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Analyzing design problemswith your
baghouse dust collection system
Garren E. Tooker Air Control Science
Can you spot and fix design problems that are af-
fecting your dust collection system’s performance?
Based on over 30 years experience in diagnosing
and correctingdust collection system problems, this
article’s author estimates that up to 90 percent of
such systemsinstalled in the US don’t perform toex-
pectations. Up to 80 percent of these problems occur
in ducting and pickup hoods, and the other 20 per-
cent:are related to equipment design capacity or se-
lection, or both.
In this article, the author presents tips for analyzing
design problems with your baghouse dust collec-
tion system. (The information concentrates on sys-
tems that control fugitive dust from enclosed bulk
material handling operations and operate at ambi-
ent temperatures.) Sections discuss how to make
preliminary checks and measurements and how to
analyze ducting and baghouse problems, with de-
tailed information on sources of some specific bag-
house problems. The final section explains how to
avoid design problems by using a systemsengineer-
ing approach.
T
he first sign of a poorly performing dust collection
system is usually an unacceptable level of dust in
your workplace. If a newly installed system has an
improperly selected collection air volume, the poor per-
formance shows up immediately. But evidence of other
design problems often doesn’t show up for weeks or even
months.
Plant staff often assume such long-term problems are nor-
mal and that fixing them is a typical maintenance task.
73
Powder and Bulk Engineering, October 1996 37 v
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But nothing could be further from the truth! A properly
engineered, fabricated, and installed dust collection sys-
tem requires very little maintenance and will operate 10
years after installation as reliably as it did at startup. [Edi-
tor’s note: For basics on dust collection system com-
ponents and operation, see the articles listed under
“Suggested reading” at the end of this article.]
How to make preliminary checks and measurements
Y ou can usually pinpoint dust collection system
problems by first making some simple checks
and measurements. Start by taking some differen-
tial pressure (also called pressure drop or Ap) readings,
which measure the difference between static pressures
upstream (on the dirty side) and downstream (on the clean
side) of the bags.
If your baghouse has a permanently mounted differential
pressure gauge that’s piped across the tubesheet (that is,
the bags), first make sure the gauge isn’t plugged with
dust by disconnecting the fittings and blowing through
the tubing. Then take the readings.
If you have a typical baghouse and the Ap reading is much
higher than 4 to 6 inches water gauge from the baghouse’s
inlet to the outlet or is much higher than 2 to 4 inches
water gauge across the tubesheet, look for partially
blinded bags. One test is to inspect each bag’s clean side.
If it’s coated with dust, the bag is probably partially
blinded. But partial blinding can be hard to spot visually,
and you may have to send the bags to a lab for permeabil-
ity flow tests. The tests analyze the airflow through a unit
of filter area to determine whether the fabric is partially
blinded.
If your readings indicate the Ap is normal or low but the
static pressure reading on the baghouse housing has a
high negative value, the ducting is probably partially
plugged.
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38 Powder and Bulk Engineering, October 1996 73
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If your baghouse doesn’t have a permanently mounted 5
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pressure gauge, use a hand-held manometer to take a sta-

tic pressure reading at the baghouse inlet. A high negative 0
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reading can mean the ducting is plugged; a low reading 0
can mean the baghouse is plugged. However, this prelimi- 77
nary information may not be conclusive. For instance, a
poorly performing baghouse can cause the ducting to
plug with dust. And poorly performing ducting can cause
baghouse operating problems. So do a thorough investi-
gation before jumping to a conclusion based on a simple -0
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And if your system is shut down because both the ducting P,
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and baghouse are completely plugged, you can’t take Ap Q
or static pressure readings. In this case, bad ducting de- m
sign and poor equipment selection are almost certainly r_
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the culprits.

How to analyze ducting problems

I
mproperly designed, fabricated, and installed ducting
that becomes plugged is the source of most dust col-
lection system performance problems and mainte-
nance costs. Designing the system for natural airflow
distribution can prevent plugging. But because this de-
sign method generally requires using a computer, many
designers instead rely on blast gates (throttling devices
with a flat plate that slides across the duct) to achieve bal-
anced airflow.

The result? With a system that has only a marginally cor-

rect collection air volume and barely adequate pickup
hood placement, an operator can be tempted to tamper
with the airflow distribution by taking a hammer to the
blast gates. Such tampering without using flow-measur-
ing instruments or referring to the original airflow distrib-
ution design usually results in plugging because the
tampering reduces air velocity in the ducting. As the fan
begins to climb its pressure-volume characteristiccurve,
because of flow restriction, airflow redistributes itself
through the ducting and spreads plugging throughout the
system.

