Bag Pulse Jet Top Load Collector

Application

A 220 bag pulse-jet top-load collector, drawing copper/lead fume from a melting pot. Bags were 5.56" diameter by 124.5" long; 15 ft per bag. 16,000 acfm required 4.8:1 air-to-cloth ratio.

Optimization Potential

Sparks were entering the collector and burning holes in both polyester felt and fiberglass filter bags. Dust passing through these holes would contaminate the inside of the bags, reducing system airflow. High levels of airborne lead from inadequate hood suction created a dangerous work environment, and weekly furnace downtime was required for leak testing and bag replacement.

Solution

Customer installed a spark-arresting cyclone and retrofitted the baghouse with 40" long, 27 ft GORE® filter cartridges. The additional filtration area would compensate for the flow restriction from the cyclone, and the GORE® membrane would maintain a constant pressure drop via surface filtration.

Results

After three months operation at 50 psi pulse pressure, the pressure drop across the filter cartridges was maintained below 4.5" w. g., at 15,000 to 18,000 acfm system airflow. The cyclone has prevented any spark damage to the cartridges, the design of which allows for installation and removal times one-third that of the original filter bags.