Filtering apparatus

Abstract

A filtering apparatus (1) for filtering a flow of fumes from steel plants, comprising a plurality of filtering stations (2), wherein each filtering station (2) comprises in succession from bottom to top - at least one hopper (3) for collecting dust contained in the fumes and in which there is provided an inlet for the fumes to be filtered; - a compartment (4) provided with bag filters, adapted to be crossed by the fumes coming from the at least one hopper; - an upper chamber (5) adapted to convey the filtered fumes from said compartment; wherein each filtering station (2) has a quadrangular plan and comprises four vertical longitudinal sectors (2'), constrained and adjacent to one another; and each vertical longitudinal sector (2') comprises a first container (6), arranged vertically along the longitudinal extension thereof and within which a portion (5') of said upper chamber (5) and a portion (4') of said compartment (4) with filter bags are arranged.

Description

[0001] FILTERING APPARATUS

[0002] ***********

[0003] Field of the invention

[0004] The present invention relates to a filtering apparatus for fumes, in particular combustion gases, coming from steel plants.

[0005] Background art

[0006] Bag filters represent one of the most important parts of a steelworks fumes treatment system, fundamental for the removal of the dust contained in the combustion gases coming from electric arc furnaces, ladle furnaces, vacuum treatments, preheating furnaces, and contained in all the process gases coming from so-called primary and secondary fumes plants. Such filters are today a well-established and constantly used apparatus.

[0007] The increasingly stringent environmental restrictions aimed at reducing, and in some cases eliminating, emissions of pollutants require companies that generate these harmful substances to install systems, as soon as possible, for the removal of dust and pollutants, autonomously creating fume treatment plants.

[0008] However, the construction technology of bag filters, currently available, provides a complex apparatus both from the standpoint of transport and installation within steelworks, which entails a considerable expenditure of time and considerable costs in the assembly step.

[0009] The current technical solution provides that the assembly and related welds of the heads, of the compartments provided with filters, and of the hoppers be performed directly on site.

[0010] The main current critical issues and difficulties are as follows:

[0011] - presence of a large amount of bulk material (primarily steel sheets and beams) which determines the need for areas for receiving goods, protected storage, and the need to move this bulk material multiple times, without risking confusion in the material codes;

[0012] - construction of scaffolding necessary for the assembly of the compartments; - considerable time for performing all welding of the steel sheets for the assembly of the heads, the compartments and the hoppers, with the related quality controls to ensure performance and compliance with safety regulations;- the total mounting time of the bag filters is very high, and can take 6 to 8 months. An attempt to reduce on-site installation times is disclosed in document CN103055616A which provides for the production of preassembled standard modules that constitute complete and autonomous filtering units with bag filters, each standard module comprising

[0013] - a hopper for the collection of the dust contained in the fumes, and in which there is provided an inlet of the fumes to be filtered;

[0014] - a compartment provided with bag filters, adapted to be crossed by the fumes coming from the hopper;

[0015] - an upper chamber adapted to convey the filtered fumes from said compartment; wherein hopper, compartment with bag filters and upper chamber are housed within columns and frames of the same standard module.

[0016] A shipping container is used exclusively as a transport casing for the shipment of each standard module. In particular, each standard module is horizontally positioned and loaded into a respective shipping container. Positioning blocks are necessarily installed between the standard module and the walls of the container. The standard module can be transported only after adequate packaging and secure positioning. After the shipment, the standard module is removed from the shipping container and installed in linear, single row or double row arrangements. This solution has slightly reduced the construction times on site, reducing welding and scaffolding. However, there is a need to make a filtering apparatus that further simplifies production, transport, and assembly of the filter system.

[0017] Summary of the invention

[0018] It is an object of the present invention to provide a filtering apparatus structured so as to simplify to the utmost production, transport and on-site assembly thereof. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a filtering apparatus that allows minimizing on-site assembly activities, substantially eliminating the need to locally build the bag containment structures, with the accompanying welding operations.

[0019] It is another object of the present invention to provide a filtering apparatus having a prefabricated modular structure that allows the installation times to be considerably reduced.It is a further object of the present invention to provide a filtering apparatus having a modular structure that allows easy transport thereof from the production workshop to the installation site.

[0020] It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for producing, transporting, and assembling said filtering apparatus.