To look for plugging, tap horizontal ducting runs and the

baghouse’s dust hopper. A dull thud suggests the ducting
or hopper is partially plugged. As you keep tapping the
ducting throughout the system to find plugging, look for
its cause. Potential causes are the ducting layout; butter-
fly dampers; multiple ducting entries; undersized, poorly
located pickup hoods; lack of thermal insulation;and low
air volume.

Ducting layout. If the ducting layout doesn’t comply with

generally accepted, published criteria (such as that in the
latest edition of Industrial Ventilation:A Manual of Rec-
ommended Practice’), here are some of the problems
you’ll find:
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40 Powder and Bulk Engineering, October 1996 73
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Branch ducting that enters the main ducting run 5. bot- designing the hoods to reduce dust loading can be cost-ef- 5
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tom. The ducting has no place for the fallout dust (large fective solutions.
particles not entrained in the airflow) to go. o
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Lack of thermal insulation. In a cold climate, watch for -0
Blast gates that are throttled way down and located in a ducting without thermal insulation that emerges from a S

horizontal ducting run. E

Long inclined ducting runs that, again, have no place
for thefalZout dust to go. Vertical and horizontal runs are
best; if you must use inclined ducting, keep the airveloc-
ity high to reduce dust fallout and rollback.
Elbows with a short radius. The elbow’s centerline ra-
dius should be at least 1%the elbow’s diameter and 2%
diameters if possible.
Branch ducting that enters at an angle greater than 45
degrees, enters at an elbow, or doesn’t use an expanding
transition, or multiple branch ducting entries into the
same transition piece.
Ducting sections that are rectangulal; flat, and wide.
Keep ducting round if possible; if you must use rectan-
gular ducting, make it as nearly square as possible.
Butterfly dampers. Using butterfly dampers for control-
ling air volume and system balancing with dust loadings
greater than 3 grains per cubic foot can cause the dust to
fall out of the airstream because the damper’s valve plate
and shaft partially obstruct the ducting. Instead, locate a
blast gate in a vertical ducting run immediately upstream
of the pickup hood for such an application.
-.
heated space. In any climate, look for uninsulated ducting cn
that runs from process equipment or for a product that hu- s
midifies the air flowing inside the dust collection system. ca3
Mixed with dust, the condensate gradually reduces the -0
ducting’s working diameter until the fan can no longer 0
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pump air through it. [Editor’s note: Find more informa- Q
tion on using thermal insulation in the later section, “Con- %
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densation problems.”] 3
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Low air volume. Check that the system’s collection air r_
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volume matches the design volume. Often the actual air rn
volume is less than the design volume because of features 3
built into the system that degrade its performance.A com- E.
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mon design flaw is a poor ducting entry into a centrifugal
fan. A poor fan entry can reduce the ducting’s volumetric 2.
3
capacity by as much as 15 percent, which requires a ra
nearly 40 percent increase in static pressure rating to com-
pensate for this loss. Such problems often go undetected
because airflow through the system isn’t confirmed at in-
stallation. An especially poor fan entry that’s often used
to save space is a mitered inlet box connected to a cen-
trifugal fan without turning vanes; such a box really kills
fan performance. If the reduced air volume remains unde-
tected the ducting will continue to plug. To prevent this
problem, either speed up the fan, use a bigger fan, or in-
stall a fan that uses turning vanes.
How to analyze baghouse problems

Multiple ducting entries. It’s nearly impossible to bal-
ance airflow in a system that has multiple ducting entries
into the baghouse housing. Almost always, one of the
ducting branches is plugged. To avoid problems, use only
one ducting entry into the housing.
A
properly specified and selected baghouse will
typically require little maintenance and offer high
availability (that is, won’t require excessive
downtime or off-line time for service or cleaning). But if
your baghouse has problems, you’ll notice symptoms like
these:

Excessive stack emissions.

Undersized, poorly located pickup hoods. If a pickup
hood is undersized and located near a source of dust-gen-
erating turbulence (such as a transfer chute’s end, a vibrat- High or unstable Ap.
ing screen’s surface, or a bucket elevator’s discharge),’
the resulting dust loading can be more than the system is
designed to handle. You can frequently detect heavy dust Dust buildup or hangup in the baghouse.
loading by observing the dust collector’s operation. For
instance, a high but stable Ap across the baghouse or a Bag blinding.
rapid pulse-cleaning cycle can indicate excessive dust
loading. If your bag life is short or your system can’t meet
stack emissions requirements because of excessive bag Premature bag failure.
cleaning, moving some pickup hood locations and re-

