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Tea Dust in Production: Risks, Properties, and Aspiration Solutions

Tea dust is an integral satellite of all stages of tea production. From drying to transportation. And here it is also in sorting and packing.

It's impossible to get rid of this by-product, since they have not yet come up with another way to process tea. That’s why special equipment has been developed for industrial enterprises. In this article, we will talk about why is tea dust bad, how to minimize the risks of its formation and accumulation, where it occurs, and which devices work most effectively to control it.

What is tea dust? Tea dust meaning is finely dispersed specks of the tea-leaf and its fragments formed in the process of industrial processing of tea. Despite the apparent harmlessness, it's a serious problem for enterprises of this industry.

Tea Production

Black tea dust and green tea dust contains biologically active substances, but with high concentrations (0.3–0.8 mg/m³) it has a harmful effect on health, causing respiratory and nerve diseases.

For its capture, baghouse and cartridge filters, cyclones, as well as wet and electrostatic cleaning methods are used.
Another feature is the ability to burn, therefore, fire safety measures and explosion hazard control are strictly observed in production.

Where Does Tea Dust Get?

The main source is equipment such as tea drying machines, sorting combines, packing machines and pressing lines.
All stages of the technological process of tea production are dangerous and require strict rules.
Consider the main sources in more detail:

In tea drying machines, when drying a twisted tea-leaf, yellow dust forms. The intensity of its formation depends on the design of the drying machine and operating modes. At this stage, dust consists of small particles of leaf separating under the influence of temperature and mechanical exposure.
When sorting tea on combines and transporting the semifinished product, friction of the tea-leafs occurs against each other and rub against the mesh frames, which also leads to dust formation. It's especially intense when cutting and sifting a tea-leaf.
Dust is also released on packing machines and blending tea, especially if tea raw materials contain a significant amount of small particles. Defective packs and tiles of tea during grinding also become a source of a harmful product.
It’s also formed in press factories, the amount of which depends on the quality of raw materials and compliance with technological regimes.

To reduce its selection, special measures and equipment must be used.

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Professional Risks – Tea-Made Heroes

Is tea dust harmful? It has a comprehensive negative effect on the human body, especially with prolonged inhalation. Health can suffer from constantly breathing in, so at the enterprise, along with cleaning structures, a high-quality medical examination is also provided.

The main risks for the health of all staff are:

Respiratory diseases. Constant aspiration often leads to the progression of chronic bronchitis, asthma, silicosis and other respiratory tract pathologies. When inhaled and deposited in the lungs, fine particles may trigger inflammation and fibrosis, impairing the system’s overall function.
Nervous and digestive disorders. Tea dust and fannings acts excitingly on the central nervous system. Subsequently, the eyelids and hands tremble, and mental depression also develops. It also contributes to the occurrence of dyspeptic disorders, chronic gastritis and cholecystitis.
Allergic reactions. Tannins and essential oils present in high concentrations can trigger severe allergic reactions.

If the concentration exceeds the permissible limit (0.3–0.8 mg/m³), immediate action is needed to control particulate levels and enhance workplace safety.

Physicochemical Properties Important for Choosing Dustproofers

The efficiency of tea dust barriers depends on its physical and chemical characteristics. There are several parameters that you need to pay close attention to:

Comparison of Baghouse and Cartridge Filters

Tea Dust Aspiration Equipment

There are several types of filtering and tracing, allowing to ensure compliance with safety standards at production. Consider each type in more detail.

Baghouse
This is the most common solution for air purification in such production. This product consist of a case with installed filter fabrics through which dusty air passes. Specs settle on the surface of the fabrics, and clean air extends through the output valve.

Regeneration is carried out by mechanical shaking or pulsed blowing with compressed air. The equipment is effective for capturing large and medium particles, have high performance and durability, but require regular service and occupy significant space.

Blizzard BIG Pulse Jet Baghouse

Performance:
9000 — 235 000 cfm

Blizzard 50 Pulse Jet Baghouse

Performance:
26500 — 295000 cfm

Blizzard MOBIL Portable Pulse Jet Baghouse

Performance:
600 — 3000 cfm

Cartridge Filters

Compact devices with purify cartridges that provide a high degree of filtration (up to 99.9% for specks of 0.3 μm in size). They’re suitable for capturing tea dust waste and allergens, but have a higher cost of consumables. Convenient for installation in limited spaces and provide high tea dust cleaning efficiency.

"AKMAN Modular" Pulse Jet Cartridge Dust Collector

Performance:
4500 — 60000 cfm

“AKMAN Fan” Pulse Jet Cartridge Dust Collector

Performance:
1 200 — 23 500 cfm

FOEHN Modular Pulse Jet Cartridge Dust Collector

Performance:
600 — 38000 cfm

Cyclone separator

The device uses centrifugal force to separate particles from the air. Effective for preliminary air purification from large specs (more than 20 microns), but isn’t able to capture smaller dust. Cyclones are often used in combination with baghouse or cartridge filters to increase the overall effectiveness of the cleaning system.

TORCH Cyclone Baghouse

Performance:
300 — 18000 cfm

"AKMAN Cyclone" Pulse Jet Cartridge Dust Collector

Performance:
600 — 23500 cfm

VОРТЕX Cyclone Cartridge Dust Collector

Performance:
500 — 1200 cfm

The table presents various types of dust collectors with their advantages and disadvantages:

There's no getting away from the tea dust – black or green, whenever. This substance, unfortunately, is formed at all stages of the technological process. To cope with such a serious problem, you need to use specialized, high-quality equipment. After all, this is the only way to avoid the harmful effects on the health of employees and the risk of fires or explosions.

The Torch-Air company offers a wide range of baghouse and cartridge tea dust filters, providing high efficiency and compliance with industrial safety standards. Experts will help to choose the best option that suits the enterprise according to all criteria. Using the most modern cleaning and equipment methods will significantly reduce the risks of tea dust and ensure safe working conditions for a long time.

An acceptable price, high quality and guarantee for each device – all these advantages can be obtained right now. It's enough to leave the request and the manager will call back at a convenient time.

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We always perform precise calculations and offer expert assistance in selecting the optimal dust collection or gas cleaning systems, typically completing this process within 1 to 2 days

Head of Engineering,
Vladimir Nikulin

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