dust cleaner

When people say 'dust cleaner', many people think of a spray can or a rag. But in industry, especially where I come across it more often - with mining and processing equipment - there is a whole system of approaches. The dust there is not household, but abrasive, often with metallic inclusions, and conventional methods here are not only ineffective, but sometimes harmful. I have seen many times how they try to blow off dust from bearing units or electrical equipment with a stream of compressed air - it seems to be quick, but all this suspension then settles inside, in the same ventilation ducts of the engines, and after six months we get overheating and failure. This is a classic mistake.

What are the dangers of 'wrong' cleaning in production?

Let's take, for example, magnetic separators or vibrating feeders. Their core is often electromagnets or power coils. Dust, especially ferromagnetic dust (the same iron-containing ore fines), sticks to the body, forming a dense layer. If it is removed mechanically with a scraper, the insulation may be damaged. If you pour water or even special liquids without taking into account their conductivity and corrosiveness, expect a short circuit. I had to disassemble the equipment after such “care” - everything inside was covered in a red coating, the contacts were oxidized. And okay, it would be just wear and tear, but no - this is a consequence of an incorrectly selected method anddust cleaning products.

It is important to understand the very nature of pollution. At the same crushing and screening complex, the dust is mixed: stone chips, metal shavings, oil mist from hydraulics, and ordinary coal dust. There is no universal 'magic' spray. Electrical cabinets require compounds that do not conduct current, evaporate quickly, and do not leave films. For large crusher frames, more aggressive alkaline or acidic compounds can be used to dissolve oil deposits, but only if the painted surfaces are protected and there is no risk of contact with the bearing units. Once on an old jaw crusher, after washing with some active solvent, accelerated corrosion began in places where the paint had chipped - then everything had to be cleaned and repainted. Lesson.

The point of application and removal is often overlooked. Just spraying is not enough. You need to give the product time to work, soften the layer, and then remove it, for example, with a mini low-pressure washer, so as not to drive the dirt even deeper into the cracks. Or use vacuum cleaners for wet cleaning, if we are talking about liquids. Vacuum cleaning of dry dust is generally a separate topic; it requires industrial vacuum cleaners with HEPA filters, otherwise the fine fraction will simply fly through a regular filter and settle again in the workshop.

Experience with LONGI equipment and the specifics of its maintenance

In the context of industrial cleaning, experience with products is interestingLONGI Corporation. The company is knownhttps://www.ljmagnet.ru), has been developing and producing mining equipment since 1993, and their equipment - magnetic separators, vibrating feeders - operates in extremely dusty conditions. You can find technical documentation on their website, which often has a maintenance section, but the cleaning details are sometimes too general: 'keep clean'. In practice, for their drum magnetic separators, the cleanliness of the working surface of the drum is critical. An adhering layer of ore dust reduces separation efficiency.

We tried different approaches at one of the enrichment sites. At first, we used manual cleaning with wooden or plastic scrapers - it took a long time, you couldn’t get to everywhere, and there was a risk of damaging the surface. Then they switched to automatic cleaning systems using nylon brushes, but they required frequent replacement and themselves became a source of dust from wear. The most successful solution turned out to be a combined solution: periodic (once per shift) dry vacuum cleaning of the main body of dust, and for persistent, 'magnetic' deposits - the use of a special anti-adhesive spray. Not ordinarydust cleaning products, namely a composition that is applied in a thin layer to the clean surface of the drum and prevents strong sticking in the future. After this, the main dust could simply be brushed off.

For their vibratory feeders, by the way, it’s a different story. The main enemy there is dust, which gets clogged between the vibration platform and the frame, into the dampers. This may change the frequency characteristics. Simple air blowing, as I already said, drives debris inside. We have worked out a technique: turn off the power, mechanically remove large debris, then treat the accessible cavities with an alcohol-based aerosol cleaner - it evaporates quickly, leaves no moisture, and displaces fine dust. And then collect it with a vacuum cleaner. It’s labor-intensive, but there were no cases of jamming due to contamination.

What else is important besides the product itself?