42 Powder and Bulk Engineering, October 1996
Underlying the symptoms are these common baghouse
problems:
The baghouse capacity is undersized for your applica-
tion, so a high air-to-cloth (A/C) ratio causes an unstable
AP.
The baghouse housing is undersized for your applica-
tion, so a high can velocity re-entrains dust on the bags.
The bag cleaning air supply is unreliable and under-
cleans or allows partial blinding of the bags.
Your bag cleaning method overcleans the bags or pro-
duces excessive stack emissions.
Improperly selected bag media is shortening the bag life
and producing an unstable Ap.
An improperly designed inlet air diffuser is causing high
internal air recirculation,premature bag failure, and an
unstable Ap.
Condensation runs from the baghouse walls and mixes
with dust in the hopper, causing hopper buildup and
hangup.
The dust hopper’s shape prevents smooth dust discharge.
Your dust return equipment is undersized, causing dust
buildup and hangup in the dust hopper.
Your untreated collected dust is returned within the bag-
house’s collection perimeter (that is, the area in which
the system picks up dust-laden air), recycling large vol-
umes of dust.
Although the source of each problem can interact with
other sources,let’s discuss the problems separately.
Capacity problems
A baghouse’s design capacity is established by its A/C
ratio -that is, for a given air volume that passes through
the baghouse, a certain minimum filter media area is re-
quired to ensure the baghouse runs continuously and reli-
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ably. The ratio also expresses the dust-laden air’s face ve- 5
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locity as the air approaches the filter media surface.
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The A/C ratio is the baghouse’s primary cost factor: 0
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When all other factors are constant, the A/C ratio deter- S
mines the baghouse size. Doubling the allowable A/C E
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ratio will cut the baghouse’s cost roughly in half. If your cn
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baghouse performs poorly, check the filter media type 3
and its A/C ratio. If the ratio is too high for the media ca
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type, the system’s long-term operating stability will be 0
impaired.
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Finding an acceptableA/C ratio. But how do you deter- 3
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mine an acceptable A/Cratio? So many factors contribute
to selecting the correct ratio that you must establish the m
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selection criteria very carefully. While no simple, fixed 7i
rules apply, you can start by comparing your application rn
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with successfully operating baghouses that handle the E.
same dust. For instance, about 6-to-1 is a reasonable A/C 3
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ratio for a pulse-cleaning baghouse with felted media in a 2.
material handling operation for a dry, nonsticky dust, 3
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such as coal dust. If your application is similar and your
ratio is less than 7-to-1, look elsewhere for the problem.
But if the ratio is greater than 8-to-1, it could be causing
dust to migrate through and partially blind the bags.
Use caution when finding the right A/C ratio for your
baghouse. Be sure you have information on and compare
all the operating factors. If you have any doubt, it can be
well worth the cost -typically $7,500 to $10,000 -to
have a qualified lab (such as that of an environmentalcon-
sultant) test your dust in different baghouse designs and
sizes while varying A/C ratios, media types, and other op-
erating factors.
A/Cratioproblems. The effects of a high A/C ratio can be
insidious, taking weeks or months to show up. The first
symptom is typically “Ap creep” - a gradually increas-
ing pressure drop as dust begins to migrate through the
bag media, partially blinding the bags. This is followed by
reduced airflow, which causes increasing amounts of dust
to be released in the workplace.
The Ap creep can also be followed by visible stack emis-
sions as dust migrates from the dirty to the clean side of
the bags. While these emissions may start as a barely visi-
ble puff as the bags are pulse-cleaned (to be discussed
later in this article), the emissions eventually become
steady and very visible as dust migration progresses.
Such “bleed-through” emissions can also be from broken
bags that result from the ap creep-

