What Is an Oil Mist Collector?
An oil mist collector is a device used to remove oil droplets in the aspirated air. Oil mist is mainly collected when oily smoke is generated due to heating or when oil mist is generated during metal processing in machine tools.
The oil contained in oil mist harms the human body. Removing oil mist improves the working environment and prevents the surrounding floor from becoming sticky. This is essential from a safety standpoint since preventing sticky floors also prevents the risk of people slipping and falling.
Uses of Oil Mist Collectors
There are several types of oil mist collectors.
One is the filter type. This device filters oil mist sucked by a blower by passing it through a filter. Its straightforward structure, lightweight, and compact size characterize it.
The other is the centrifugal separation type. This device uses centrifugal force to separate the oil in the oil mist. Like the filter type, the structure is simple. It is characterized by easy maintenance and installation. Also, there is no filter.
Principles of Oil Mist Collectors
The filter-type oil mist collectors consist of multiple filter layers. First, a primary filter removes large oil droplets, and a secondary filter removes even finer oil droplets. Multiple filters prevent contamination of the blower.
The centrifugal oil mist collectors contain a high-speed rotating device like a disk or drum. The high-speed rotating device centrifuges the suctioned air, and only the oil droplets blow outward. The oil droplets are collected by impacting the inner wall of the device. Based on this principle, submicron particles smaller than 1 micrometer cannot be separated because they are too light.
In the electrostatic precipitator type oil mist collectors, the oil mist passes through the charged electrode, which charges the particles. This process generates corona discharge. The electrostatic force of the grounding electrode plate adsorbs the oil mist. Because of this collection method allows even sub-micron particles of less than 1 micrometer to be collected.