Automatic ingredient batching systems that handle and feed/batch powder materials that are very prone to dusting during feed discharging and supply bin refill can be problematic, requiring an answer for Handling The Dust Problem.
There are two primary sources of dust problems in the automatic batching system. First is the point of discharge of dusty ingredient materials from the feeders into the scale hoppers for weighing. Most often the feeder type used in automatic batching systems is the screw or auger type feeder. Feed rates can be high and this has the potential for creating quite a bit of dust during ingredient batching. To resolve this and contain the dust the scale hoppers are sealed with a cover or top, and the connection between the feeder discharge and the scale hopper cover is made with a flexible “dust sock”. This connection is flexible and vertically loose so it has absolutely no impact on the scale and weighing. This connection contains the dust ensuring all material is in the scale hopper and not in the surrounding air.
The second area of potential for dust emission problems, and where handling the dust problem can be critical, is during the filling of the supply bins from ingredient bags, often from 25, 40 or 50lb bags. Handling the dust problem in this area of an automatic ingredient batching system is usually accomplished by connection the system dust collector to hoods installed over the top lid of each ingredient supply bin. The dust hood contains the dust emitted during emptying of the ingredient bag into each bin. Each supply bin can be equipped with a dust hood, or a single dust hood can be used and moved from one bin to another as required depending on which bin is being refilled.
The dust collector is usually a baghouse that is connected to both the supply bin dust hood(s) and feeder discharge collection hoods, which are used when the ingredient materials are discharged into batch containers on a moving conveyor. The dust collector can be of a variety of sizes and constructed of a variety of materials. Stainless steel is common.
Got any questions or a dust problem with your batching system that you don’t know how to handle, give us a call or send us an email. Thanks. 815-625-0852 or sci@sterlingcontrols.com