With increasingly stricter environmental air laws and growing health concerns, plant managers are implementing industrial dust collector systems to keep their facilities up and running—and under budget. A recent article from the Chicago Tribune announced the shutdown of an Indiana-based coal –fired power plant that wasn’t making enough money to support an upgrade that would have maintained its operations in compliance with the federal Clean Air Act. According to the U.S. Environmental Protective Agency’s (EPA) website, “this law authorizes EPA to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and public welfare and to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants.”
Harmful emissions from coal plants include carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, as well as dangerous airborne particles and hydrocarbons. These contribute to environmental problems such as smog and acid rain, and can lead to heart and lung damage in humans. Industrial dust collector equipment has proved to a reliable technology that helps power plants manage many of the airborne pollutants caused by burning coal. Compact high-efficiency cyclone dust collectors such as the GPC Dust Collector offer a cost-effective solution for capturing hazardous particulate. Used as a pre-cleaner before a baghouse or cartridge filter, this industrial dust collector can collect the majority of dust emissions, thereby reducing filter replacement and maintenance costs.
