Dust Collector Frequently Asked Questions: Part 1 | Aerodyne

What information do I need to size my dust collector?

The attached Questionnaire will provide most of the questions that would be asked for a dust collector. The information that absolutely must be provided for a dust collector to be sized and quoted are: FAQ V1-pictures2

What is the airflow through the dust collector?
Which temperature and pressure will the dust collector operate under?
What type of dust is being collected?
Is it explosive?
What removal efficiency do you require?

The five above will allow a supplier to provide a quote. However, with only the above information, the dust collector performance cannot be guaranteed.

See dust collector questionnaire.

Is my dust explosive?

To help answer this question, NFPA has released NFPA-652 and 654. A combustible dust is defined as a finely divided combustible particulate solid that presents a flash fire or explosion hazard when suspended in air or the process-specific oxidizing medium over a range of concentrations.

Basically, what this means is when the dust is in the air and its concentration is enough to cause a flash fire or propagate a deflagration or explosion if exposed to a spark or heat source, then it’s considered combustible.

Unless you know for sure that your dust isn’t combustible, you should send the dust sample to a lab for testing. The lab will provide one of three responses – no reaction, combustible but not propagating, or propagating.

Usually the lab will initially do a Go/ No-Go test. If the dust doesn’t exhibit combustion, the testing will stop. If it does exhibit combustion, they will then do further tests and provide explosion properties ( Kst and Pmax) of the dust. The Kst tells you how quickly the explosion will propagate, while Pmax tells you the power behind the event.

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