Often the focus is only on chemistry, but they forget about the tools and regulations. A natural bristle brush may leave hairs that can then become wrapped around the rotating parts. Synthetic brushes sometimes dissolve in aggressive compounds. Microfiber cloths are good for final wiping, but for the initial removal of coarse dust they instantly become clogged. You have to select a tool for the task: for screens - brushes with hard wire (but with a plastic coating so as not to scratch), for control cabinets - soft brushes and cans of compressed air for blowing (although be careful with air, a vacuum is better).

Regulations are generally a separate pain. Without a clear cleaning schedule, everything is useless. I saw shops where expensive equipment is cleaned 'when they remember' or during scheduled repairs once a year. During this time, the dust is sintered into a monolith. It's better to do it more often, but with little effort. For example, cleaning visible areas with the same industrial vacuum for five minutes every shift prevents buildup. And once a month - a deeper cleaning with the removal of covers and the use of special equipment. But for this it is necessary that these funds be directly on site, accessible, and not in a warehouse three workshops away. An organizational issue, but it decides half the success.

Another point is recycling. Especially after using liquid products. Washed away dirt is not just water, it is an emulsion of oils, metals, and chemicals. This cannot be discharged into the public sewer. We have to think about the sludge system, separators, and contracts with specialized organizations. This adds cost to the process, but is an essential part of being responsible. Otherwise, 'cleaning' one unit leads to environmental pollution in the workshop and beyond.

Failures that taught you something

I had an incident at a processing plant. To clean electrical equipment, they brought a batch of supposedly ultra-moderndust cleaning products- biodegradable, safe. We started using it on power cabinets with frequency converters. The product removed dust really well, but, as it turned out after a couple of months, it had a slight hydrophilic effect. In a workshop with high humidity, this led to moisture condensing on the treated surfaces, which was not there before. The result is several short circuits at the terminals. I had to urgently change tactics, switch to compounds that leave a hydrophobic trace after evaporation. Conclusion: you should always test a new product on a small, not very critical area and observe not a day or two, but at least a cycle of several weeks.

Another example is the attempt at mechanization. We ordered an automatic cleaning system with rotating brushes for conveyor lines. The idea was for the brushes to constantly clean dust from the carrier rollers. The system was installed, but they did not take into account that the dust contained a high content of abrasive quartz. The brushes wore out within a week, and their particles, along with dust, got into the roller bearings, causing them to wear out faster. We received a double blow: the cost of replacing brushes and an increase in the number of roller failures. Sometimes simple manual brushing once a day turns out to be cheaper and more reliable than complex automation. Progress in cleaning methods is not always justified.

Or here’s another thing: the passion for “strong” solvents for removing old oil and dust “crusts” from metal structures. It seems logical: the stronger the chemical, the better it cleans. But on one of the old presses, after such treatment, not only the dirt came off, but also all factory markings, warning signs, and color markings of pipelines. The equipment became potentially dangerous in operation, and everything had to be restored. Now we always look at the safety data sheet of the product, especially for effects on paints and plastics.

Instead of a conclusion: thinking out loud

So, back to the beginning.Dust cleaner- this is not a product off the shelf, but a link in the chain: assessment of the type of dust -> selection of a method (dry/wet, mechanical/chemical) -> selection of a specific composition and tool -> development of regulations -> personnel training -> waste disposal. If you miss one point, the result will be incomplete, or even negative.

For manufacturers such asLONGI, whose equipment operates in the harshest conditions, this question, I think, is also not in last place. Perhaps they should be in their catalogs or on the samehttps://www.ljmagnet.rugive more detailed recommendations not just for cleaning, but for comprehensive dust removal, taking into account the specifics of each model. This would add value to the operators.

In general, the topic seems simple only at first glance. In fact, each workshop, each type of equipment dictates its own rules. And the best advice I can give, based on my experience: don’t be lazy about journaling. Write down what, with what and how you cleaned it, and what the result was after a month, after six months. This empirical data accumulated in your specific production will be more valuable than any general instructions or advertising description of a “universal” miracle remedy.