Midget nozzles for application-specific dust suppression

Developed in response to customer requests, the new Midget nozzles from Dust Control Technology are well suited to indoor applications such as interior demolition, mining, transfer stations and recycling, in which the water volumes from standard nozzle configurations could be undesirable.  Users report benefits such as improved worker safety and comfort, reduced moisture in end products, and enhanced odor control. 

“Some dust management applications are particularly sensitive to excess water,” explained Technical Sales Specialist Carl Harr.  “It could be that there are people and/or machinery working continuously in the immediate vicinity, or because the end product could be damaged by too much moisture.  The Midget nozzles give us an option that can still deliver very good particle control, while reducing the total water applied by about 65%.”

Harr used the example of the company’s smallest fan-driven atomizer, the DustBoss^® DB-30, which has a flow rate of about 2.2 gallons per minute at 60 PSI (4.14 bar) with its standard nozzle configuration.  When equipped with the new Midget nozzles, the unit cuts that flow to just 3 quarts per minute. 

“The Midgets also deliver a consistently smaller droplet size, which can be an advantage with very fine particulates,” Harr continued.  “While the overall size range is still 50-200 microns, the water is atomized to a consistently smaller droplet, producing greater numbers in the lower size range.  Since the best chance to create a collision between water droplets and dust particles occurs when they are roughly the same size, the smaller droplets are effective on very fine dust.

The smaller size also means that the dust-trapping droplets are lighter in weight, so they tend to hang in the air longer, giving them greater exposure time to airborne particles,” he added.

In a typical application for the Midget nozzles, a customer ordered a standard DB-30 and mounted it in an elevated location at a mining site.  The dust suppression was very effective, but after running the machine for some time, the customer found that walkways and handrails were getting wet, creating the potential for a fall hazard.  With crushers operating just below, the consequences could have been disastrous.

When Harr visited the site, he already had a solution in mind and brought a set of the new Midget nozzles along.  “As soon as they were installed, the customer stopped talking about returning the machine,” he recalled.  “There is some performance tradeoff in overall suppression, because with smaller droplets, it can take more than one collision with a particle before it’s heavy enough to fall to the ground.  But in many applications, the suppression performance is still more than adequate, and any compromise is outweighed by the benefit of reduced water being applied.”

The new line of Midget nozzles is an extension of DCT’s commitment to custom-tailoring dust management solutions to fit specific applications, as evidenced by the company’s Variable Particle Sizing^TM technology.  Unlike dust suppression equipment OEMs who offer a limited selection of nozzle sizes, manifolds and configurations, DCT engineers can mix and match sizes, spray patterns, misting rings and other components to most efficiently address the individual service environment. 

“No two dust management applications are exactly the same,” Harr concluded.  “One size truly does NOT fit all.  We even offer to interchange nozzles for our rental units.  So if our rental customers need that flexibility even on a temporary basis, we can accommodate them,” he added.  Midget nozzles from DCT are made from solid brass construction with an 80º spray angle, sized for a standard 1/8" NPT pipe connection.

Dust Control Technology is a pioneer in dust and odor control solutions for mining, rock/aggregate, demolition, recycling, scrap processing and slag handling.  The company’s DustBoss^Òproduct line helps reduce labor costs vs. manual sprays, freeing up manpower for more important tasks.  The automated units also use less water than hoses and sprinklers, while avoiding over-saturation, with some customers realizing payback in less than six months and netting an annual cost savings of more than $50,000. 

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