The relationship between the conditions of the use of filter bags made of non-woven fabric and the separation efficiency of wood dust generated in a furniture factory was experimentally determined in the conditions of pulse-jet filtration using a pilot-scale baghouse as waste during the processing of wood composites. The experiments were carried out, and we describe the results of the experiment as consisting in assembling one type of filter bag in two dust extraction installations operating under different operating conditions in the same furniture factory. The filter bags working in the assumed time intervals were then tested for their separation efficiency using a stand for testing filtration processes on a pilot scale. The test results are presented in the form of graphs and tables describing both the characteristics of the dust extraction installations and the filter fabric used, as well as the separation efficiency of bags used at different times in different industrial operating conditions for each of them. The conducted research allowed us to recognize the phenomenon of filtration in relation to a very important value, which is the separating efficiency of dust extraction in various operating conditions of dust extraction installations in a furniture factory during the long-term use of filter fabrics. The obtained results allowed us to determine the separation efficiency for the tested bags at a level of over 99.99% and to state that this separation efficiency increased with the working time of the bag. The structure of the outlet dust from filters in the wood composites processing factory constitutes an element of the working environment if the purified air is returned in a recirculation circuit to the interior of the working area. Thanks to this, it is possible to predict the separation efficiency in the long-term use of filter dust collectors for wood dust in furniture factories.
Keywords: dust filtration; long-term filtration; maturation of filter bags; separation efficiency; wood dust.