BG Europa supplies mobile pulse jet fabric filter to Swaziland

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  • BG Europa supplies mobile pulse jet fabric filter to Swaziland

25th November 2008 - As a family owned business BG Europa (UK) Ltd (BGE) provide their customers with quality equipment, offering low operational costs and long life expectancy at competitive prices. The importance placed on in house engineering expertise allows BGE to bespoke all equipment to exactly match customers requirements.

Recently BGE has supplied a SF4 - four module mobile pulse jet fabric filter to AG Thomas PTY of Manzini, Swaziland. This unit will operate with their CEI Nomad plant and initially be used for a road project in Botswana.

When compared to reverse air filters SF Pulsejet Fabric Filters offer both performance advantages and the prospect of greater life. The design of the SF series pulsejet fabric filter allows larger areas of filtering cloth to be installed when compared with a reverse air type filter of the same dimensions.

The pulsejet fabric filter performs bag cleaning whilst the bags are on line, therefore all the cloth area is available for filtration at all times in comparison to the reverse air filter which shuts off up to 10% of the cloth area at any time to perform bag cleaning.

Pulsejet bag cleaning also allows heavier more efficient filter cloth to be used, 500g/m² compared to 400g/m² normally used in reverse air type fabric filters.

Additionally, the pulsejet bag cleaning process does not introduce large quantities of cold damp atmospheric air into the baghouse which cools collected air, often requiring reverse air type filters to be insulated and resulting in accelerated internal corrosion and bag blinding.

The BG Europa SF filter uses a pulse of compressed air to generate a shock wave which cleans the filter bag. The compressed air manifold is housed and protected within the filter body; it can be easily accessed from the filter top by removal of full-length lift off covers. The pulse control solenoid valves, which precisely distribute air through the cleaning cycle, are fitted to the top of the manifold for ease of maintenance.

An electronic pulse controller is installed within a dust tight enclosure mounted at the filter top to allow fine adjustment of cleaning pulse duration and frequency. Bag cleaning is controlled by a differential pressure monitor which initiates cleaning only when required to suit operating conditions. Ensuring operating and energy efficiency are key factors incorporated into the design of the SF filter series.

The unit supplied to AG Thomas PTY is fitted with a dummy module and diffuser to control air intake and protect bags from impact damage by large dust particles. The diffuser reduces air speed upon entry into the dummy module causing larger dust particles to be removed from the air stream. The air is evenly diffused across the fabric filter ensure optimum cleaning efficiency.

Fabricated from 5mm mild steel plate the filter top section houses 270 Nomex type (500 g/m²) filter bags. The bags have snap ring collars securing them into the 5mm thick plenum plate providing an air tight seal. The 270 bag cages are zinc coated to offer extended life and incorporate an integral venture for improved cleaning efficiency.

Both the bags and cages are factory installed to provide a total cloth area of 243m².

Accessed by the rear mounted ladder the filter top is enclosed by handrails which fold to reduce transport height. Access to the bags and cages is provided through full width easily removed top covers.

A Compair V11 rotary vane compressor installed on the chassis provides cleaning air via a 1m³ air receiver. The fines collecting hopper fabricated from 5mm steel houses the triple collecting screws and single cross discharge screw. Each is driven by 3.0 kW bevel helical gear unit offering high output efficiency and operating torque.

Remotely operated by a linear actuator the damper assembly is installed within the baghouse clean air exhaust ducting to allow control of the air available to the drying drum. The backward laminar exhaust fan is driven by a 45 kW electric motor and provides 19000 cfm (12 ins WG @ 20ºC) when running at 1590 rpm.

Offering a completely mobile solution the exhaust stack is of a hinged design for transport and is fabricated from 5mm thick mild steel. The filter unit is mounted within a heavy duty steel chassis with fifth wheel coupling and landing legs for quick truck release and has a travelling width of 3.5m, total length of 10.3m and a travelling height of 4.3m. Running gear comprises a single axle with twin 11R x 22.50 tyres ensuring towing stability, a pneumatic two line braking system with universal couplings and anti-lock function.

Airbag suspension completes the specification ensuring smooth passage and aids site installation by allowing the unit to be settled onto the jacklegs. Each leg is supplied with a large footpad which is transported on the chassis. The footpads allow the unit to be sited on level compacted ground omitting the requirement for concrete foundations and making the filter suitable for operation in remote locations.