Types of Mist Collectors
Mist collectors are usually put into categories by how they filter droplets from the air and collect oil or smoke mist.
Cartridge Mist Collectors
Cartridge mist collectors, also known as media filter collectors, use HEPA type filters to remove oil, smist, and smoke from industrial workplaces. The mist is directed into the filter area by a fan or blower. Air is forced through the filter, removing oil, coolant, mist, smoke, and particulate from the air. These are trapped on the media surface of the filters.
Efficiency depends on the type of filter used. Pressure drops can be higher, so more energy may be used to power these mist collectors. Most often, metal screens are used for wet grinding of metal, metal mesh is used for water-soluble mist. Polypropylene mesh is used for regular oil mist.
These types of filters are commonly used for wet grinding, die casting, machining, rubber and plastic production, and food processing.
Centrifugal Collectors
A centrifugal mist collector uses rotating filter elements to force trapped mist into larger droplets, and using centrifugal force, it moves the larger droplets away from the filter drum towards the inside wall of the casing, where they are removed. Gravity is not used for the mist to be removed so the compressor runs continuously. These collectors are only 97% efficient for particles less than one micron. A final stage filter is usually needed to filter out fine mist or smoke. The maintenance most with these collectors is generally higher too.
Electrostatic Collectors
Electrostatic precipitator (ESP) mist collectors use high voltage to charge and gather the smaller mist particles and droplets. The air containing the mist droplets pass through an area with charged electrodes, adding a positive or negative charge to the particles. Oppositely charged plates attract the charged particles causing them to stick. Cleaning cycles are either manual or automatic.
ESP mist collection is efficient for sub-micron mist, smoke, and fumes at a steady flow with low pressure drop. Though this eliminates the requirement for HEPA filters, the initial investment may be substantially more. ESP wet collectors may be ill-suited for fumes with heavy particles.
Vee-Bag Collectors
Vee-bags are for vertical mist collectors, where the filters resemble pockets that filtrate the contaiminants from the air. Vee-bag or vertical systems are used for filtering mist, smoke, and dust from wet grinding, wet machining, soldering, brazing, die casting, and other metal making applications.
Absolent Mist Collectors
Absolent manufactures a complete line of different oil, smoke, and mist filters for different industrial applications.
A•erity is a new, powerful filter unit for industrial operations that guarantees clean air for at least 8,760 operating hours.Unplanned downtime is minimized, meaning production stays efficient.
The A•mist lineup of oil mist collectors is designed for CNC machines, running at moderate speed with a moderate coolant pressure. The lineup of oil mist filters captures the moderately-sized particles and thick fog, cleaning up the air in the production floor.
Their A•line oil smoke filter systems are built for reducing oil mist from workplaces with a moderate amount of mist. Smart monitoring equipment is attached to the collectors to make sure air is clean at the right time and place.
Lastly, the A•smoke line of mist collectors was designed for CNC machines running at high speed with high coolant pressure, as well as die casting or hardening. Since these machines tend to produce thick oil smoke consisting of tiny particles that can be particularly harmful to workers, these oil smoke collectors are designed to filter small particles efficiently.
Absolent A.Line Oil Smoke and Mist Filter Unit
With A•line, you get a versatile filter that is adaptable to your needs. A unique filter which is equally suitable for small tough machines, as it is for machines that generate a moderate amount of oil mist into the factory. With A•line, you’re equipped for the future. Even if you change the coolant, cutting speed or coolant pressure in the machine, A•line handles the task anyway. It also has a very smart monitoring equipment attached to it that allows you get the right amount of air precisely where and when you need it.
A•line filter units are best suited for CNC machining, grinding and forming/pressing in machines that are running high RPM and high coolant pressure. The small size of the filter units make them ideal for machine mounting, but they can also be placed on a floor stand, mounted on the wall or hung from the ceiling. The A•5 unit is the perfect match for a machine with a cabin volume of up to 89 cu ft while the A•10 works for machines that are up to 177 cubic feet. A•line filter units can be adapted to fit the requirements of different applications.
