Effective Industrial Dust Control Systems 191
12 EFFECTIVE INDUSTRIAL
DUST CONTROL SYSTEMS
Eric Goh1 and Izhar Abadi2
1
Academy Sciences Malaysia 2Minerals Research Centre (Malaysia)
12.1 INTRODUCTION
Industrial dust emissions are more noticeable nowadays due to the rapid
industrialisation programme carried out worldwide. Industrial dust pollution
consists of finely divided solid particulates originating from fracture processes.
Operations in the industrial sectors such as material transport, material
blending, rock fragmentation, crushing, grinding and tipping of material are
potential primary causes of industrial dust emissions. Evolving environmental
and occupational safety and health (OSH) legislations aimed towards
responsible industrial development have received increased attention
worldwide. The focus of concern by the industry, regulatory agencies and
international community is the systematic evaluation of industrial dust
emissions and its effective control. The objective of this chapter is to specifically
assist the vibrant industry further increase their awareness on the availability of
technological solutions for effective industrial dust control as the key towards
environmental-friendly success of industrialisation projects worldwide.
Efficient strategic industrial dust management will assist in maintaining the
expected standards of environmental and occupational safety and health (OSH)
compliance at any relevant industrial site. Owing to the exponential increase of
global population resulting in the need for escalating material production,
product fabrication and infrastructure development; the necessity to increase
the efficiency in industrial dust control is further gaining prominence. An
efficient strategic plan in the systematic and progressive minimisation of
industrial dust emissions at current and future industrial sites would be most
useful. Essentially industrial dust can be classified into 2 types, namely nuisance
dust and respirable dust. Nuisance dust consists of dust particles greater than 10
microns (µ) in size; while respirable dust is sized less than 10 µ. Industrial dust
emissions smaller than 10 µ in size is considered hazardous to occupational
health and thus needs to be closely monitored and improved technological
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Effective Industrial Dust Control Systems 192
solutions applied for effective dust control. Increased awareness by industry
captains towards arresting the industrial dust problem is useful in increasing
personnel efficiency and reduction in downtime due to critical health issues.
Other benefits include improvements in healthy work environment, satisfying
relevant international health standards, reduction in health compensations and
meeting expectations of the local community living close to the industrial site.
12.2 IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABLE DUST MANAGEMENT
The industrial dust characteristic which needs to be monitored closely for
occupational safety and health concerns is respirable dust which is sized less
than 10 microns (µ). Physical and physiological problems that could arise from
the excessive inhalation of industrial dust emissions from the respective work
sites could include:
• decrease in worker efficiency and safety due to respiratory or lung
problems and impaired visibility,
• increase in operating costs due to the higher frequency of accidents and
equipment down time/failure,
• undue delays arising from lack of concentration and uncomfortable work
environment,
• increase of repair costs to equipment due to friction/ excessive wear, and
• potential complaints on environmental health issues from the local
community residing nearby to the respective industrial sites.
Nuisance dust, which consists of particulates greater than 10 microns (µ) in size,
might be inhaled however cilia and mucus mechanisms in the nasal cavities,
throat or respiratory tract can assist to filter them out. The mucus substance
with the aid of numerous minute hairs called cilia in the respiratory tract would
assist to clean out the nuisance dust. Even in the alveoli; scavenger cells, known
as microphages, though with great difficulty can still assist in dust removal by
engulfing the dust particles and transport the particles to the bronchi to be
ejected by the cilia. The greatest concern in the industry is the exposure of
employees to excessive industrial dust of the respirable type. This is because
respirable dust can penetrate deep into the lung system and generally beyond
the aid of the body's natural screening mechanisms. It was observed that with
the decrease of particulate size the probability of the dust particle travelling to
the small alveoli increases. From tests carried out, it was noted that lung
diseases are generally caused by dust particles below 10 microns with the
greatest danger being particle sized between 1 and 2 microns. Excessive
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exposure to various types of industrial dust could lead eventually to lung or
pulmonary medical diseases which include silicosis, pneumoconiosis or even
asbestosis. If the industrial dust concentration in the work environment is
efficiently monitored, evaluated and systematically reduced; the occurrences of
lung diseases would also be minimised.
