Unique Process Reflects Well on Aerodyne Dust Collection Technology

Written By Bart Eggert



A worldwide leader in innovative technology turned to Aerodyne when faced with a difficult material handling problem for a unique process.



Reflective pavement markings are an important element for safe night driving and they are even more critical on rainy nights when wet roads can cause lane lines to virtually disappear. Traditionally, pavement markings are made reflective through the use of tiny glass beads dropped onto the surface of a liquid paint binding agent. While these pavement markings provide acceptable dry-weather reflectivity, their performance in wet conditions can be extremely poor. The quality of the traditional glass bead material used also is prone to wear which further decreases their effectiveness. The need for a better all-weather pavement marking was apparent and the innovators at a well-known technology company went to work engineering a better solution.



Addressing the important issue of traffic safety, special materials and processes were implemented to create better reflective pavement markings. The solution to durable, high-performing dry and wet reflective pavement markings came in the form of extremely fine microcrystalline glass and ceramic beads applied over a liquid binding agent. These specially engineered beads resist chipping and scarring and have excellent retroreflective properties, meaning they reflect light back to its source. It is this property that makes the pavement markings highly visible when a driver’s headlights shine on them at night in both wet and dry conditions. The development of these new glass and ceramic beads was the key component to making an improved pavement stripe. However, it was also the beads that posed one of the biggest obstacles during manufacturing and production.



The process in which the tiny reflective beads are created is a highly guarded proprietary secret. At some point during this process, some of these highly-valuable beads become airborne and need to be collected for reuse. Any sort of filter media dust collector was out of the question because too much of the product would be lost in the fibers or become contaminated. A cyclone dust collector was deemed to be the obvious answer. Unfortunately, after several trials with conventional cyclones a rather unique and unexpected problem was discovered. The spherical shape and high density of the glass and ceramic beads caused them to simply bounce off of the cyclone walls, escape from the cyclonic vortex, and be exhausted out of the collector with very low collection efficiencies.



Searching for a better solution to this problem the world-famous technology company found Aerodyne. The decision was made to give Aerodyne’s super-high efficiency "S" Series Cyclone Dust Collector a try and a 1000 CFM test unit was sent to their lab for experimentation. It wasn’t long before realizing that the "S" Collector was exactly what they were looking for. The unique dual-air stream design of the "S" Collector provided the best collection efficiency of any other dust collection equipment previously tested, collecting nearly 100% of the airborne glass beads. An extremely high-efficiency cyclonic dust collector, the Aerodyne "S" Collector’s unique dual-flow design prevents collected particulate from making contact with the interior walls, thereby reducing abrasion wear and in this case preventing collected material from deflecting out of the cyclonic vortex. Another benefit of the "S" Collector’s unique design is the ability to be installed either vertically or horizontally which is a major space-saving advantage. An animated demonstration of how this works is available to view at http://www.aerodyneus.com/vacu-valve-demo.html.



Since their initial tests, this company has purchased over 30 dust collectors from Aerodyne ranging in size from 200 CFM to 18000 CFM for their various operations and test labs around the U.S. and in Asia. Aerodyne is pleased to play such a vital role in helping to keep our roads safe and our customers satisfied.



About the Author.

Bart Eggert is Product Manager for the Aerodyne Division of Abanaki Corp. in Chagrin Falls, OH. He has been a specialist in solving dust collection and dry material handling problems for many years, including the application of products such as cyclone dust collectors, airlock valves, knife gate valves, rotary valves, and other low-cost, low-maintenance material-handling valves. He can be reached by phone at (440) 543-7400 or (800) 358-7546 , extension 130, or by email at Bart@AerodyneUS.com.