Smaller and smarter Torit® PowerCore® collectors with PowerCore filter
packs were the answer to Anchor Block Company’s chronic filter plugging
problems and high pressure drop. Prior to beta testing Torit PowerCore
in 2007, this Shakopee, Minnesota-based producer of standard concrete
block, decorative masonry units, landscape retaining walls and paving
stones endured frequent filter changes with its traditional baghouse
dust collectors.
“The PowerCore®filter packs have worked really well since the
collector was installed,” said Jay Battenberg, safety director at Anchor
Block. “Every time I go by the collector the pressure gauge is hovering
at the one-inch mark. Our others collectors—baghouse and
cartridge—never run that low.”
Anchor Block was among the first to beta test a Torit® PowerCore®
dust collector with PowerCore® filter packs. The company was so impressed
with its first Torit® PowerCore® collector, it installed a full-scale
production unit in March 2008.
The Torit® PowerCore® collector at Anchor Block is ducted to a 5,000-lb.
concrete mixer that mixes very fine and abrasive sand, fly ash,
aggregates and cement. The fine silica dust particles generated at
Anchor Block tend to coat and plug traditional filter bags. In the past,
Anchor Block has used traditional bag bin vent collectors.
In the cement industry, a dust collector still running without filter
plugging at very low pressure drop for more than three months is a
rarity, Battenberg added. When the time comes to change the filters,
Battenberg expects the process to be easy.
“It looks like it’s going to be really easy to change the filters—even
easier than a cartridge collector,” said Battenberg. “There are a couple
handles and the filters just sit in the collector. It almost looks like
an air filter in a car.”
The similarity to engine filters is no coincidence. While Torit®
PowerCore® is only recently available in the industrial processing market
Donaldson’s PowerCore filters with Ultra-Web® technology have long been
a mainstay in the engine market, providing higher filtration efficiency
in high performance vehicles, construction, agriculture and
medium/heavy duty transportation applications. Donaldson has more than
100 pending and issued patents on its PowerCore technology.
Application Data:
- Airflow: 1200 CFM
- Contaminant: Portland Cement, size 4-45 microns diameter
- Pressure Drop: 2 inches water gauge (after 1200 hours without changing filter)
- Loading: 10 pounds per hour