[0021] The present invention achieves at least one of such objects, and other objects that will be evident in light of the present description, by means of a filtering apparatus for filtering a flow of fumes coming from steel plants, comprising a plurality of filtering stations,

[0022] wherein each filtering station comprises in succession from bottom to top

[0023] - at least one hopper for collecting dust contained in the fumes and in which there is provided an inlet for the fumes to be filtered;

[0024] - a compartment provided with bag filters, adapted to be crossed by the fumes coming from the at least one hopper;

[0025] - an upper chamber adapted to convey the filtered fumes coming from said compartment;

[0026] characterized in that

[0027] each filtering station has a quadrangular plan and comprises a plurality of vertical longitudinal sectors, constrained and adjacent to one another;

[0028] and each vertical longitudinal sector comprises a first shipping container, arranged vertically along its longitudinal extension and within which a portion of said upper chamber and a portion of said compartment with filter bags are arranged.

[0029] A second aspect of the present invention relates to a method of producing, transporting and assembling the aforesaid filtering apparatus, comprising the steps of:

[0030] a) processing first shipping containers in a workshop, arranging within said first shipping containers a respective portion of an upper chamber and a respective portion of a compartment provided with bag filters;

[0031] b) sending said first shipping containers from the workshop to the assembly site; c) arranging each first shipping container vertically along its longitudinal extension so as to define one of the vertical longitudinal sectors of a quadrangular-plan filtering station;d) assembling each filtering station by constraining the respective vertical longitudinal sectors together so as to be adjacent to one another.

[0032] Advantageously, the solution of the invention allows to minimize all on-site assembly activities, as follows:

[0033] - reducing up to eliminating welds;

[0034] - minimizing the occupation of the storage areas;

[0035] - minimizing the handling of the components on site, with consequent reduction of the multiple use of construction site vehicles;

[0036] - minimize the construction of scaffolding;

[0037] - reducing the installation times from a standard time of 6-8 months to only 2-3 months and eliminating the risks and the interruptions during the assembly activities of the bag filter.

[0038] In particular, arranging a portion of the upper chamber and a portion of the compartment with bag filters within a shipping container, used as the frame of a vertical longitudinal sector of a filtering station, allows further simplification of transport, unloading and on-site assembly operations. The shipping container, arranged vertically along its longitudinal axis, in fact forms part of the filtering apparatus of the invention and is used during its operation.

[0039] In detail, the solution of the invention allows the complete construction, in the workshops, of the heads or upper chambers, the compartments with bag filters and possibly also the hoppers, and their easy dispatch to the site, ready to be quickly and easily installed.

[0040] In particular, since the size currently required of a single bag filter station (composed of head, compartment and hopper) may be bulky and does not allow its transport already completely assembled, the solution of the invention allows the modular and “plug & play” installation of each filtering station by virtue of a modular structure, whereby the single filtering station, and the related head, compartment and possibly also the hopper, are divided into sectors, for example two or four or more sectors.

[0041] In a variant of the invention, the head and compartment portions of each sector of the filtering station are made and integrated inside a shipping container, preferably with dimensions and features of a shipping container, for example a 40-foot HighCube (40 feet, i.e. 12,192 meters), while preferably a hopper portion or one of the hoppers of the filtering station is made and integrated inside a further shipping container, preferably with dimensions and features of a shipping container, for example a 20-foot High Cube (20 feet, i.e. 6,096 meters).

[0042] Thereby the modules, which must subsequently be assembled at the installation site, can be transported easily, in particular by ship, without the need to provide the positioning blocks of the prior art solution to be installed between each standard module and the walls of the respective shipping container.

[0043] The invention thus eliminates the time required for the packaging and safe positioning of the modules before shipment, and also the time for the removal of each module from the respective shipping container.

[0044] In addition to the above, each 40-foot high cube shipping container (i.e. 12,192 meters) will also be used for the shipment of the open frame for the bag filters, from the same production workshop site as the bag filters, reducing the current shipping volume by about 30% with respect to the current technical solution.

[0045] In a further variant of the invention, the head and compartment portions of each sector of the filtering station are made and integrated within a shipping container, preferably with the dimensions and features of a shipping container, for example a 40-foot High Cube (i.e., 12,192 meters), easily transportable from the workshop to the assembly site. Instead, a hopper portion or an entire hopper for each sector of the filtering station is arranged and connected under said 40-foot shipping container in the assembly site.

[0046] Further features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent in light of the detailed description of illustrative, but not exclusive, embodiments.

[0047] The dependent claims describe particular embodiments of the invention.