46 Powder and Bulk Engineering, October 1996
Replacing leaking bags probably won’t significantly
reduce stack emissions because by now the bags’ clean
sides may be coated with migrated dust. In fact, the
migration is sometimes so heavy that the cleaning pulse
drives the dust back into the media, blinding the bags
from both sides. If you suspect your baghouse has a high
A/C ratio, shine a light down the clean side of one bag and
rub the media surface. If it’s coated with dust, you can be
fairly sure the ratio is too high.
A properly engineered, fabricated, and installed dust
collection system requires very little maintenance and
will operate 7 0 years after installation as reliably as it
did at startup.
Another telltale sign of a high A/C ratio is short-interval
pulse cleaning. When a baghouse’s performance begins
to fail, the operator may increase the pulse-cleaning fre-
quency to overcome the Ap creep. The optimal pulse in-
terval is about 2 to 5 minutes. Using shorter intervals can
indicate the bags are partially blinded.
Don’t simply replace the bags with the same media or use
off-line cleaning to clean the bags. If you don’t solve the
problem, the blinding will just start again. First, check
that the actual air volume through the baghouse matches
the design volume. Often a fan is oversized for a dust col-
lection system so that it can be throttled back to the design
air volume after installation. Or the system’s airflow re-
sistance can be lower than the designer expected. In either
case, more air can be flowing through the baghouse than
was intended, producing a very high A/C ratio. Reducing
the fan speed can help. And to prevent future problems,
make sure you restore the system’s design air volume
after you make any change to the system.
But if the actual air volume matches the design volume,
you need to find another solution. Although you could re-
place the baghouse with a bigger unit or supplement it
with a parallel baghouse to prevent blinding, a more cost-
effective solution is to use bags made of surface-filtration
media such as Gore-Tex or P-84. These media are less
susceptible to blinding at higher A/C ratios. [Editor’s
note: For more information on bag media, see “Bag filter
fabrics: Getting the most for your filtering dollar” by
James W. Griffin in Powder and Bulk Engineering, June
1992,pages 18-26.]
Housing size, can velocity problems
If you suspect your baghouse housing is undersized, A/C
ratio may not be the only factor contributing to the prob-
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lem: Also check your baghouse’s can velocity before
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making any changes. d
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The can velocity, given in feet per minute, is determined 0
by dividing the volume of dust-laden air entering the bag-
house chamber (or housing) by the netflow area available
in the airflow direction. The net flow area is determined
by subtracting the total axial cross-sectional area of all
bags from the total cross-sectional area of the baghouse
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In a baghouse where the dust-laden air enters at the bag
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chamber’s top or side, can velocity isn’t a factor in sizing r_
the housing, which allows use of a smaller, less costly 7i
housing. But in a baghouse where the air enters at the bot-
tom, the collected dust released from the bags passes
through the entering dust-laden air, which makes can ve-
locity an important sizing factor.
Can velocity is also directly related to A/C ratio: For a
given baghouse size, increasing the A/C ratio also typi-
cally increases the can velocity. Remember this when
you’re considering switching bag media to reduce prob-
lems caused by a high A/C ratio. One solution is to use
surface-filtrationmedia, which can tolerate a higher A/C
ratio using fewer bags and thus reduce the can velocity
and associatedmaintenance costs.
Pulse cleaning is easy to misuse and abuse.
Continuous, unnecessay pulse cleaning prematurely
wears the bags.
If the can velocity is too high, dust released during bag
cleaning can be re-entrained in the entering dust-laden air
and redeposited on the bags. Excessive can velocity pre-
sents symptoms similar to those for a high A/C ratio, in-
cluding a rising Ap, but the solution is different. Rather
than blinding the bags, dust is just accumulatingon the bag
surfaces because it can’t be expelled from the bag cham-
ber, thus causing the rising Ap. Switching media may not
help unless the new media can handle a much higher A/C
ratio, which allows you to remove some bags to reduce the
can velocity. Off-line cleaning is a less frequentlyused so-
lution because it can be expensive: Often you need to in-
stall another baghouse module to isolate bags for off-line
cleaning.
But how can you determine an acceptable can velocity for
your baghouse? Although it depends somewhat on your

48 Powder and Bulk Engineering, October 1996
dust’s physical characteristics,particularly the strength of
the dust’s bonding (agglomerating) forces, a can velocity
below 300 fpm is usually acceptable. A can velocity
above 600 fpm can cause serious re-entrainment prob-
lems for many dusts. There are exceptions for specific
dusts: For instance, can velocity shouldn’t exceed 200
fpm for alumina dust. Bauxite’s upper limit is about 250
fpm. But Western coal or lignite dust can have a can ve-
locity near 600 fpm.
If you have doubts about your can velocity, send samples
of your dust to a qualified lab for an elutriation test. The
test measures can velocity by measuring the air velocity
at which your dust can be supported by an aircolumn.
Bag cleaning problems
A typical baghouse uses one of three bag cleaning meth-
ods: pulse (also called pulse wave or pulse jet), which
uses high- or low-pressure compressed air during on-line
cleaning; reverse air, which typically uses low-pressure
air such as from a centrifugalfan during off-line cleaning;
or bag shaking, which is also during off-line cleaning.
[Editor’s note: For more information on bag cleaning
methods, see articles listed under “Suggested reading” at
the end of this article.]
Pulse cleaning is the most common for baghouses up to
about 400,000 acfm. This method typically uses either
high-pressure (100-psig), low-volume (HPLV) dried and
filtered (instrument-quality)compressed air or low-pres-
sure (7- to 15-psig), high-volume (LPHV) compressed air
supplied by a positive displacement blower. The trou-
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bleshooting advice in this section concentrates on bag-
houses equipped with pulse cleaning.
Pulse cleaning is easy to misuse and abuse. Continuous,
unnecessary pulse cleaning prematurely wears the bags.
And because some dust retained on the bags, called the
filter cuke, actually does the filtering work, removing too
much dust from the bags during cleaning means the enter-
ing dust-laden air won’t be properly cleaned. As a result,
dust can bleed through the bags, causing excessive stack
emissions and even bag blinding.
One way to control pulse cleaning is to use a pulse-on-de-
mand cleaning cycle control. This requires replacing the
baghouse differential pressure gauge with one that has an
adjustable Ap setting and is coupled to an electrical
switch. The switch is wired in series with the control’s
power supply. The control simply turns on the cleaning
control cycle when the Ap across the bags reaches a preset
value and turns off the control when the pressure drops
below that value. This technique automatically adjusts to
variable dust loading at the inlet.
With pulse-on-demand cleaning, being able to reliably
read the Ap is important. To ensure reliable readings, use
compressed air to purge dust from the pressure lines lead-
ing from the baghouse housing.
Another common problem with pulse cleaning is that the
manufacturer-set control parameters -including pulse
frequency, duration, and amplitude -are often tweaked
by the baghouse operator to optimize bag cleaning. This

