Industrial processes produce a large amount of pollutants in various forms — particles, gases, vapours and mists — many of which are toxic or explosive. Now,with regulations becoming increasingly stringent, reducing production- related pollution is an environmental and legal must-have.

For more than 90 years, AAF International has been providing clean air solutions for power and industrial processes around the globe. AAF’s reputation for developing quality products and innovative solutions dates back to 1921, throughout its rich history the company has pioneered many of the techniques used today to control airborne dust, fume and vapour.

AAF International manufactures complete systems, from dust collection to clean air outlet transition, for industries like metalworking, food processing, pharmaceutical and chemical. AAF works very closely with customers to supply air filtration systems that meet their specific needs so as to comply with the strictest environmental regulations and facilitate their processes. AAF has extensive experience in manufacturing tailored dust collectors for fertilizer including phosphate, nitrogen, potassium and sulphur. With dust removal being of critical importance to the fertilizer industry, AAF has installed several dust collectors in leading international companies.

CASE STUDY: PHOSPHATE ROCK PLANT WHICH MANUFACTURES SUPERPHOSPHATES (SSP,TSP) AND AMMONIUM PHOSPHATES (MAP, DAP)
AAF supplied a dust collection system to help its client to protect its employees and belt conveyors from fine particles emitted during phosphate transportation from storage areas to ship loading areas. The process starts by sending ground phosphate rock from the mines to recovery units to separate sand and clay and to remove impurities. Belt conveyors carry phosphate from one process to the next. The phosphate is stocked in four storage facilities then routed to transfer towers via belt conveyors, from there it is dispatched to be loaded onto ships (2,000 tonnes per hour).

AAF’s custom designed clean air solution consisted of 16 FabriPulse Fusion FPF 12-176 baghouse filters (four per hall). These dust collectors were installed to capture dust at transfer points and chutes – during phosphate spill to trippers and its discharge on belt conveyors.

AAF baghouse filters have provided a healthy and safe work environment for the clients’ employees. They have also enhanced belt conveyors efficiency and extended their lifetime. Moreover this de-dusting solution has enabled the client to comply with environmental standards.

SULPHURIC ACID CASE STUDY

Another case study of a solution offered by AAF to one of its clients is in the sulphuric acid field, the world’s most widely used chemical. This compound is an essential intermediate many processes in the chemical like phosphate fertilizer production. The process starts burning liquid sulphur to obtain sulphur dioxide (SO2) which is subsequently converted into SO3. Sulphuric acid is obtained by the absorption of SO3 into H2SO4

AAF tailor-made clean air solution consisted of a two-stage static housing: first stage was composed of louvers and pre-filters; the second stage was made of DriPak F5 pocket filters as final filters.

The filter housing captures dust from outdoor air, the filtered air is then dried with concentrated sulphuric acid via a counter-current flow in the drying tower to remove water vapour. Indeed major changes were made in the sulphuric acid process to maximize energy recovery and use heat to generate high pressure steam or electricity. This solution has enabled the plant to operate at its peak performance and to maximize the production output.

AAF International’s product portfolio also includes a wide range of filters and replacement parts that ensure superior filtration efficiency (cartridges filters, bag filters) and field services from maintenance, refits and upgrades. The company today continues to invest thousands of hours in the research and development of new products to embrace the challenges provided by modern industrial processes. This ensures the delivery of the most cost effective and energy efficient products available in the market today.