A highly efficient dust removal module for hazardous materials detector – development and testing using a laboratory setup.

The development and study of a protective module that removes dust from an air stream based on improved cyclone technology (cyclone separator – CSR) are described. In previous work, we developed a standard CSR and coupled it to a chemical detector. This coupling provides an excellent solution for a few hours of operation required for the detection of hazardous materials in cases of emergency. However, environmental monitoring requires to prolong operation, which requires handling large amounts of dust. This can be accomplished by improving the CSR and increasing its capability to remove fine dust particles that may interfere with the proper operation of the chemical detector and other electronic devices that are often required in environmental applications. Performance is improved by adding low airflow pumping-out from the CSR dustbin. Dust removal efficiency improves by factor 3–7 for small particles, which is valuable for prolonging outdoor operation. The improved CSR performances are constant over time, which is adventurous for prolonging operation of sensitive equipment in a harsh environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]