Dust Doctor: Getting your ducts in order
Most of the time you probably ignore the dust control system ductwork snaking throughout your plant, but there are three important tasks you must do to maintain a safe and efficient system.
If your dust control system handles combustible dust, the dust collector most likely needs to be protected from an explosion. How do you know if you have combustible dust? Take a sample and have it tested for explosibility at an independent explosion testing lab. If the dust is combustible, protecting the dust collector is only the beginning. The dust control system ductwork needs protection as well. Safety is the primary reason, of course, but OSHA has also issued citations for the lack of ductwork explosion isolation. The inlet duct to the collector needs to be isolated to stop deflagration propagation from the collector to the ductwork going back into the plant. If the clean air from the dust collector is recirculated back into the plant, outlet duct isolation is needed as well.