can easily upset the cleaning process. For instance, if the
operator’s first reaction to a rising Ap is to think the bags
aren’t being properly cleaned, the operator may crank up
the air pressure and pulse frequency to hit the bags harder
and faster.
But this can be exactly the wrong response. Increasing the
air pressure merely breaks up the agglomerated filter
cake, causing the released dust to be re-entrained on the
bags. Even slight partial blinding can’t be solved by sim-
ply pulsing the bags harder and faster while on-line. In-
stead, you can usually gain reasonable, sometimes
temporary, flow through the bags using flow recovery
methods such as off-line cleaning and sparging (using an
air sparger to backflush the bags with high-pressure air).
But before attempting any solution, make sure you know
what caused the blinding -for instance, an unreliable
supply of cleaning air.
Cleaning air supply problems
The reliability of your cleaning air supply depends on
whether the unit uses LPHV or HPLV pulse cleaning. An
LPHV baghouse has a reliable cleaning air supply and
distribution system: The nondried, low-pressure com-
pressed air is distributedthrough only one pulse valve and
rotating manifold, which services all the bags. Not much
can go wrong with the system.
In contrast, the more commonly used HPLV baghouse re-
quires careful maintenance and instrument-quality com-
pressed air to keep the many pulse valves (about 1 for
every 16 bags) operating reliably. If the baghouse is the
only equipment in your plant using instrument-quality air,
the air quality is more likely to suffer. For instance, in a
cold climate, someone can forget to service the desiccant
in the compressed-air dryer, allowing moisture to reach
and freeze the baghouse pulse valves. In very cold condi-
tions, freezing can put the baghouse out of operation.
There are problems in more temperate climates too.
Sometimes unconditioned plant compressed air is used
for the HPLV cleaning air supply, allowing dust and
moisture to affect the pulse valves. And neglecting to ser-
vice airline filters and traps can reduce the air pressure to
the pulse valves.
The HPLV baghouse is quite sensitive to even a tempo-
rary reduction or loss in the cleaning air supply’spressure.
The resulting improperly cleaned bags cause dust to mi-
grate deep into the media, partially blinding the bags. And
design airflow through the bags isn’t typically fully re-
stored once the air pressure is restored.
This temporary reduction or loss contributes to other sec-
ondary problems, such as shortened bag life, mechanical
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Powder and Bulk Engineering, October 1996 49 73
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bag failure as the bags are slapped against the bag cage 5
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with increasing force from the increased Ap, and plugged
ducts as reduced airflow cuts the dust transport velocity. 0
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So when troubleshooting the HPLV cleaning system, de-
termine whether a sharp bag-snapping pulse is being de-
livered to every bag at regular intervals and the cleaning
air pressure is set to the manufacturer’s spec. Also check
that each pulse valve snaps open and shut and no dust or
moisture in the air is slowing down the valve’s closure.
P,
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If all the bags in your baghouse are partially blinded m
and many bags require replacement, replace all the r_
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bags.
Check the Ap as you check the HPLV cleaning cycle con-
trols and operation. If the pulse interval and amplitude are
correctly set, the Ap across the bags should be 2 to 4
inches water gauge. If it’s much below 2 inches, the bags
are being overcleaned; if it’s much above 4 inches, partial
bag blinding can be occurring. For overcleaning,
lengthen the pulse interval to bring the Ap back up to
about 2 inches. For partial blinding, immediately restore
full design airflow to preserve bag life and stop further de-
terioration in system performance. Try the following
remedies, in this order, to restore the airflow:
1.Periodically pulse-clean the bags off-line (when the
baghouse fan isn’t running).
2. Apply high-pressure air (80 psig minimum) through an
air sparger down into each bag cage to backflush each
bag.
3. Send the blinded bags to a commercial bag cleaning
service.
Having to replace bags because your cleaning air supply is
unreliable or your pulse valves have failed can be expen-
sive. Normal bag life is typically more than 2 years, but a
blinded bag can last less than 6 months. It costs about $7 to
replace a typical 10-foot-long, 16-ounce polyester bag.
For a baghouse with 100bags (with a typical collection ca-
pacity of 6,000 cfm), the unreliable air supply could cost
over $1,000 in unnecessary bag replacement, which
doesn’t include downtime or installationcosts.
If all the bags in your baghouse are partially blinded and
many bags require replacement, replace all the bags. 0th-
erwise, the new bags will soon become blinded as in-

