Aerodyne SplitStream™ Provides Superior Dust Collection Over Baghouse Dust Collector

Aerodyne Steps in Where Traditional Dust Collection Methods Fail

A manufacturer of specialty industrial chemical products contacted Aerodyne for a unique project where multiple attempts at efficient dust collection had previously failed. The chemical plant’s proprietary process yields a highly valuable powdered nutritional supplement. During said process, raw material is pneumatically conveyed through a flash dryer and then mixed downstream with another additive to create the final product. That final product is ultimately captured by a dust collector and packaged for use.

The Problem: When they contacted Aerodyne, the plant was using a baghouse dust collector to “catch” the final product. While collection efficiency was adequate, the high volume of material processed daily created maintenance nightmares: because the baghouse filters eventually became overloaded, resulting inefficiencies in the system created inconsistent batches of product and wasted valuable raw materials. Before using the baghouse dust collector, the manufacturer had previously tried using a bank of four cyclone dust collectors to capture the product. Due to the extremely fine nature of the dust however, these cyclones provided poor dust collection efficiency and less usable product.

The Solution and Measurable Results: Aerodyne’s engineers assessed the situation and determined the SplitStream Dust Collector would be an ideal fit for the processing facility’s large dust volumes and high collection efficiency requirements. The SplitStream™ is a mechanical “counter-cyclonic” dust collector, and unlike conventional cyclone dust collectors, it utilizes a powerful secondary air stream to protect the cyclone’s inner walls from abrasive wear while directing incoming dust toward the collection hopper. Because it uses no filter bags or cartridges, the SplitStream™ can easily handle high dust loads with minimal maintenance requirements, and the unique design yields higher collection efficiency than a traditional cyclone dust collector. As a bonus, the unit can be installed in a horizontal or vertical configuration without reducing efficiency.

The installation of this unit allowed the facility to experience significantly better retention of their valuable nutritional supplement powders without the mess of the baghouse filters. Batch consistency and the amount of usable powder material increased, and they are also able to utilize the ambient air in the cyclone’s secondary air stream to aid in cooling the final product– a critical requirement for consistent batches of product.