Dust Collection vs Fugitive Dust Management | Mideco Booth #3210

When dust is released from a hopper during material handling, the traditional response is often simple: capture it, collect it, and send it to a dust collector. But what if the goal isn't actually to collect the dust?

In this episode of Mideco Minute, Melton White, Director of Mideco, looks at the difference between dust collection and fugitive dust management, using a receiving pit as a practical example. The discussion explores how a conventional dust collection system can introduce additional requirements for ducting, pressure, fan power, energy consumption, dust handling and collected-product disposal.

More importantly, it looks at another approach: managing fugitive dust at the source and returning the material to the product stream rather than unnecessarily removing it from the process. The example also introduces Burnley® Baffles, Mideco's approach to managing fugitive dust in hoppers in receiving pits.

The key idea is simple: The objective is to manage fugitive dust. It is not necessarily to collect dust.

Understanding that distinction can change how a dust management system is designed including its equipment, energy requirements, operating costs and what happens to the material that would otherwise become collected dust.