Plastics and Resins
Plastics, resins and their contaminants: what do you need to know?
As you know, handling, conveyor-transporting and manufacturing resins and plastics generates toxic airborne particles. Examine your processes and ask yourself:
- What types of components and dust are involved? The residues of petrochemical compounds, polymers and other additives (such as plasticizers, stabilizers, pigments) are risk items. Flame retardants, catalysts and lubricants are included on that list!
- Are there any fire hazards? For some of these materials, just a spark of static electricity is all it takes to cause an explosion.
- Do you have an adequate system to manage odour problems relating to the processing of certain resins and volatile organic compounds (VOC)?
Are you aware of the risks associated with your processes?
Whether you manufacture pipes, cables, containers, fuel tanks or coatings, your processes generate harmful and flammable dust. Did you know that 15 substances used in manufacturing plastics are also carcinogens or mutagens? Breathing these airborne contaminants can be extremely harmful to your workers’ health. The risk factors don’t stop there:
- The abrasiveness of the particles in the ductwork of the dust collection system increases the risk of spontaneous ignition.
- The flow of powdered plastics from storage bins, containers, pneumatic or mechanical conveyors can raise clouds of contaminants.
- During the resin blend hardening stage, their residues can cause an exothermic reaction in the dust collector, which can lead to a fire or explosion!
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How can you reduce the health and explosion hazards?
In your industry, dust collection must be carefully planned: you have to capture the vapours and particles when the plastic parts are formed and collect the dust associated with the end-to-end process for manufacturing them. Also, your ducts, processes and dust collectors should be grounded in order to limit electrostatic discharge and explosion hazards. To help you set up a system that meets the standards, protects the workers’ health, and reduces the risk of deflagration, our dust collectors can recommend appropriate solutions for you.
What is the best dust collector for plastics and resins?
Every industry has its own characteristics, and yours is no exception! Given these many variables, a dust collector must be chosen by looking closely at the type of particles generated by your activities, their hazards, your processing methods, and the characteristics of your operations. For example, if your activities involve resin and VOCs, your system must meet the environmental standards pertaining to air emissions and adequately exhaust the air in order to manage odour problems.
We believe that, in all cases, the best dust collector is the one that perfectly meets your needs. It’s also a system that enables you to save money. Our experts can suggest some sustainable options for you that are well thought out to minimize production shutdowns, repairs and energy consumption. Here is a quick look at what we can offer you:
- Innovative solutions with an excellent service life, such as our system for capturing volatile organic compounds (VOC) that uses activated carbon filters.
- Integrated energy-recovery solutions combined with a fresh air unit and a dust collector in order to pre-condition the fresh air.
- Equipment approved by the CNESST standards to prevent incidents.
- A team consisting of engineers and specialists is available to you for breakdowns and preventive maintenance.