Chemical dust and dust collection for chemical manufacturing

November 11, 2022

We all know, in the chemical production process at chemical plants, there are serious risks to human health and safety. Chemicals are mostly toxic substances, capable of causing dangerous diseases in humans. In addition, the risk of explosions brings dangers at any time.

During the production process, excess chemicals are likely to be released into the environment, along with the accumulation of dirt to form chemical dust. They cause problems for humans when they are constantly exposed to chemical dust. And is a potential health and safety concern for workers.

In chemicals with many different concentrations, there are metal elements that are harmful to the body in certain concentrations.

Risks of exposure to chemical dust

Workers and employees in chemical plants are often exposed to chemical dust.

2 main potentialities are

– Bad effects on health, even causing dangerous diseases

– Danger of fire and explosion

Chemical dust particles have common characteristics: most are fine dust particles, small in size, and light in weight.

Also because of this property, small dust particles can go deep into the human body. Human exposure to metallic elements such as cadmium can cause health hazards such as Cadmium can cause damage to the nervous system, respiratory tract, and reproductive system. At higher exposure levels, cadmium is a causative agent of lung cancer and prostate cancer… In addition, according to studies, many chemical specks of dust are harmful to health such as arsenic, chromium, and lead…

Another toxic chemical ingredient is silica. At certain concentrations, silica can build up in the lungs and cause serious respiratory illnesses.

If working for a long time in an environment containing chemical dust, the workers are easily exposed to dust through the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract … And cause other injuries to the body such as skin inflammation, pain eyes, and allergies…

Much chemical dust is classified as flammable dust, potentially causing serious fires and explosions. When combustible dust accumulates in a suitable concentration, it can catch fire from many sources such as sparks, hot wheel bearings, cigarette butts, etc., or any ignition source. They easily create explosions such as chemical dust: ascorbic acid, calcium acetate, lactose, sodium ascorbate, and dextrin… They can cause explosions with great destructive power, causing damage to people and property. material.

Dust collection standards for chemical production

OSHA requires chemical manufacturing plants to maintain safe workplaces for workers. In which, is the allowable chemical dust concentration limit, for example:

Cadmium: 5 µg/m3
Zinc oxide: 15 µg/3
Chromium: 5 µg/m3
Iron oxide: 15 µg/m3
Cobalt: 1 µg/m3

ACGIH recommends different guidelines for some of these exposure limits. This is not surprising, as ACGIH guidelines are generally more stringent than OSHA’s. However, many leading manufacturers strive to meet ACGIH guidelines to protect their workers and lead their industry in occupational safety.

Understanding the chemical dust content in the air is a way to help the plant have effective chemical dust treatment plans.

An effective method of collecting and treating chemical dust

One of the necessary systems installed in chemical plants is the system of collecting and treating chemical dust. This helps to timely collect chemical dust, limit its spread to the environment, and prevent people from being exposed to chemical dust. This ensures a clean and safe environment for human health. Along with that, prevent and minimize the fire and explosion in the factory.

Although chemical dust is potentially more dangerous than other industrial clouds of dust (industrial dust). However, collecting this dust is similar to other methods. With factories with a large area, chemical dust is generated at a fixed point, it is possible to directly install suction cups at this location to suck away the amount of chemical dust generated.

Then, thanks to the industrial exhaust fan device, the chemical dust is sent through the pipeline and to the dust treatment area. Chemical dust through the treatment system is converted into harmless or less harmful substances. Bringing clean air to the environment.