Guidelines for operating and maintaining your dust control system
The nationwide focus on controlling air pollution from industrial sources is leading many powder and bulk processors to rethink their dust control strategies and install new dust control systems. This article provides guidelines on how to operate and maintain a newly installed dust control system to ensure peak performance. Sections cover how to minimize future operation and maintenance problems during the engineering and design and construction phases, how to ensure proper operation at system startup, how to train plant staff to operate and maintain the system, and how to practice preventive maintenance.
A dust control system is engineered and designed to help protect workers from exposure to nuisance and hazardous airborne particles and to recycle captured dust back into the process. Once installed, the system must perform as indicated in your operating permit application to your state's air quality authorities. [Editor's note: For more information, see the related article in this issue, "Strategies for complying with PM-10 and related air quality requirements," by William Gregg.] Typical system components include capture hoods, ductwork, a dust collector, an exhaust fan, and, for redundant protection, a safety monitoring [high-efficiency particulate air [HEPA]] filter [Figure 1]. In a peak-performing system, these components work together to give the protection you need.