Powder and Bulk Engineering, October 1996
50
creased airflow through them brings the Ap up to that of
the old bags.
Whenever you replace bags, throttle back the fan before
you put the baghouse back on-line. This allows the air-
flow to gradually increase as dust starts to coat the bags.
If the fan airflow is too high, the clean bags’ low airflow
resistance will allow dust to drive deeply into the media,
immediately causing partial blinding.
Bag media problems
Your bag media has a big effect on baghouse perfor-
mance. Bags are available in several media, from the
most common felted media such as 14- or 16-ounce
polypropylene or polyester to surface filtration media Use thermal insulation as a cost-effective condensation
such as P-84 or Gore-Tex. Surface filtration media can be safeguard. But make sure you need the insulation,
five times as costly as felted media. But all have one thing because it’s costly if you don‘t.
in common: They don’t depend on depth filtration to sep-
arate dust from air.
Your baghouse may have a poor inlet duct design that
causes large eddy currents to return much of the
released dust back to the bags.
Depth filtration means dust deeply embedded in the
media’s inner structure is doing the filtering work. If your
baghouse A/C ratio is correct, depth filtration will work
fine. But if you push the A/C limit, dust driven deeply into
the media can’t be removed by on-line cleaning. And any
free moisture, such as condensation caused by dewpoint
excursions, acts as a binder to the dust, decreasing the
media’s permeability and locking dust deeply in the
media structure.
In contrast, surface filtration occurs totally (or nearly to-
tally) on the media surface, so that little or no dust pene-
trates the media structure. This enables surface filtration
media to resist blinding. The media can also tolerate a
much higher A/C ratio under tougher operating condi-
tions while maintaining a very stable Ap. For instance,
both P-84 and Gore-Tex recover very well from blinding
caused by dewpoint-excursion condensation on the bag
surface.
P-84 and Gore-Tex provide surface filtration in different Your baghouse may have a poor inlet duct design that
ways. Gore-Tex has a permeable polytetrafluoroethylene causes such large eddy currents to return much of the re-
(PTFE)membrane bonded to a substrate fabric’s surface. leased dust back to the bags. The dust can be re-entrained,
All filtration occurs on the membrane surface, and the and the currents can abrade the bag bottoms and create a
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dust doesn’t help filter the air. In fact, little dust is retained
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5
on the media. d
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P-84 uses a very fine denier filament with a cross section 0
shaped like three lobes (instead of the round cross section
of conventional media filament) that is needled into con-
ventional felt. The filament provides extensive surface
area. The dust captured in the media provides the filtration,
as with conventional felted media. But because of each fil-
-0
ament’s substantial surface area and a resident electrosta- 0
tic charge, most of the trapped dust stays near the media d
Q
surface. This enables the media to resist blinding. %
P,
3
Q
m
r_
7i
You can reduce a high A/C ratio by switching from felted
to surface filtration media, but the media won’t cure bag
cleaning problems caused by the equipment or excessive
condensation, nor can you use P-84 or Gore-Tex media
instead of providing thermal insulation. But in some
cases, surface filtration media can solve high can velocity
problems (as described in the previous subsection,
“Housing size, can velocity problems”).
Inlet diffuser problems
How airflow is distributed after entering your baghouse
also impacts the unit’s performance. Various inlet duct
designs that don’t enhance flow distribution have been
used in baghouses: In some, the inlet duct is merely
stubbed to the baghouse hopper so the dust has to find its
way to the bag chamber. In others, a flat-plate target is in-
stalled at the inlet duct’s end or a deflector plate is used to
turn the airflow down into the hopper.
Some baghouse manufacturers have researched the air-
flow distribution after the dust-laden air enters the bag-
house, finding that large secondary eddy currents affect
air circulation between the bag chamber and dust hopper
when these inlet duct designs are used. As a result, the
manufacturers have developed linear diffusers that re-
duce eddy currents to provide uniform airflow into the
bag chamber. The diffusers can be retrofitted to an exist-
ing baghouse or included in a new one.

