Fog Cannons for Dust Suppression

Dust, if not managed effectively, can reduce productivity, have a serious impact on operational costs, pollute the air we breathe and compromise the safety of workers and surrounding communities.

Fog cannons (sometimes known as mist cannons) are an effective option for dust suppression and water evaporation in mine sites, quarries, construction sites, demolition sites and other industrial areas. This is because they can be easily set up, are portable and are ideal for tackling visible dust.

As industry leaders in dust control, Dust-A-Side is committed to delivering the most operationally sound and cost-effective solutions. Included in our complement of dust control solutions is a range of fog cannons.

Fog cannons – operational philosophy

A fog cannon pumps highly pressurized water through a series of jet nozzles, turning water into mist through atomization. This fine mist is dispersed through the air by a powerful fan. When airborne dust particles collide with the mist, dust particles are captured, and together with water due to increased weight, it comes back to the source and doesn’t get a chance to spread.

Dust-A-Side fog cannons can be strategically placed near dust generating sources, such as tip areas, roads or loading areas, to achieve effective dust suppression. They can be auto activated by remote control centres, radar sensors, weather sensors or by means of remote activation (e.g. for blasting operations).

The amount of water being used by the cannons can also be fully controlled in order to optimize water consumption.

Fog cannons are typically skid mounted or mounted on a trailer for ease of mobility. They can be self-powered through inclusion of an in-built diesel generator. Dust-A-Side proudly supplies cannons in a variety of sizes, with different water discharge radius that can be either fixed or oscillating. Multiple fans can be interlinked on larger sites for ease of operation and control.

The performance of a fog cannon can be further enhanced by adding HydroPlus to create a finer mist. HydroPlus actively lowers the surface tension of water particles and makes it easier for the water and dust particles to agglomerate, particularly when managing dust of hydrophobic materials such as coal.
Dust-A-Side personnel will assist with the optimum fog cannon design to suit your needs. We provide a turnkey setup and on-going maintenance package to meet your individual project requirements.

Fog cannon applications

Fog cannons can be used to suppress dust in areas where wind plays a major role or for Water Evaporation in areas where excessive water is accumulated. They are commonly used in mine sites, quarries, construction sites, demolition sites and other industrial areas.

As Dust-A-Side fog cannons are completely mobile, they can be easily moved to cover different areas. They allow for better coverage of water, specifically when treating dust generation points where there are no structures in place and when fewer options are available to install static nozzle manifold arrangements.

The importance of water droplet size

The key to the success of a fog cannon is not just about how much water can be discharged from the cannon or how far the water can reach.

The spray nozzles need to be strategically selected, so that the correct sized water droplets are released into the atmosphere, dependent on the individual operating conditions.

As it can be seen from the diagram below, larger water droplets displace more air, allowing the fast-moving airborne dust particles to simply flow around them. Whereas if the droplets are too light, the water will merely vaporize.

The right sized droplets will effectively collide and bind dust and suppress it. When the water droplets and dust particles are of equivalent size, there’s no getting around it; they simply collide, agglomerate and with increased weight and size, fall by means of gravity.

Key benefits of using Dust-A-Side fog cannons

• Very effective at supressing airborne dust
• Significant reduction in water usage compared to low pressure watering systems
• Ensures coverage of large areas
• Easy to install and position
• No harsh chemicals are released into the environment