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June 2021 / 27 DEFINING YOUR DUST MANAGEMENT NEEDS Managing dust within your bulk solids processing facility is easy to do once you know what that entails for your specific material and process. From knowing your material and your dust's characteristics to identifying dust collection points and determining a dust collector type, this article details what's involved in establishing a successful dust management system. Bill Kurz, Sly or drying materials via processing equipment. These equipment types include pulverizers, vibratory separa- tors, and fluidized-bed dryers. When materials such as barley, coal, or iron go through these equipment types, process dust is often created as a by-product. Understanding what type of dust you have is important to identifying the threshold limit values (TLVs) for your material or substance. The TLV of a substance is the maximum airborne concentration of that sub- stance to which a worker can be exposed day after day (8 hours each day) for a working lifetime without adverse effects. Established by the American Confer- ence of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), the TLVs for substances are required to be included on materials' safety data sheets per the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard. You can find more infor- mation on TLVs at https://www.acgih.org/science/ tlv-bei-guidelines/ or by viewing the different OSHA Z Tables at www.osha.gov/annotated-pels. Governing entities such as OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) set different respirable dust limits for various substances. Regulatory limits often change over time as research evolves, so verifying the current standards for industrial hygiene and safety requirements is best practice. These exposure limits will be a key design factor for your dust management system, as they'll need to be maintained to ensure site safety and regulatory compliance. Conduct a particle analysis To fully define your dust management requirements, you need to better understand your dust's physical characteristics. Through a detailed particle analysis, you can identify your dust's characteristics, such as its agglomeration potential, abrasiveness, and particle shape. Two key characteristics of your dust that you want the particle analysis to focus on are bulk density and particle size distribution. W ithin powder and bulk solids material handling processes, dust management is critical to industrial air pollution control. Operator health, site safety, and regulatory compliance are all dependent on your ability to properly manage any pollutants or particulates present in your airstreams. Dust is typically managed with industrial air pollu- tion control equipment, such as dry dust collectors and wet scrubbers, along with other ancillary equipment, such as exhaust fans and rotary valves for a dry dust collection system or a recirculation tank for a wet scrub- ber system. Dust collectors work to separate entrained dust particles from an airstream and properly dispose of the dust. In most facilities, dust management is so important that if the dust collection equipment shuts down, production stops entirely. Since every facility is different, your means of dust management and air pollution control will depend on the specifics of your operation, particularly the characteristics of your dust. The following information outlines the steps to take to define your operation's dust management needs. Analyze your operations and unique dust problem Dust management starts with understanding your specific material application and air pollution control requirements. What type of dust does your material create? How much dust is present in your airstreams? What levels of air pollution control and dust mitigation do you need to reach? While dust can come from various sources, most dust is categorized as either fugitive dust or process dust. Fugitive dust, also known as nuisance dust, is any dust generated simply from the act of moving mate- rial. Equipment that creates dust by moving material includes belt and screw conveyors, bucket elevators, and scale hoppers. Examples of materials known for generating fugitive dust are grains, flours, mined aggregates, salts, spices, and cannabis. Process dust, on the other hand, is created from grinding, screening,