An oil mist collector is a necessary piece of equipment in many manufacturing processes to filter hazardous fluids from the air. These systems remove coolant and metalworking fluid to keep employees safe and production efficient.
Many industrial machines, including CNC systems, use cooling and lubricating fluids that evaporate during the machining process to create fine airborne particles. These particles must be removed with a top rated compact and portable industrial oil mist collector air cleaner.
Source Capture
Source Capture uses fume extraction hoods and hoses to capture harmful particulates right at the point of generation. Hoods positioned directly over welding stations, for example, isolate welding fumes and make breathing easier. Fume arms — which welders position manually over their weld arc — are also effective at extracting fumes, but they need to be constantly repositioned as welders move across the weld seam.
Regardless of the type of fume capture method used, it’s important to realize that these systems may not be enough on their own. Without an ambient system in place, particulates can travel throughout a facility before being captured and exhausted, putting other workers at risk.
Adding an ambient system allows facilities to meet stricter air quality regulations and improve worker retention, safety, and productivity. The first step is analyzing your facility. Up front planning and analysis can save time and money. Click to learn how.
Media Filters
Like a lint trap in your dryer, media filters catch dirt and debris in the return air stream of an HVAC system. They remove 99% of mold, dust mites and pet dander and other airborne pollutants.
Media filtration systems use a granular media to filter water, such as sand, organics, or natural stone fiber for a wide range of applications including drinking water filtration, wastewater tertiary treatment, and oil & gas applications. They utilize both physical capture and adsorption, and can also include carbon for odor control.
A key to a successful media filtration application is proper flowrate management. Too much water flowing through the bed at a high velocity restricts the hydraulic distribution within the media and causes turbulence, which reduces adsorption efficiency and can shear adsorbed pollutants off the surface of the filter. To optimize performance a media filter requires backwashing to purge the accumulated contaminants and restore/extend the filtration life of the system.
Electrostatic Precipitators
Electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) are highly efficient filtration devices that remove fine dust particles from a gas stream. They operate by using a high internal voltage to generate free electrons that attract and collect ions in the air. These ions carry a negative charge, which makes them attracted to positive electrodes such as a stack of large flat metal plates in the ESP chamber.
The voltage is fed from an AC power supply through a rectifier, which changes it to DC current that ionizes the flue gases. These ions are attracted to the collector plates and deposited on them, where they accumulate due to their negative charges.
Once the ESP collects enough particles, they fall off due to gravity and are collected in hoppers at the bottom of the unit. The collected slag is either flushed down or pumped out for designated disposal or processing. This process does not produce any ozone, making it an excellent choice for industrial applications where ozone is prohibited or banned.
Centrifugal Separators
Centrifugal separators create a spinning vortex that separates solid particles from liquids. The spinning action forces high-density components such as water to the edges of the bowl while low-density substances such as oil remain inside the separator. The separated fluids are purged from the separator through discharged ports. Lakos separators can be paired with purge control systems that set purging duration and intervals based on varying solid concentrations, flow rates, or types of solid particles.
Centrifuges can help reduce environmental pollution caused by water contamination. They are ideal for wastewater treatment systems, steam turbines, and waste oil recovery applications.
GEA Westfalia separators, for example, utilize their Hydrostop and Softstream technologies to reduce the quantity of sludge that requires desludging and improve separation efficiency. This helps extend the time between sludge ejections and lower maintenance costs. These systems also ensure better engine performance by minimizing wear on engines and their components. They are also a great choice for cooling towers, chillers, and heat exchangers.