Fabricator Case Study: Containing Limestone Dust (continued)

The Result

The resulting system exchanges the air about 20 times an hour, constantly cleaning the air and making sure dust never lingers for long in the nearly 200,000-cubic-foot space. "It's quite obvious that everyone has seen a big improvement since we installed the dust collection system," said James. "The air is significantly less dusty, and visibility in the room is much improved. It's a much better working environment, and it keeps us well within OSHA limits for nuisance dust."

Moreover, James reports that the dust collection system has delivered additional advantages - some of them unanticipated:

Energy efficiency: Despite the rapid air movement and the new equipment required to move and clean that air, James describes the effect on ILCI's energy bill as "negligible." "The equipment is very energy efficient, and we only operate it during one shift," he said. "Also, by re-circulating the air, we conserve energy throughout the heating season."

Reduced equipment maintenance and downtime: The improved cleanliness of the ambient air has been beneficial to other equipment in the work area. The one million BTU heaters used in the room formerly needed maintenance and cleaning every two weeks, including frequent replacement of electronic components. The dust collection system has eliminated that problem, and has also lessened maintenance requirements for the large cranes used to move stone within the room.

Air/Pro handled the design, engineering and installation of the dust collection system on a turnkey basis for ILCI - including lhe collectors, custom fans, special control packages, ductwork and other components.

Longer tool life: "In order to provide the clean, dry air needed to pulse dust off the filters, we had to clean up and rebuild our existing compressed air system," said James. "Now that the system is delivering cleaner, oil-free air, pneumatic tools and components are lasting four to five times longer. We quickly saved about $5,000 in drill replacement costs, and even more for costly air saws."

Low collector maintenance, long cartridge life: The collectors require little or no maintenance, except for emptying the dust bins when they become full. After a full year's operation, the pressure drop in the system is still well within spccifications. ILCl anticipates that they will only need to change the filter cartridges every two years. When filter replacement is needed, the collectors have a patented cambar system that will allow fast cartridge changeout with no tools required.

Currently, the captured dust is disposed of together with other stone waste, but lLCI is having the dust analyzed to see if it meets pharmaceutical-grade specifications. If it does, they will be able to sell the reclaimed limestone dust and receive even faster pay-back from their dust collection investment.

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