12.3 INDUSTRIAL DUST MONITORING AND ANALYSIS
The importance in the development of computerised evaluation systems for
dust monitoring and control is to further assist the industry in systematic
environmental management assessment. The phases being adopted allows for
efficient data collection, rapid information search/recall and the subsequent
interpretation of dust emission levels. The compiled dust emission data
collected from the industry can be conveniently stored in a standardised
computerised database format for flexibility, ease of information retrieval and
analysis at a latter date. Sustainable dust management should be an integral
part of occupational safety and health program for any industrial plant or
industrial work site with potential dust emissions. The dust emission standards
need to conform to that set down by the respective Department of Environment
(DOE) and Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) agencies
worldwide for favourable plant and machinery work environment. The dust
analysis system setup records the specifications of the sampling techniques and
the eventual calculation of the final dust emission levels. The dust analysis
software system also provides the options for the frequent update of existing
data stored, rapid data search and the linkage between several databases thus
saving precious time in prevention of duplication of tasks in data recording. The
dust concentration results display option can also incorporated into this
evaluation software system to show the site conditions at the respective
locations of the sampling sites in plan view. The continuous monitoring process
of industrial dust levels at the selected sampling points can be depicted
graphically as line graphs or graphical plots which can be updated
instantaneously with the addition of new sample data. The graphic displays of
the dust concentration at each selected location and the peak concentration for
the respective month could also be easily recalled for presentation and critical
decision-making. Some of the criteria for the successful implementation of an
appropriate sampling program at the respective industrial sites are:
- types, concentrations and characteristics of the dust particulates,
- characteristics and nature of the industrial operations at site,
- work locations of the workers with respect to high-risk emission sites,
and
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- types and sensitivity of the dust monitoring equipment used.
The digital outputs obtained from analysis are useful as tools to check
quantitatively whether the industrial dust emission levels produced should
conform to the expectations of the respective Department of Environment
(DOE) and Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) in various
countries worldwide.
12.4 COMPARATIVE EVALUATION ON EFFECTIVENESS OF INDUSTRIAL
DUST CONTROL SYSTEMS
Threshold Limit Values, TLV, are recommended maximum time-weighted safe
dust concentrations which any personnel may be exposed during his/her normal
daily shift (8 hours) without any adverse effects. Dust control is the technology
for the reduction of hazardous industrial dust emissions to permissible levels
thus minimising the exposure of employees to harmful airborne particulates.
Effective industrial dust control management could be accomplished via the
installation of the following dust control systems:
• bag/fabric filter systems,
• wet scrubber systems,
• precipitator systems,
• water spray systems and cyclones.
Some of the variables useful in the eventual selection of a suitable dust collector
system for a selected industrial or industrial site are:
• distribution and physical properties of particulates,
• operating conditions (example flow rate, temperature, pressure …),
• size and design of the various collectors,
• maintenance costs required for optimum efficiency,
• power requirements,
• accessories (which include piping, ducting, ….),
• ease of availability of system and spare parts required, and
• reliability and expected life of equipment.
The proposal for the installation of any selected dust collector systems should
be preceded by in-depth feasibility studies on the life of the project, principal
and maintenance costs for dust control system compared to the value of the
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product and their practicality. Effective dust control systems successfully used in
the industry include:
12.4.1 Bag Filter Systems
The Bag Filter Systems uses woven cloth, felted cotton, synthetic or glass-fibre
material as the collecting medium to separate the dust particulates from the
dust-laden air. The bag systems are the most widely used in the mineral industry
and are considered the most efficient and cost effective type of dust collectors.
