A paper plant in the Southern United States handles 20,000 tons of bark every month and was encountering huge dust problems at the head pulley of the conveyor near the boiler, creating the need for manual clean up. After discussing the problem with the customer, Martin Engineering determined that it was most likely caused by induced and displaced air from material being transferred from one conveyor to another. OSHA considered this area a combustible dust explosion risk, so the customer asked Martin to help them control the dust.

Martin advised that the use of some form of air pressure relief, such as a dust bag or an insertable dust collector, would control the dust. Martin proved this by opening an access door near where the material was hitting the bottom of the chute, instantly reducing the dust that was coming out of the head pulley. After a site survey performed by MartinPLUS^® Service Technicians, it was determined that several Martin^® Dust Bags would help solve the dust problems. The customer had five Martin^® Dust Bags installed.

With the addition of the Martin^® Dust Bags, the plant eliminated the dust expulsion completely. Because of the dust control success, the customer is currently looking into a MartinPLUS^® Service Program that would include changing out these bags every month to ensure dust control is maintained.