Hertool SA de CV, the Mexican distributor for UK oil mist collector manufacturer Filtermist International, has successfully completed an installation of Filtermist units for Monterrey based steel producer, Ternium at its pipe facility.

During its production process, the company sprays products with an anticorrosive agent. The spraying process was causing significant amounts of oil mist to be released into the air in the production facility which was also leading to dangerously dirty floors. This was particularly noticeable during the winter months when the lower temperature made the oil mist more visible.

Ternium did have a centralised extraction system fitted in its facility, but it was quite old and not able to handle the large volumes of oil mist being generated. Ternium Production Engineer José Ángel Rodríguez takes up the story; “We worked closely with the team from Hertool to ensure the Filtermist S200 and S400 units were installed in the best locations for this issue. Working with an experienced supplier meant that lots of aspects were taken into consideration before the installation took place – this included the volumes and frequency of mist being generated in each location, as well as practical considerations such as ceiling height and available floor space.”

The Filtermist units are positioned on the side of the spray booths, freeing up valuable floor space and enabling them to draw contaminated air directly from the booth’s interior. The air travels through ducting into the Filtermist unit which uses centrifugal force to separate the anticorrosion oil particles from the air. The particles coalesce back into liquid which is collected for reuse, and clean air is exhausted back into the workshop. 

“We are extremely happy with the results. The amount of oil mist in the air from this application has considerably reduced, the smell is less noticeable, and the operators do not have to spend nearly as much time cleaning the floor as they did before,” continues José. “We are waiting on a report that will tell us how much money we have saved by installing the Filtermist units, but we are confident that the fact that we can recycle the anticorrosive oil collected by the Filtermist units will mean we are saving money. Coupled with improvements to productivity due to less time spent cleaning, and less ill-health - this can only be good for our business.

“Most importantly, our machine operators are a lot happier now their working environment is cleaner and safer, and emissions to atmosphere are considerably less than they were before the installation.”

Luis Lince, Filtermist Manager at Hertool, comments, “This project is a great example of Filtermist units being used in applications where this type of extraction might not be the first solution that springs to mind. The customer was willing to try them and has been so pleased with the results that we are currently working together to identify other processes in their production facilities that generate air pollution which could be eliminated by installing Filtermist units.”

Visit http://www.hertool.com.mx/filtermist-international-ltd/  to find out more about Hertool.