52 Powder and Bulk Engineering, October 1996
false dust loading. If your baghouse seems to have an ex-
cessive A/C ratio or can velocity, consider retrofitting a
linear diffuser.
Condensationproblems
Within your ducting or baghouse, vapor condensation
(which can result when you handle air or gases with
higher-than-ambient moisture content) can be disastrous,
especially if it occurs over a long period. But noncon-
densing vapor passing through the dust collection system
usually causes no problems. In fact, even an occasional
dewpoint excursion doesn’t typically have a serious ef-
fect on system operation.
Use thermal insulation as a cost-effective condensation
safeguard. But make sure you need the insulation, be-
cause it’s costly if you don’t. It can also be costly if you
need it and don’t install it.
Be aware that even in a very cold climate the baghouse
doesn’t always require thermal insulation, nor does a
warm climate always mean you don’t need it. Instead,
consider thermal insulation for preventing condensation
if moisture is released to the baghouse airor if the air’shu-
midity can potentially increase above ambient. This can
occur when cold outdoor air is drawn into the heated
workplace, enters a pickup hood, and then travels through
ducting to an outdoor baghouse.
But sometimes the need for thermal insulation isn’t obvi-
ous. For instance, if you mechanically work a material,
such as crush it in a hammermill, as much as 90 percent of
the mill’s drive power is converted to heat as the material
is reduced. Much of that heat goes into raising the mate-
rial’s temperature. If the crushed material has any surface
or inherent moisture, any makeup dust collection air serv-
ing the crushing operation will be humidified, which can
cause condensation in the ducting and baghouse.
But first, before assuming you must add thermal insula-
tion to the dust collection system in your crushing or simi-
lar operation, make some calculations to prevent
spending money unnecessarily.The following two exam-
ples illustratewhy.
In a Wyoming coal plant where the outside air tempera-
ture frequently drops to -30°F, a 200-horsepower roll
crusher and a dust collection system are located outdoors.
The coal has over 30 percent inherent moisture. But ther-
mal insulation for the ducting and baghouse isn’t re-
quired, because at -30°F the ambient air is very dry and
0
0
73
2.
ra
the baghouse also serves other collection points that don’t 5
d
humidify the system air. Calculations determined that
when the airstreamsfor all the system’spickup hoods mix 0
cn
as they travel through the ducting and baghouse, the hu- 0
midity doesn’t drop below the dewpoint. -0
S
E
-.
cn
But in a coke processing plant on the Gulf Coast, the ducting s
3
and baghouse servicing an outdoor hammermill plug up ca
just days after plant startupin hot, humid summer weather. -0
The coke steams as it dischargesfrom the hammermill, and 0
d
the ambient air humidity is more than 95 percent. Ther- Q
mally insulating the ducting and baghouse is the only way %
P,
to prevent condensation and the resulting plugging. In a 3
Q
cold climate,the insulation probably also would be needed
in the baghouse dust hopper and dust return equipment m
r_
(such as a screw conveyor or pneumatic conveyor). 7i
m
Dust hopper problems
The shape of the baghouse dust hopper affects the dust
discharge rate. A pyramidal hopper shape is the most
common because most baghouses have a square housing.
But a pyramidal hopper is subject to dust hangup on the
hopper walls. Such hangup is not only inconvenient but
dangerous in applications such as coal dust collection. In
fact, dust hangup in the hopper is the most common cause
of baghouse fires in coal handling applications.A conical
hopper, which is used on the round housing of a LPHV
baghouse, is better than the pyramidal hopper.
Common problems are an undersized rotary airlock
at the dust hopper discharge and undersized dust
return equipment.
If you can’t replace your square baghouse with a LPHV
unit, one reasonably quick fix is to coat the dust hopper
walls and the airlock rotor vanes at the hopper discharge
with a stick-resistantmaterial, such as a liquid Teflon-im-
pregnated epoxy that can be applied like paint.
Dust return equipment problems
In a baghouse application, little attention is typically paid
to dust return, especially if the dust is valuable and re-
turned to the product stream. Common problems are an
undersized rotary airlock at the dust hopper discharge and
undersized dust return equipment, such as a screw con-
veyor or pneumatic conveyor.
 0
0
54 Powder and Bulk Engineering, October 1996 73
2.
ra
When the baghouse fan shuts down, much dust usually Problems with untreated dust returned to the system 5
d
falls from the bags. If you think of the baghouse dust hop- If you return untreated dust within the system’s collection
per as a funnel, not a storage hopper, you can understand 0
perimeter, some of the dust will be re-entrained in the sys- cn
why the dust must be quickly dischargedfrom the hopper: tem. This creates a compounding dust loading to the bag- 0
Fast discharge prevents the hopper from filling, which house, which ultimately will overload the unit. Depending -0
S
can cause eddy currents to throw dust up into the bag on the compoundingdust percentage, this process can take E
-.
chamber and create the same problems as an excessive hours, days, or weeks. But it will happen unless you find a cn
A K ratio or can velocity. s
way to agglomerate the dust to avoid re-entraining it or 3
hide the dust in the process stream to prevent the dust from ca
being picked up again. Symptoms of compounding dust -0
The airlock discharge can be undersized for any of the fol- 0
loading to watch for include dust filling the hopper, a re- d
lowing reasons: duction in the percentage of returned dust, and apparent
Q
%
bag blinding. P,
3
The designer underestimates the dust collection sys- Q
tem’s actual dust loading, especially when the system’s m
If your baghouse has compounding dust loading, there’s r_
dust enclosures are undersized and pickup hoods are lo- 7i
no simple cure for it. The only solution may be to retrieve rn
cated close to dusty, turbulent material flow.
the dust at the hopper and move it to some downstream lo- 3
cation, outside the collection perimeter, and let it be han- E.
3
The designer assumes the bulk density of a material is dled by another dust collection system. This option is (D

