ENSC39 NIOSH Baghouse
Team Members: Benjamin Muyres, Carlie Mantel,
Richard Moore, Cameron Falkenburg
Faculty Advisor: Cristy McKinney
Sponsor: NOISH- CDC Western States
Liaison: Art Miller
Project Overview: Workers at mines and drill sites in the fracking industry are exposed to respiratory hazards in the form of airborne particles, including silica, which causes silicosis in exposed workers. NIOSH research to reduce silicosis in workers includes studies to improve in-field silica measurement methods as well as engineering controls to reduce dust levels. This project addresses a unique hazard that exists when large trucks of sand are unloaded pneumatically, generating high levels of airborne dust in the workplace. The processes of mining and frack-drilling entail transportation of frack sand in large over-the-road tanker trucks. When the trucks arrive at a frack-drilling site, they are off-loaded using a pneumatic blower system, through which the sand is transported through 4" diameter rubber hoses into large "holding tanks" called "sand movers". A sand mover consists of four interconnected tanks, each having a chute that empties downward onto a conveyor belt that runs beneath all the tanks. Since the tanks on the sand movers must "breath" when sand is being pneumatically transferred into them, they have multiple "hatches" on the top side of each tank. A standard sand mover has eight such hatches, all of will be spewing fine dust during the process of tank filling from the tanker trucks. High levels of dust, potentially containing silica and other hazardous materials, are emitted from the hatches and workers are routinely exposed to these hazardous dusts, and over their working life may be at increased risk for contracting respiratory diseases.
Summary Statement of Project Goal: In order to reduce the levels of emitted dusts and improve the air quality for employees who work regularly around the sand movers, several vacuuming type systems have been tested with varying degrees of success. The goal of this project is to develop a better solution for dust reduction by designing, building and testing a "mini baghouse" that would be installed on each hatch to filter the dust from the air before it exits the hatch. The baghouse must be easy to install onto existing sand movers as a retrofit. It
must also be autonomous and able to operate for extended periods of time without maintenance. It must filter over 95% of the dust from the air, including any leakage at sealing points. It must be reasonable to produce (simple and relatively inexpensive), while still being robust and having a long service life. The design of the baghouse must also incorporate some type of method for cleaning off the dust that will cake up on the inside surface of the bag. Additionally, the design must shield the bag itself from inclement weather (rain, snow and ice).
Project Deliverables: The project team will study the current designs for filtration of dusts, particularly using baghouse technologies, and develop at least three potential new preliminary designs for a retrofit “mini baghouse” system. After evaluation of the preliminary designs, an optimized design will be developed and design drawings will be made and a prototype built and tested. The prototype will be tested using lab-generated dusts, and a dust-delivery system provided by NIOSH in Spokane, to insure that performance is comparable or better than previous designs. One of the issues involved is that typical designs incorporate a method for cleaning the bag material, since dust can cake up on the surface. Therefore the new design must incorporate some sort of cleaning method for the filter. The NIOSH staff will provide suitable test facilities, and various fabrication materials as needed. The results of this research will enable the owners/operators of sand movers to provide better air quality for their workers, and will also be of interest to many researchers and industrial hygienists who work in the field of mining or oil drilling.
Management & Communication Expectations: Meeting and Status reports weekly. Gant Charts with schedule from start to finish of project.
Research Expectations: Current system efficiency, Existing solutions, Federal regulations and standards.