Engineering a dust collection system for a cement plant, delivered against the clock

Challenge.

Dust control is one of the most important systems in a cement bagging plant. With cement powder as the bulk material, the collection system has to capture it reliably across the whole facility, protecting workers, keeping the plant compliant, and keeping production running. IES first brought Soto in for the duct hanger design, with a deadline already bearing down. Hired equipment and temporary ducting were on the clock, and the plant couldn’t begin production until the permanent, engineered system was in place.

Opportunity.

As Soto’s mechanical engineering team got into the hanger design, they saw an opportunity to add far more value. The dust collection system was a genuinely complex piece of engineering, and getting the full duct design right would give IES a system they could rely on from the first day of operation. The brief grew from hangers into the complete engineering and design of the dust collection system, and it had to be done fast.

Solution.

The technical challenge was substantial, and the timeline made it sharper. A single collector delivering 50,000 cubic metres an hour had to be shared across 25 separate intake points, from conveyors and bucket elevators to silos and packing stations, each with its own flow requirement. Every duct diameter was tailored to deliver the right flow at each point, while holding velocities above the minimum needed to keep cement powder suspended and moving cleanly through the system. Soto’s mechanical team modelled the full network in Pipe Flow Expert, rebuilt from the Inventor model with accurate boundary conditions, pressure loss coefficients and fittings, and turned the entire duct design around in about two weeks. Being local and agile, Soto could be on site in person to scope the work, confirm dimensions and give IES confidence in the design as it developed. Terry Shackleton stayed engaged throughout, keeping the model accurate, maintaining an open line with the client, and working with suppliers so the drawings were built for manufacture.

Benefit.

IES received a complete engineered dust collection system, hanger design included, with on-site commissioning support as it was needed. The system runs nearly 80 metres of ducting, the largest duct measuring 800mm, with peak velocities above 35 metres a second across 25 intake points. The real outcome was confidence delivered at speed: a complex system, engineered properly and turned around in roughly two weeks, ready to perform reliably from start-up. It’s the kind of result that comes from a local team that can scope a job in person, see where it can add value, and move quickly when the deadline won’t wait.