Improving the Energy Efficiency of Cyclone Dust Collectors for Wood Product Factories

Dust collection systems represent a significant portion of a wood product manufacturer’s total electricity use. The system fan works against the static pressure of the entire system—the blast gates, the ductwork, and the upstream or downstream cyclone and/or baghouse. A poor system design (e.g., sharp elbows or undersized ductwork) increases the total amount of static pressure in the system, the fan’s performance curve shifts, increasing the total brake horsepower required by the fan (up to the maximum point on the curve). Additionally, system designers may oversize a dust collection system to ensure adequate dust capture and transport, either to accommodate system expansion or simply to be conservative. Since theoretical fan energy use increases with its velocity cubed, this can be an expensive safety net. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review about industrial cyclone dust collectors energy saving in relation to management, technologies, and policies. Energy-saving technologies like high-efficiency motors (HEMs), variable-speed drives (VSDs), leak detection, and pressure drop reduction have all been examined. Based on energy saving technologies results, it has been found that in the industrial sectors, a sizeable amount of electric energy, and utility bill can be saved using these technologies. Finally, various energy-saving policies were reviewed.