Development of a Lower-Pressure Water-Powered Spot Scrubber for Mining Applications

摘要

Water sprays and water-powered scrubbers have both been utilized in the mining and milling industry to suppress airborne dust. Unconfined water sprays operated at lower water pressures of 5689 kPa (51 00 psig) can be very eflective at wetting the mine product at the dust source and significantly reducing the amount of respirable dust that becomes airborne. However, unconfined waters sprays can be somewhat ineffective in actually removing airborne dust from the air. On the other hand, water-powered scrubbers operating at higher water pressures of 12,724 kPa (250psig) in physical enclosures or ducts have previously been demonstrated to be very effective in removing airborne dust from the air. These higher operating water pressures are uncommon in many mines and mills, so their use is limited. The National Institute for Occtrpational Safety and Health (NIOSI-I) recently investigated the performance of a lower-pressure, water-powered inline series spray scrubber for removing localized airborne dust emitted at the source. Results showed noticeable improvements in airborne dust capture efficiency through the operation of multiple inline series hollow cone spray nozzles within a round duct or pipe at the same water pressure as a single spray. Operating hollow cone spray(s) at higher water pressures noticeably improved airflow through the scrubber and yielded some additional scrubber eflciency improvements.