[0048] Brief description of the drawings

[0049] In the description of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, given by way of explanation and not of limitation, in which:

[0050] Figure 1 shows a first side view of an apparatus according to the invention;

[0051] Figure 2 shows a second side view of the apparatus in Figure 1 ;

[0052] Figure 3 shows a top view of the filtering sectors of the apparatus in Figure 1 ;

[0053] Figure 4 shows a top view of a single filtering sector in a first variant thereof;Figure 5 shows a top view of a single filtering sector in a second variant thereof; Figures 6-7 show two perspective views of a first shipping container of the apparatus of the invention;

[0054] Figures 8-10 show perspective views of a second shipping container of the apparatus of the invention.

[0055] The same reference numerals and letters in the Figures identify the same elements or components.

[0056] Description of exemplary embodiments of the invention

[0057] With reference to the Figures, embodiments of the filtering apparatus, according to the invention, for filtering a flow of fumes from steel plants, are illustrated.

[0058] In all the embodiments of the invention, the filtering apparatus 1 comprises a plurality of filtering stations 2, wherein each filtering station 2 in turn comprises in succession from bottom to top (Figure 2):

[0059] - at least one hopper 3 for collecting dust contained in the fumes, and in which there is provided an inlet for the fumes to be filtered;

[0060] - a compartment 4 provided with bag filters, adapted to be crossed by the fumes coming from the at least one hopper 3;

[0061] - an upper chamber 5, or head, adapted to convey the filtered fumes coming from the compartment 4.

[0062] Advantageously, each filtering station 2 has a quadrangular plan and comprises at least two vertical longitudinal sectors 2’, constrained and adjacent to one other; and each vertical longitudinal sector 2’ comprises (Figure 2), or consists of, a first shipping container 6, arranged vertically along its longitudinal extension and within which there are provided, i.e. integrated, a portion 5’ of the upper chamber 5 and a portion 4’ of the compartment 4 provided with filter bags.

[0063] This modular structure allows to minimize assembly activities at the steel plant, substantially eliminating the need to locally construct the containment structures of the filter bags, with accompanying welding operations, said containment structures being already prefabricated within a shipping container, easy to transport from the production workshop to the installation site.

[0064] By way of example, each filtering station 2 has a quadrangular plan and is composed of four longitudinal vertical sectors 2’, constrained to one another andadjacent to one another two by two (Figure 3). Preferably, the four longitudinal vertical sectors 2’ are equal to one other and have a quadrangular plan.

[0065] Other variants provide only two, or a number greater than or equal to four, longitudinal vertical sectors 2’ for each filtering station 2.

[0066] In each filtering station 2, the aforesaid at least one hopper 3 is connected to the portions 4’ of the compartment 4 provided with filter bags.

[0067] For example, in each filtering station 2 there can be provided a single hopper connected to the portions 4’ of the compartment 4, or can be provided several hoppers, each connected to at least two respective portions 4’ of said portions 4’ or connected to a respective portion 4’.

[0068] In a variant of the invention, each vertical longitudinal sector 2’ of each filtering station 2 further comprises a second shipping container 7, arranged vertically along its longitudinal extension and within which there is provided, i.e. , integrated, a portion 3’ of the at least one hopper 3 or a single hopper. In this case, the first shipping container 6 is arranged above the second shipping container 7 and is larger than the second shipping container 7, in particular longer than said second shipping container.

[0069] Preferably, the first shipping container 6 is a 40-foot shipping container (i.e. 12,192 meters), while the second shipping container 7 is a 20-foot shipping container (i.e.

[0070] 6,096 meters).

[0071] As is known, a 40-foot shipping container has a longitudinal extension not less than 12 meters. By way of example only, the external dimensions of such shipping container can be 12,2 meters in length, 2,44 meters in width and 2,59 meters in height.

[0072] Instead, a 20-foot shipping container has a longitudinal extension not less than 6 meters. By way of example, the external dimensions of such shipping container can be 6,1 meters in length, 2,44 meters in width and 2,59 meters in height.

[0073] Even more preferably, the first shipping container 6 can be a 40-foot High-Cube shipping container, while the second shipping container 7 is a 20-foot High-Cube shipping container.

[0074] High-Cube shipping containers are comparable to the respective normal containers, but about 30 centimeters taller.A first embodiment of the invention provides that, for each filtering station 2, the first shipping containers 6, arranged vertically, comprise both a respective first open frame 16 in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped and the respective four vertical side walls 8, so that the portions 5’ of the upper chamber 5 remain separate from each other and also the portions 4’ of the compartment 4 of the bag filters 18 remain separate from each other, while the respective two base walls are at least partially open, for example completely open, for a passage of the fumes from the at least one hopper 3 to the portions 4’ of the compartment 4 and for a passage of the filtered fumes from said portions 5’ of the upper chamber 5 to a filtered fume suction line 14, respectively.