the same as that for the dust, when the dust’s density is
actually much less. For instance, Western coal’s bulk
density is about 50 lb/ft3but its aerated dust has a bulk
density of only about 24 lb/ft3.
*The designer assumes the wrong volumetric dis-
placement rating for the airlock. The airlock rotor,
which is at atmospheric pressure, blows the dust
away from its empty pocket as it becomes exposed to
the dust hopper. The hopper is under negative pres-
sure, effectively reducing the airlock’s rated volu-
metric displacement.
costly, however. 2.
3
ra
In a ductless dust collection system, such as a bin vent
or portable baghouse directly inserted into a conveyor
transfer chute, the bin or conveyor transfer chute also
doubles as the baghouse housing and dust hopper. In
this case, the dust is returned directly to the pickup
hood and is agglomerated as it returns to the process
stream, which can eliminate problems with com-
pounding dust loading. However, avoid placing the
baghouse too close to the process stream; the resulting
air turbulence can disturb the airflow at the baghouse
inlet.

The airlock rotor speed is too high. When the airlock

rotor is turning too fast, the pockets aren’t completely How to avoid design problems by using a systems
filled as they pass by the dust hopper outlet, further re- engineering approach
ducing the airlock’srated volumetric displacement.

Symptoms of compounding dust loading to watch for
include dust filling the hopper, a reduction in the
percentage of returned dust, and bag blinding.
P
erformance problems are inevitable when you buy
a baghouse from one manufacturer, a fan from an-
other, and dust return equipment from another, and
then procure ducting while the system is being installed.
Compounding these problems is the common practice of
using your plant’s iron workers and millwrights to put
the system together, then starting up the fan and other
equipment without the services of a testing and balanc-
ing contractor.

You can avoid many of the problems discussed in this ar-

Correctly sizing the rotary airlock and dust return equip-
ment will ensure dust is smoothly discharged from the
hopper. Size the airlock’s volumetric capacity for at least
200 percent of the peak dust loading you estimate for the
dust collection system - and don’t skimp on the esti-
mate. Also ensure the airlock’s rotor speed doesn’t have
to exceed 20 rpm to satisfy the airlock manufacturer’s
rated displacement.
ticle by taking a systems engineering approach to design-
ing your dust collection system. Such an approach will
save money not only in equipment selection but also in
the following ways:
The ducting will be properly designed, fabricated, and
installed, and the airflow distribution will be balanced,
reducing ducting maintenance costs.
 0
0
Powder and Bulk Engineering, October 1996 55 73
v
The pickup hoods and other containment devices (such
as enclosures and related equipment housings) will re-
duce the calculated air volume, cutting the system’s cap- 0
ital and operating costs. cn
0
L

The dust collectionequipment will be properly specified E

-.
cn
for your operating environment and performance crite- s
ria to ensure reliable operation and reduce operating and
maintenance costs.
-0
0
d
Q
*The system’s air volume will be properly distributed,
often substantially reducing the dust cycled by the bag- %
P,
house and lengthening bag life. PBE 3
Q

rn
3
Reference
1. Industrial Ventilation: A Manual of Recommended Practice, The
American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists.

Suggested reading
For more information on baghouse dust collection sys-
tems, see these articles in Powder and Bulk Engineering:

“Eight steps for designing a dust control system and esti-

mating its cost,” John A. Constance, October 1991,pages
24-30.

“Factors to consider when selecting a baghouse or car-

tridge dust collector,” Thomas J. Vidmar and Marcel
Jolin, October 1992,pages 47-52.

“Guidelines for operating and maintaining your dust

control system,” John A. Constance, October 1994,
pages 67-75.

“How to troubleshoot your baghouse,” Gary P. Greiner,

October 1990,pages 40-46.

Garren E. Tooker is senior vice president of engineering

at Air Control Science, 6560 Ode11 Place, Boulder, CO
80301; 303/581-1070. He holds a mechanical engineer-
ing degreefrom Cogswell Polytechnic College,San Fran-
cisco, and has more than 30 years experience in dust
collection, industrial ventilation, and engineering, design-
ing,and constructing bulk material handling systems.