A•line filter units have four unique filter cassettes adapted to your machine. Each one captures millions of particles. The first three are self-draining filter cassettes from Absolent. These have the ability to drain the captured oil so that it can be reused in the machine instead of polluting the premises. This is what we call Catch & Release®. The fourth filter is a HEPA H13. Thanks to this we can ensure clean air during the entire operating time. It filters at least 99.97% of all particles.
A•line units come with A•control. A handheld, electronic device with a seven inch color screen that gives you new opportunities to manage, control and monitor your filter unit. The A•control has information about the pressure drop at each filter stage, running hours, fan speed and much more. You can adjust all settings right from the hand unit. It has never been so easy to clean the air from your machines.
Absolent A.Control
A•10 comes with A•control. A handheld, electronic device with a 7 inch color screen that gives you new opportunities to manage, control and monitor your filter unit. The A•control has information about the pressure drop at each filter stage, running hours, fan speed and much more. You can adjust all settings right from the hand unit. It has never been so easy to clean the air from and around your machines.
Gives technical information about your filter unit, including:
- Pressure drop at filter stage
- Fan speed
- Total running hours
- Running hours since last filter change
- Running hours since last filter service
Absolent A.Smoke Oil Smoke Filter Unit
The Absolent type A•smokeT Oil smoke filter features one of the most effective systems in the world for cleaning oil mist and oil smoke. The A•smoke series are central filter units with integrated fan, designed for air volumes corresponding to the model number. The filter unit is designed for handling the most demanding applications, such as heat treatment. At the same time, maintenance is minimal. Let us explain to you how this amazing combination works!
The A•smoke20 filter unit is designed for handling tough applications with air flows up to 2000m³/h. The A•smoke40 filtration unit is designed for handling the most demanding applications, for air flows of up to 4000m³/h. A•smoke80TF is a central filter unit with integrated fan and is designed for air volumes up to 8000m³/h.
Our unique filter cassettes capture all particles – giving you 1 year of maintenance free operation.
Absolent A.erity – Oil Mist Filter Unit
A•erity is a new, powerful line of filter units for industrial operations that guarantees clean air for at least 8,760 operating hours. Thanks to our advanced filter technology, unplanned downtime is minimized, so you can focus on your business. A•erity is based on tested and proven technology, developed with extensive expertise and ready for seamless integration into your production.
The A•erity series are compact and easy-to-handle filter units for the filtration of polluted air in industrial environments. The advanced filtration technology minimizes unplanned downtime, allowing you to focus on your business.
Clean-Air ZeroMist
Designed for the safe capture of airborne mist generated from emulsions such as water-based coolants (approximately 95% water / 5% oil), the ZeroMist Series of Oil Mist Collectors protects workers and sensitive electronic equipment within your facility.
The basic concept of coalescing fiber beds is simple. The oil or emulsion wicks on tiny strands of fiber inside the filter (imagine water wicking on Gore-Tex) and coalesces into larger droplets. These droplets fall to the basin at the bottom of the unit and can be either drained or pumped out.
In simpler terms, the Clean Air Industries coalescing fiber bed is “catch and release” versus traditional oil mist collectors which are designed to catch and hold oil droplets. The result is an expectation of over a year of filter life and the ability to recycle your coolants.
Filter Life: The coalescing fiber bed technology allows for over a year of filter life in most applications from machining to tougher ones like cold heading or swiss turn.
Recycle Your Coolant: Because the oil mist is captured and released, you can re-use your coolant.
Clean Air: The final stage of filtration is a HEPA which is 99.97% efficient down to .3 microns (the width of a human hair is about 70 microns). The result is a conversion of your dense and oily mist into cleaner air than you are breathing right now.
Plant Cleanliness: The oil or coolant that escapes from your process needs to collect somewhere. Usually it is on your walls, ceilings, and floors. Proper collection and filtration will help you avoid unsafe conditions and maintain a clean environment you are proud to show off.