[0075] The example illustrated in Figures 4 and 6 relates to the variant with four vertical longitudinal sectors 2’ and provides that, for each filtering station 2, the first shipping containers 6, arranged vertically, comprise both a respective first open frame 16 in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped and the respective four vertical side walls 8, so that the four portions 5’ of the upper chamber 5 remain separate from each other and also the four portions 4’ of the compartment 4 of the bag filters 18 remain separate from each other, while the respective two base walls are at least partially open.

[0076] In the case of the variant with only two vertical longitudinal sectors 2’ (not illustrated) for each filtering station 2, the first shipping containers 6, arranged vertically, comprise both the respective first open frame 16 in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped and the respective four vertical side walls 8, so that the two portions 5’ of the upper chamber 5 remain separate from each other and the two portions 4’ of the compartment 4 of the bag filters 18 also remain separate from each other, while the respective two base walls are at least partially open. A second embodiment of the invention, illustrated in Figures 5 and 7, relates to the variant of a filtering station 2 with four longitudinal vertical sectors 2’, adjacent in pairs to each other, and provides that, for each filtering station 2 the first shipping containers 6, arranged vertically, comprise both a respective first open frame 16 in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped and only two adjacent walls 8 of the respective four vertical side walls, so that the four portions 5’ of the upper chamber 5 are in communication with each other and also the four portions 4’ of thecompartment 4 of the bag filters 18 are in communication with each other, while the respective two base walls are at least partially open, for example completely open, respectively for a passage of the fumes from the at least one hopper 3 to the compartment 4 and for a passage of the filtered fumes from the upper chamber 5 to a filtered fume suction line 14.

[0077] Alternatively, in the case where each filtering station 2 comprises only two longitudinal vertical sectors 2’ (solution not illustrated), for each filtering station 2 the first shipping containers 6, arranged vertically, comprise both a respective first open frame 16 in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped and only three adjacent walls of the respective four vertical side walls 8, so that the two portions 5’ of the upper chamber 5 are communicating with one another and also the two portions 4’ of the compartment 4 of the bag filters are communicating with one another, while the respective two base walls are at least partially open for a passage of the fumes from the at least one hopper 3 to the compartment 4 and for a passage of the filtered fumes from the upper chamber 5 to a filtered fume suction line 14, respectively.

[0078] In all of the above embodiments, when the portion 3’ of the at least one hopper 3 or a single hopper is arranged inside a second shipping container 7, for each filtering station 2 the second shipping containers 7, arranged vertically, comprise a respective second open frame 17 in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, and neither the respective four vertical side walls nor the two base walls are provided (Figures 8-10). Each second shipping container 7 is therefore similar to a “tank container” for the transport of liquid products, however without the corresponding tank.

[0079] Preferably, for each filtering station 2 there is provided a single hopper 3 and inside each second open frame 17 a portion 3’ of said hopper 3 is mounted; or there are provided several hoppers and inside each second open frame 17 a hopper portion or an entire hopper 3 of said hoppers is mounted.

[0080] By way of example, the variant of a filtering station 2 is considered with four vertical longitudinal sectors 2’, adjacent to one another two by two.

[0081] In a first example of the invention, for each filtering station 2 there is provided only one hopper 3 and, therefore, inside the second open frame 17 of each secondshipping container 7 a portion 3’ of the hopper 3 is arranged, corresponding to a fourth of said hopper (Figure 8).

[0082] In a second example of the invention, for each filtering station 2 there are provided two hoppers and, therefore, inside the second open frame 17 of each second shipping container 7 there is provided a portion of hopper, corresponding to half of said hopper (Figure 9).

[0083] In a third example of the invention, for each filtering station 2 four hoppers are provided and, therefore, within the second open frame 17 of each second shipping container 7 one of said four hoppers 3 is arranged (Figure 10).

[0084] In all the embodiments of the invention, each portion 4’ of a compartment 4 can comprise a plurality of further open frames, each further open frame being positioned in each bag filter to keep the bag open against the pressure of the flow of fumes. Therefore, said further open frames are much smaller than the open frames of the shipping containers.

[0085] In a variant, in each first shipping container 6 there is arranged a quadrangular tube plate 9 dividing the portion 5’ of an upper chamber 5 from the underlying portion 4’ of the corresponding compartment 4.

