Flour Loss from Silo and Dust Collection

How about weighing it before and after it collects some flour dust?

You don't say why you think your losing flour, or where your seeing the loss at. Is the dust collector emitting dust from the fan discharge area? Are your vent pipes to collector filling with flour? More info needed.

Is this a situation where you are paying for flour that you are not sure is being delivered? Tornado's suggestion may work if the dust collector is small enough. The dust collectors I'm used to from the steel industry would need some creativity to weigh. There must be a way to clean the dust collector. How about cleaning the dust collector before a flour delivery, then clean it again afterwards and collect and weigh the collected flour?

I guess that's what Tornado had in mind anyway, I'm probably just "overthinking" the details.

That wasn't the main reason I wanted to comment. I'm concerned about replacing the dust collector with a bin vent:

• if the exhaust of the bin vent is inside a building, you could create an explosion / fire hazard
• if the exhaust of the bin vent is to the outside, you could create a source of pollution

The dust collector was put there for a reason. Before removing it you should make sure you understand what that reason was.

I do not know where he's from but the exhaust is problem going to a bag house where it collects. And if there isn't a bag house (Filter), should get one.

Re: the exhaust is problem going to a bag house where it collects

I'm not sure what you're saying. (If it is relevant, I took dust collector as being almost synonymous with a baghouse, although it could be much smaller (just a bag instead of a baghouse ;-)

missed it, Yes, larger volume and irrelevant. but can be weighed.

and being irrelevant with out hijacking the post. I found in lot of bakerys and rather new ones there is a big insect problem. My location in in Wisconsin.

Dear All,

Reply to rhkrmer, the silo is outside, the bin vent as it's own filters

Reply to Fixitorelse, we are losing in the dust collector which eventually goes to garbage; the dust collector is connected to many branches of other items work at the same time.

There should be a formula that we can calculate the flour pickup as we have the air flow and the pipe diameter, is there any formula that we can estimate the carryover of flour into the duct collector. The dust collector is connected to many other items work at the same time.

Thanks.

Bin vent is your only hope to solve the issue of flour loss.

The silo or new bin vent could end up focusing on just the flour removal.

tornado is right.

Curious, but are you losing flour or are you losing water weight in the flour: ie is there a difference in moisture content when it arrives vs when it is sold?

According to Industrial Ventilation A Manual of Recommended Practice, 22nd ed., the minimum duct velocity for "very fine light dust" is 2500 to 3000 fpm. The recommended face velocity varies by situation.

If the air flow is too high, you could turn down the dust collector or install blast gates to adjust the air flow to the individual silos.

The pick up point for the dust collection system should be located away from the loading point to minimize the collection of the product, or it could be located above the incoming conveyor if there is an enclosed loading point. If the flour is being loaded pneumatically, then you may need bin vents.

Another possible method for salvaging some of the collected flour would be to install a cyclone in the collection line common to the silos. If you can find a cyclone that is efficient enough, some of the flour would fall out of the air flow and it could be returned from the cyclone and re-introduced into the silo.

There is definitely a problem with the diverter valve at the top of the silo

a cyclone before the dust collector will help

bag houses will reduce the losses to almost nothing...

Apologies for stating the obvious, but just a word of caution,
flour dust can be very explosive, take care!

jt.

I took the wife out today, 1 punch