Reducing particulate generated during the manufacturing process can increase production, reduce operating and maintenance costs and lower emissions. But how does a company know which technology is best for reducing particulate from dry gas flow?
EPR Inc. of West Springfield, MA, has opened the doors of is test facility so companies can test dust samples using the Aerodynamic Module (ADM). The ADM is a patented particulate collection, separation and reprocessing technology. More than 2,500 tests have been conducted at the EPR Inc. test facility on over 40 different materials, ranging from cereal fines and cement dust of fly ash, baking soda and polypropylene dust.
At the test facility, results are calculated to measure production cost and timesaving, collection and energy efficiencies. Companies receive an unbiased analysis of the technical and economic feasibility of the ADM technology. They can then evaluate particulate control, product recovery and bulk handling alternatives and select the best options for their specific application. The performance of the ADM is determined before a system is designed and fabricated.
Virtually all companies utilizing the ADM technology first conducted tests on materials at the EPR Inc. test facility. For example, Wolverine Corporation of Merrimac, Massachusetts, a world leader in the cereal processing industry, provided EPR Inc. with 250 pounds of cereal flakes and rice fines for testing. In 120 tests conducted on the materials, the ADM proved to be 98 to 99 percent efficient on cereal flakes and 92 to 96 percent efficient on rice fines. Wolverine and EPR Inc. have since formed a strategic alliance to incorporate the ADM into Wolverine's Jetzone fluidized bed dryer design.
Church & Dwight, the world's leading producer of sodium bicarbonate, with one of the most recognized trademarks-ARM&HAMMER, sent dust samples and tested the ADM at EPR Inc.'s test facility. Their objective was a minimum 75 percent removal efficiency. Measured results were greater than 80 percent. With the new ADM system in place at Church & Dwight, the company has successfully increased production of fine sodium bicarbonate by 50 percent.
Polypropylene fines also were tested for a major Gulf Coast plastics company to reduce the fine dust particle loading entering the existing dust collector, installed after a cyclone. The system as installed required a shut down of the process every 10 days, for manual removal of the fine particles from the dust collector. The objective for the ADM was to reduce the fine particle dust loading from the cyclone to the dust collector by a minimum of 65 percent. Tests at the commercial plant installation showed that the ADM reduces the fine particle dust loading from the cyclone to the dust collector by 94 percent. The cleaning cycle has been extended from 36 shut downs a year (every 10 days) to 4 times a year (every 90 days) with a corresponding increase in the service factor and production of the process. Maintenance and operating cost have been reduced, while safety has increased.
TEST FACILITY EQUIPMENT
The test facility equipment consists of two ADM devices, a dust feeding system, and induced draft fan, a gate valve and the necessary ductwork to connect the ADM devices, the feeder and the fan. The two induced draft fans are rated for 6,000 standard cubic feet per minute at 100 inches of vacuum and for 3,500 standard cubic feet per minute at 25 inches of vacuum. The manual gate valve is adjusted to control the flow rate through the ADM system for each test.
The ADM test facility tests dust materials at varying loading weights, ranging from low loading application of 0.002 gr./cr. to heavy loading applications in excess of 50 gr./cf/ A volumetric feeder is used to introduce the particulate into the air stream for low loading applications (0.002-5 gr./cf.), such as wheat grain and aluminum oxide hydroxide. For heavy loading applications (5-50 gr./cf.), such as non-fat dried milk and cereal fines, compressed air is used to introduce particles to the air stream.
For applications with loading heavier than 50 gr./cf., such as sodium bicarbonate, a manual feeding system method is used, whereby a given amount of material is introduced into they system by hand, and the grain loading is calculated based on the flow rate, the amount of material and the time required to feed.
State of the art equipment is used to monitor and record results for all testing activities. A velocity meter is used to measure air velocity and calculate the volumetric flow rate. Differential pressure gauges are used to measure static pressure of the airflow. Data acquisition software is used electronically to store and control test data from the laboratory control room during active testing. A sieves to separate materials according to particle size. A wide variety of materials can be sieved into as many as seven particle size ranges. Particle samples are sent to a laboratory if a more precise analysis is required. The ADM can be applied to processes that produce hot and/or dry particulate emissions, and can be installed as part of a pollution control system, in front of the primary control device, i.e. fabric filer, electrostatic precipitator, wet or dry scrubber (either particulate scrubber or gaseous scrubber), or as the final collector.
THE EPR INC. TEST FACILITY IS OPEN, AT NO COST, TO ANY COMPANY. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON TESTING DUST SAMPLES AT EPR INC'S TEST FACILITY, CONTACT EPR INC. AT (413) 746-0023.
