Feature Dust & fume extraction Extraction system eliminates carbide dust
Auto Extract Systems, specialist in solutions to enable pollution free work environments in industry, has helped an international blue chip oil exploration company to remove the health risk from a production process in which high levels of fume and carbide dust are produced in their facility
T
he oil exploration company’s spe- cific problem was based around the highly hazardous carbide fumes and dust released during the process of remanufacturing of reamers – the large drill bits used for excavating oil from small pockets in the ground.
Prior to contacting AES, the com- pany had extraction systems in place which were not effective in controlling the fumes produced and they recog- nised a major requirement to ensure the safety and well being of their staff. At this stage, production operatives were rebuilding the reamers to make them suitable for re-use. The problem was that the dust and fume from the rebuild was not being effectively con- trolled by the existing extraction system, and was being allowed to con- taminate the whole factory. This not only resulted in contamination of fin- ished products and machinery, but in complaints from operators and also pointed to possibilities of major long term health issues for all personnel involved.
The solution provided
AES provided a detailed system pro- posal consisting of six benches with a plenum chamber located at the rear of the existing benches. Each plenum was fitted with two rear linear extraction slots to provide an inward air velocity of up to 1.5m/seconds allowing it to comply with HSE guidance. A heavy duty deflection plate was fitted to the front face of the plenum to protect it from distortion due to the excessive heat built up during carbide washing. The six extraction plenums con- nected via galvanised steel ducting to
Each plenum is connected via galvanised steel to a reverse pulse cleaned cartridge filter and fan
located outside the building
a reverse pulse cleaned cartridge filter and fan located externally to the build- ing. The filter unit was fitted with 24 pleated cartridges providing a cloth area of 564m².
The process of remanufacturing reamers for excavating oil creates hazardous carbide dust and fumes
disposed of at the end of its functional life. The adapter ring, support cage, pulse jet deflector, and where appro- priate, the replaceable gasket can all be reused again. This effectively min- imises the amount of waste involved during cartridge renewal. If one of these accessory parts proves to be defective, a whole new assembly is not needed, only a replacement for the particular part concerned.
The condition of the cartridge filter is monitored by a controller located in the building, the controller monitors the pressure differential between the clean and dirty side of the filter car- tridge elements enabling the filter to be cleaned ‘on demand’ by bursts of compressed air discharged by a jet tube into the cartridge when the car- tridges are dirty, this enables the system to operate continuously with- out disrupting operations.
The cartridges are secured via a patented adapter ring system, this saves users the unnecessary cost of replacing items that are still func- tional. Only the filter cartridge will be
lextraction, supplier and manufacturer of Local Exhaust Ventilation has installed a welding fume and dust extraction system in the UK’s first specialist foundation level welder training facility at Stevenage Skills Centre. The system incorporates the company’s latest self supporting Hood Positioning Devices (HPD). Flextraction installed in each of the six welding bays 2m standard telescopic HPDs, incorporating black polyester coated 100mm diameter PVC 371 hoses with a coated mild steel 100mm diameter flared hood and mesh guard. Each HPD was supplied fully assembled. Each bay was also fitted with an electronic airflow indicator attached to each hood to monitor the extraction air flow. In addition to the HPDs Flextraction installed the spiral galvanised sheet steel ductwork to safely extract the welding fumes and dust from the welding bays to a point outside the building. Flextraction T: 01664 410641
Welder training centre stays fume free F
www.flextraction.co.uk 26 Enter 325
AES supplied six benches, each with a plenum fitted with two rear linear extraction slots
The discharged waste is collected in two 100 litre capacity bins which are easily removed for emptying. The 30kW direct driven fan set is enclosed in an acoustic enclosure to keep noise levels to the minimum, with attenua- tion fitted to the discharge ductwork. In addition to this, each extraction plenum was fitted with a manometer, this provides the operator with a visual indication of the extracted air volume, enabling the operators to police the functionality of the extrac- tion system thereby acting as an initial safety measure.
The outcome
AES’ proposal was one of 12 submit- ted by a variety of national and inter- national organisations. The thorough approach in the system proposal by AES beat competition from 11 other tenders for the work to be carried out in Aberdeen. This later led to an addi- tional installation contract in Azerbaijan and another tender for an installation in Angola.
From beginning to end, the installation was carried out over four weeks with AES providing a turnkey installation to include the electrical installation work with constant attention to the clients requirements allowing minimum affect on produc- tion, while always maintaining a close attention to health and safety measures.
Auto Extract Systems
www.autoextract.co.uk
T: 01942 267444 Enter 324
MARCH 2012 Factory Equipment
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