Cartridge dust collectors are another commonly used type of dust collector. Unlike baghouse dust collectors, in which the filtering media is woven or felt bags, this type of collector employs perforated metal cartridges that contain a pleated, nonwoven filtering media. Due to its pleated design, the total filtering surface area is greater than in a conventional bag of the same diameter, resulting in reduced air to media ratio, pressure drop, and overall collector size.
Cartridge dust collectors are available in single use or continuous duty designs. In single-use collectors, the dirty cartridges are changed while the collector is off. In the continuous duty design, the cartridges are cleaned by the conventional pulse-jet cleaning system.
Cartridge dust collectors almost always includes a steel enclosure containing porous filter media that separate fine dust particles from a flowing stream of dirty air. The most common filter media used in collectors are filter bags and cartridges. Dust particles build up on the outside of the media and form a coating called “dust cake.” It is this layer that does the actual job of filtering fine particles. As the cake builds up, the pressure drop across the filter bag rises.
