Fume & Dust Extraction

In this article, Dustcontrol highlights problems associated with dust pollution in modern production facilities and illustrates how integrated high vacuum systems can provide competitive advantage. Intense workloads and pressure to produce quality products are
creating demand for cleaner production facilities. However,manufacturing intensity seems to make this need harder than ever.

Airborne dust and particulate waste from manufacturing processes are increasingly nacceptable in facilities trying to achieve efficient working environments. If physical concerns over product quality and environmental health are not enough, external pressures from COSHH and recent ATEX regulations, add to the burden.

While it may seem that air cleaning through large-scale ventilation is a primary option, many businesses could improve their facilities through on-tool extraction.This involves high vacuum systems that transport waste to a centralised location for easy disposal or intermediate pre-separators for potential recycling. Such systems can also be used as general in-house vacuums, negating the need for sweeping (which creates hazardous airborne dust) and mobile vacuums.

Carter Environmental Engineers recently completed installation of five Carter-Midac AS820 Autosludge wet dust collectors at the West London Waste household refuse facility in Brentford, Middlesex. Ensuring clean working conditions for operatives and refuse vehicle drivers, they replace the five original CEE dust collectors which had been in operation at the depot since its opening in 1977.
 
    The five units remove airborne dust from ten tipping bays at West London Waste, whose refuse vehicles bring in around 850 tonnes of household waste daily from the London boroughs of Ealing, Hounslow and Richmond. After compaction, the waste is transferred by rail from the depot to landfill. 

    The units, like CEE's Cyclovent which can be specified for a similar task, are extremely simple in design, requiring no expensive specialist components or control equipment, ensuring minimum maintenance.  They have a long-established track record in many industrial sectors.

Nederman NEX HD extraction arms are the top of the range arms when it comes to high airflows and extraction of media with higher temperatures than normal. The arms are specially designed for working environments with very heavy smoke, vapours or non explosive dust. Typical workplaces are the metal fabrication industry or other type of industries where the need for extraction with large airflows is needed. The applications can be welding, laser or hand plasma cutting, metal spraying, grinding where lots of spatter is generated, or other industrial processes where a perfect balanced and easily positioned arm is required.

The Nederman NEX HD is also available with a patented hood design. The hood, made of aluminium, is resistant to high temperatures of extracted air (+120