Common rubber grinding dust generating processes include tire manufacturing, retreading and recycling as well as the production and recycling of appliance moldings, rubber gloves and various automotive parts. Rubber dusts in these types of applications pose challenges for industrial dust collection systems as well as potential health hazards for workers.Oils in rubber are the biggest problem for dust collectors. In horizontal cartridge collectors, the filters get saturated and the pleats fail. Heat is also an issue as hot pieces of materials can lay into the horizontal cartridges and burn the filter media. Rubber grinding dust has an explosive nature since rubber products in these applications are largely made up of petroleum based products. Explosion vents on the dust collector should be considered as a minimum requirement.
Rubber grinding dust poses serious health hazards to workers. Rubber compounds are full of fumed silica, plasticizers and elastomers that give off unhealthy fumes. Oily smoke has hydrocarbons that can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Read more about Dust Collectors for Rubber Grinding.
