Is your baghouse too big for your industrial plant's production needs? Over time we see that the process equipment systems within an industrial plant go through changes. These changes typically result in the system no longer meeting the expectations it once did. One of the more common systems that end up changing over time is a baghouse or dust collector. These systems act as the ventilation system in a plant and are a vital part of the overall process.
A common occurrence is for the baghouse ventilation system to be under-sized. This is because there have been changes either to the system or the process and the baghouse ventilation system can no longer keep up with the demand. If a dust collector is under-sized, we modify the equipment to make it fit the new requirements. However, sometimes a baghouse ventilation system can be over-sized, and the plant will continue to utilize it without seeing the potential issues.
Below are several issues to watch out for on a vent system that’s too big.
Baghouse Insulation not as Effective
We talked about the importance of insulation in another video. Essentially insulation keeps the system from developing corrosion and condensation by balancing the internal and external temperatures. However, insulation is not as effective when you’ve got a hot process with very low flow. With this process you lose a lot of heat in an over-sized system and end up having condensation problems.
Low Baghouse Differential Pressure
As discussed in this video about differential pressure, differential pressure is the difference between water levels in a baghouse’s columns when negative air is present. Having an over-sized vent system will result in consistently low differential pressure. With the low levels in pressure, dust cakes will not properly form within the system resulting in poor filtration.
Problems with the Baghouse Fan
An over-sized fan can present additional issues as well. When this issue arises, people tend to choke the fan down, but this can cause other problems. Choking the fan down can cause it to go way off from where it needs to be for proper operation and may reach an unstable range. If unstable, the fan may start humming up and down and ultimately shut down. If the fan doesn’t end up shutting down it will still waste a lot of energy due to the sizing issue.
If you have experienced any of the issues above, there may be several different ways you can fix your problem. One solution is to change to a smaller fan, another solution is to use a mechanical adapter to plug up the holes in the system.
Every process is different and ultimately the best way we can help with your baghouse is by inspecting it and developing a custom approach to solving your problems. If you have an over-sized system, you don’t want to wait to fix it as it is already having a negative effect on your process. Call us today and we can help you with your system.
