,000 companies considered to be at risk of explosion from combustible dusts. The importance of dust testing has changed and the implications have become even more significant over the past few years.

Full article can be read here: How Well Do You Know Your Dust?

OSHA Bulletin - Combustible Dust in Industry: Preventing and Mitigating the Effects of Fire and Explosions

Recently the US Chemical Safety Board has called on the Occupational Health and Safety Administration to develop and publish a combustible dust standard that includes coverage for metal dusts by the end of 2012. As of today no such standard exists. OSHA Bulletin labeled "Combustible Dust in Industry: Preventing and Mitigating the Effects of Fire and Explosions" is not a standard or regulation. The purpose of the bulletin is to highlight the hazards associated with combustible dust. Work practices and guidelines that reduce the potential for a combustible dust explosion, or that reduce the danger to employees if such an explosion occurs, and training to protect employees from such hazards.

The bulletin covers accidents that occurred, elements needed for a combustible dust explosion, how to access for combustible dust, dust control, and education of management and employees. It's important to know what OSHA has in place currently and hopefully this will help prevent combustable dust incidents until the standards are released.

You can view the CSB video titled, Combustible Dust: An Insidious Hazard, at http://www.farrapc.com/comply/.

Video: Mining Expert Explains the Cost Comparison of Dust Collector Bags vs. Cartridge Filters in Mining

In this video Dave Stock explores the various factors to consider when making the evaluation between using a traditional baghouse or cartridge filter dust collector in a mining application. He will cover the cost involved in both dust collection options.

Dave starts by answering the frequently asked question about bag filter versus cartridge filter costs. Other comparisons involve the often unforeseen or hidden costs such as filter replacement time, production downtime, lost revenue and energy costs.

For more information on dust collector for mining applications such as moisture concerns and proper sizing, click here.

Free Webinar to Explain EPA NESHAP Rule 6X

Camfil Farr Air Pollution Control (APC) will host a free educational webinar titled: “The New EPA National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), Rule 6X: Are You Compliant?” The webinar will take place on Thursday, February 16th from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Central Standard Time (CST). To see more information or register for the event, visit www.farrapc.com/rule6x.

The EPA NESHAP standard is a sweeping new requirement that impacts thousands of companies in the metalworking industries. This free webinar is designed to help metalworking professionals to understand and comply with the new EPA regulation, which imposes stringent requirements for the exhausting of welding fumes and other processes that may contain hazardous air pollutants.

This one-hour interactive webinar will explain the regulation and how to determine if your facility is impacted; the monitoring and test methods required for compliance; and equipment strategies that can help achieve compliance while also reducing energy costs. The speaker will be Greg Schreier, metalworking market manager for Camfil Farr APC and a frequent speaker on regulatory topics. This webinar will be available for viewing on-demand after the event, with registration.

Article: Asking The Right Questions About Cartridge Dust Collection

Over the past decade, cartridge-style dust collectors have overtaken baghouses as the preferred technology for pharmaceutical dust collection. Combining maximum filtration efficiency with compact size and reduced pressure drop, a high efficiency cartridge dust collector will in most cases be the system of choice.

Choosing the best cartridge collection system for a given application, however, involves research and attention to detail. This article will review four key areas of investigation. By reviewing these topics with a knowledgeable equipment supplier and knowing the right questions to ask, engineers will be better equipped to make informed dust collection decisions. Read the full article here.