Clean-Air Zero Smoke
Designed for the safe capture of oil smoke generated from neat oil-based applications, the ZeroSmoke and HighSmoke Series of Oil Smoke Collectors protect workers and sensitive electronic equipment within your facility.
The basic concept of coalescing fiber beds is simple. The oil wicks on tiny strands of fiber inside the filter (imagine water wicking on Gore-Tex) and coalesces into larger droplets. These droplets fall to the basin at the bottom of the unit and can be either drained or pumped out.
In other words, the Clean Air Industries coalescing fiber bed is “catch and release” versus traditional oil smoke collectors which are designed to catch and hold oil droplets. The result is an expectation of over a year of filter life and the ability to recycle your coolants.
Filter Life: The coalescing fiber bed technology allows for over a year of filter life in most applications from machining to tougher ones like cold heading or swiss turn.
Recycle Your Coolant: Because the oil smoke is captured and released, you can re-use your coolant.
Clean Air: The final stage of filtration is a HEPA which is 99.97% efficient down to .3 microns (the width of a human hair is about 70 microns). The result is a conversion of your dense and oily smoke into cleaner air than you are breathing right now.
Plant Cleanliness: The oil or coolant that escapes from your process needs to collect somewhere. Usually it is on your walls, ceilings, and floors. Proper collection and filtration will help you avoid unsafe conditions and maintain a clean environment you are proud to show off.
Health Effects: Coolants coming off machining processes are often sub-micron, the average width of a human hair is 70 microns.
Air King VMC
The Air King VMC (Vertical Mist Collector) series are intended for light-duty, near-the-source or ducted applications. The units can be ducted to multiple inlets, or used in specific areas to collect irritating oil mist, smoke, chemical fumes or dust generated from metal finishing and forming processes. These self-contained units can be installed directly on, or adjacent to, a machining center. Ease of installation and low maintenance help make the VMC a practical and economical solution for capturing harmful contaminants.
The VMC series comes standard with a single-phase, 3/4HP, non-overloading motor and direct drive blower. In addition, maintaining your filters and cleaning the unit is easily accomplished with our tool-less filter access door. This unit allows for a number of filter configuration options to best match your specific application needs. Typical applications include boring, cnc machining, drilling, hobbing, lathes, milling, quenching, rolling, screw machines, spinning, stamping/drawing, threading, turning centers, wet cutoff sawing, and grinding operations.
This type of mist collector can be used for:
- Welding smoke/fumes
- Grinding dust
- Environmental particulate
- Oil mist
- Materials processing fumes
- Printing powder
- Odor mitigation
- Other smoke/dust contaminants
Electrostatics Precipitators (ESPs) from Parker
SmogHog ESPs from Parker are effective at removing smoke and oil mist in industries such as machining and metalworking. SmogHog electrostatic precipitator (ESP) mist collectors prevent hazardous smoke or mist particles from escaping into the surrounding air. These come in different models, which can be placed inside or outside the facility, or mounted on machine or ceiling. The larger systems are modular mist collectors using a combination of filtering processes to precondition and clean the environment.
DynaPure® by AAF
The DynaPure® by AAF is a compact and easy to maintain oil mist collector for small volume airflows of wet machining, spraying, and lubrication systems up to 1,000 CFM. With a centrifugal fan that separates and collects the oil and metal micro particles generated are filtered out during the operation, it ensures clean air in the plant.
Features:
- Backward inclined aluminum fan – provides steep fan curve for optimum performance at minimum noise levels.
- One-piece fan/drum assembly – simplifies liner replacement.
- Prefilter and final filter options – ideal for difficult combinations of mist and sub- micron smoke. Can be factory-installed or retrofitted in the field.
- Standard off-the-shelf motors – explosion-proof models available plus optional voltages, including 50 Hz.
- Options – prefilter, final filter.
Need Help with Mist Collectors?
If you need mist collectors or electrostatics precipitators for your machining or metalworking facility, Aircoast Industrial Solutions can help you find the ideal system. We are committed to making sure your workplace air quality is safe and meeting all OSHA standards. Contact us to discuss your specific needs and we will help you find the perfect mist collection solution.