Many industrial facilities have serious problems with air pollution. There can be issues with dust, fumes, vapours, odours, flue gases, acids, and more. As a result, properties often require equipment to remove them. This helps to protect workers, reducing the risk of being exposed to harmful levels of pollutants that could cause various health problems. However, many solutions have ventilation systems with external vents. It can create noise problems, so they may require a discharge vent silencer.
We appreciate that is a lot to take in right from the off. What we want to do is have a look at different types of air pollution control equipment, how they work, and potential noise problems.
Dust collection systems
If facilities generate high levels of particulate matter, it’s important to use a dust collection system. It can effectively remove the particles from the air. This provides three major benefits; it protects workers, reduces the damage the dust can cause when it accumulates on equipment, and reduces the risk of fires. There are several types of system, including baghouse and pulsejet.
These systems typically have external vents to release air. Luckily, they include filters so you’re not also releasing all the particulate matter into the environment. You may need a discharge vent silencer though, as the pressure differential can create noise.
Electrostatic precipitators
ESP systems are an interesting alternative, useful for removing particulate matter. They utilise anodes to create an electrical discharge that pulls dust or smoke particles from the air. The big thing to keep in mind is they are useful for high volumes of gas, including from industrial scale combustion.
Again these systems don’t release the pollution into the environment. Instead, they feature collector plates with cathodes. They have an opposite charge and attract the particles. There can be dry or wet options here. They either use a hammer to remove the accumulated matter or utilise water to flush it off. Crucially, these systems also have external vents to release the air and may need a discharge vent silencer.
Industrial scrubbers
Wet scrubber systems are one of the most effective air pollution control systems. They can tackle high levels of dirty air, removing particulate matters, harmful gases, and more. The air funnels into the system and comes in contact with the scrubbing liquid. This captures the contaminants, leaving clean air. The liquid can then be treated to remove the pollutants while the air is vented to the atmosphere. Silencers may be necessary.
Fume extractors
These work similarly to dust collection systems, but target harmful fumes from processes like welding and refining metals. They capture dirty air, funnel it safely away, filter it to remove the fumes, and vent clean air. So, again you may need a silencer to address venting noise.
Flue gas cleaning
Finally we have systems to tackle harmful flue gas from industrial boilers and power plants. Typically they focus on removing sulfur dioxide. Interestingly, they can use different elements of the other systems, including mechanical separation, scrubbing, and electrostatic. Make sure you think about venting noise here too.
Rely on us if you need a discharge vent silencer
The great thing here is businesses can choose whichever type of system they need for different scenarios. It’s vital to think about the type of air pollution and volume.
If you need help with another type of volume, you can rely on Ventx. We’re one of the best providers of silencers in the UK, able to deliver discharge vent silencer equipment and much more. So, contact us to design effective noise reduction solutions.