From the tests carried out, this filter system has a collection efficiency of
approximately 99% for very fine dust particles. The dust filter bags are
suspended from horizontal beams and fastened onto the cell plate at the
bottom of the baghouse. The dust-laden air enters the baghouse and passes
through the filter; the dust would be trapped on the inside surface of the filter
bags. The filter bags are cleaned through induced vibrations or by shaking the
bags manually to shake off the dust cake at the end of the shift or at daily
intervals.
Source: Modified from Filson Filter
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Effective Industrial Dust Control Systems 196
Source: Century New Power International, Anush Filters and Fabrics
Figure 20.1 Schematics and filter materials for a bag filter system setup
12.4.2 Wet Scrubber Systems
Wet Scrubber Systems are dust collectors which uses liquid (usually water) as a
medium for dust removal. The venturi scrubber system is very popular in the
industry because of its simplicity, low capital cost and its very high collection
efficiency for respirable dust. The dust-laden gases when accelerated to high
speeds would atomise the water spray injected in at the venturi throat.
Agglomeration between the dust particulates and water droplets would occur.
The aim of this unique dust suppression system is to wet the entire product
stream to reduce the generation of dust. Water which is cheap and readily
available is popularly used as the scrubbing medium for dust suppressant in this
dust collector system setup. Water sprays when coming into contact with the
dust-laden gas stream in the scrubber system assists to remove the dust
particulates from the gas stream. The filtered gases are subsequently passed
through a mist eliminator, or demister pads, to dehumidify the gas stream. The
solid dust materials then settle to the bottom of the tank. The dust-laden water
from the scrubber system is then removed from the scrubber system. This dust
control system is popular due to its simplicity in design. The capital cost for
installation of this system is low. Other advantages in the implementation of
this practical system are its high collection efficiency and its ability to treat high-
temperature and high humidity gas streams.
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Effective Industrial Dust Control Systems 197
Source: Air Filtration Resources
12.4.3 Electrostatic Precipitator Systems
For Electrostatic Precipitator (EP) Systems, individual dust particles receive a
negative charge when passing through the ionized field between the electrodes.
These charged particles are subsequently then attracted to the positively
charged dust-collector plates and adhere to them (Figure 20.3). At appropriate
time intervals, the collected dust particles are removed by rapping or vibrating
the plates. This dust collector system is efficient to 99% for all particulates
including submicron-sized particles.
Source: UStudy
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Effective Industrial Dust Control Systems 198
12.4.4 Cyclone Systems
Another popular, economic and effective dust control technology is the Cyclone
System setup. The dust with the dirty air blasted into a conical cylinder creates a
violent swirl within the cone. The heavy dust particulates migrate to the wall of
the cylinder and exit at the bottom of the cone. This centrifugal dust collector is
normally best suited for the removal of coarse dust from the air. From industrial
case studies, the cyclone system is efficient in removing 75 - 90 % of dust
particulates down to 10 µ in size.
Source: Baghouse.com
12.5 CONCLUSION
Industrial dust emissions are unavoidable in any industrial process due to the
various work processes in producing the industrial product required by the
respective global markets. However systematic monitoring, effective
assessment of industrial dust and installation of sustainable dust control
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systems will assist in reducing hazardous industrial dust types. Minimising of
excessive industrial dust in the respective industrial sectors is useful in further
enhancing the safety and health work environment in any site and thus
subsequently increasing profitability due to reduction in the occurrences of
health problems, accidents and equipment downtime. This sustainable practice
also allows for remedial measures to be taken for arresting the health and safety
problem of industrial dust emissions at the site before it deteriorates further to
the surrounding environment. The civic-conscious and green-governance
initiative for reduction of respirable dust would make the local community
residing close to the industrial site to be more susceptible to the establishment
of future industrialisation projects. Innovative strategic industrial dust
assessment and control technologies can thus improve profitability in the
vibrant environmental-friendly industry whilst at the same time satisfying the
expected global environmental and occupational safety and health standards.
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