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What kind of ventilation system is best for my operation? I am hearing the terms “filtration”, “exhaust” and “source capture”, what do they mean?

With employee health and plant safety and cleanliness becoming more of a priority for the welding industry, the ventilation industry has grown quickly and developed a wide range of methods and products. With such rapid industry growth, how to clean air in a plant and what equipment to use to accomplish it have become a real challenge.

Selecting the right air filtration system is a process that involves closely evaluating your welding operation. Embracing this process can impact your bottom line, as studies have shown. Maintaining cleaner facilities leads to fewer accidents, lower employee turnover, lower health care costs and a positive impact on customers who visit the plant.

There are four basic methods of weld smoke ventilation in use today. They are:

 

General Ventilation - Exhaust Large exhaust fans draw contaminated air from the plant and exhaust it directly into the environment, typically through the roof or walls. This is a traditional method and often results in negative air pressure. Also it is very difficult to climate-control your plant and the system often doesn’t work well in the winter.

General Ventilation - Filtration Large blowers and air cleaning equipment draw contaminated air from the plant (typically at the ceiling level), filter it and return it to the plant. This is a proven solution in plants welding large parts with overhead cranes. It reduces the haze in the air, resulting in a cleaner working environment, with no negative pressure or heat loss.

Source Capture - Exhaust Air in the immediate area of the welding activity is captured in a hood, sent through ductwork, and exhausted directly into the environment. The intent of this system is to exhaust as little of the plant air as possible, while still capturing the welding fumes. This is a lower cost alternative to filtration but tends to result in large, unsightly ducting systems that work less efficiently with modifications. It also results in negative pressure problems.

Source Capture - Filtration Air in the immediate area of the welding activity is captured in a hood system, then filtered and returned to the plant. This is the best solution whenever possible. It allows for a more flexible system and removes the smoke directly from the operator’s breathing zone. There are many types of source capture, including overhead hoods, CrossFlow hoods, fume arms and fume guns, some of which work better than others.

This page contains excerpts from RoboVent’s White Paper:

An Examination of Air Filtration in Today’s Welding Plants.