[0086] Each tube plate 9, better visible in Figure 4, is provided with a plurality of openings 10, and from each opening 10 hangs a respective bag filter having a first open end connected to the respective opening 10 and a second closed end distal from said tube plate, and proximal to said at least one hopper 3, i.e. , proximal to the second shipping container 7 when provided.

[0087] The peripheral edge of the tube plate 9 is transversely connected to vertical beams 11 of the first open frame 16, in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, of the respective first container 6, so that the fumes flow, preferably exclusively, through the filter bags, into the openings 10 of said tube plate 9. In particular, the tube plate 9 is provided with notches at the corners thereof to adhere completely to the edge of the inner corner of the respective vertical beams 11.

[0088] In particular, in the event that the four vertical side walls 8 of the first shipping container 6 are provided (Figures 4 and 6), the peripheral edge of the tube plate 9 is also adherent to at least one portion of each vertical side wall 8 so that thefumes are forced to flow, through the filter bags, into the openings 10 of said tube plate 9.

[0089] Instead, should only two adjacent walls 8 of the respective four vertical side walls of the first shipping container 6 (Figures 5 and 7) be provided, the peripheral edge of each tube plate 9 is adherent, on two sides, to at least one portion of each vertical side wall 8 of the respective first shipping container 6 and, on the other two sides, is adherent to the peripheral edge of two adjacent tube plates 9 of two adjacent first shipping containers 6, so that the fumes are forced to flow through the filter bags into the openings 10 of the four tube plates 9.

[0090] In the event only three adjacent walls 8 of the respective four vertical side walls of the first shipping container 6 are provided (solution not shown), the peripheral edge of each tube plate 9 is adherent, on three sides, to at least one portion of each vertical side wall 8 of the respective first shipping container 6 and, on the remaining side, is adherent to the peripheral edge of an adjacent tube plate 9 of an adjacent first shipping container 6, so that the fumes are forced to flow through the filter bags, into the openings 10 of the two tube plates 9.

[0091] In a further variant of the invention, considering the first shipping containers 6 in their vertical arrangement, the vertical side walls 8 can be formed by one first panel 19 or more first panels 19, side by side, arranged above the position of the tube plate 9, and by one or more second panels 20, arranged below the position of said tube plate 9 (Figures 6 and 7).

[0092] In an advantageous variant, said one or more first panels 19 are fixed at the outer profile of the first open frame 16 and rest on the periphery of the upper surface of the tube plate 9. Instead, said one or more second panels 20 are fixed at the inner profile of the first open frame 16, and the periphery of the tube plate 9 is supported from below by said second panels 20. In other words, the periphery of the lower surface of the tube plate 9 rests on the second panels 20.

[0093] First panels 19 and second panels 20 are arranged perpendicular to the periphery of the tube plate 9.

[0094] In all embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, the filtering apparatus 1 can comprise two rows of filtering stations 2, separated from each other by a central zone 12 in which there are provided a fume inlet line 13, forintroducing the fumes to be filtered into the respective hoppers 3, and a filtered fume suction line 14, for aspirating the filtered fumes that are conveyed into the upper chambers 5.

[0095] A method of producing, transporting and assembling a filtering apparatus according to the invention is described herein below.

[0096] Such method comprises, in all the embodiments thereof, the following steps: a) processing first shipping containers 6 in a workshop, arranging within said first shipping containers a respective portion 5’ of an upper chamber 5 and a respective portion 4’ of a compartment 4 provided with bag filters;

[0097] b) sending said first shipping containers 6 from the workshop to the assembly site; c) arranging each first shipping container 6 vertically along its longitudinal extension, so as to define one of the vertical longitudinal sectors 2’ of a quadrangular-plan filtering station 2;

[0098] d) assembling each filtering station 2 by constraining the respective vertical longitudinal sectors 2’ together so as to be adjacent to one another.

[0099] Further, step d) can also comprise, for each filtering station 2, connecting said at least one hopper 3 to the portions 4’ of the compartment 4 provided with filter bags. Preferably, step d) comprises connecting a single hopper to the portions 4’; or connecting several hoppers, each hopper being connected to at least two respective portions 4’ of said portions 4’; or connecting several hoppers, each hopper being connected to a single respective portion 4’ of said portions 4’.

[0100] In a first embodiment of the method of the invention, step a) also comprises processing of second shipping containers 7 in the workshop, arranging within said second shipping containers a respective portion 3’ of at least one hopper 3, or a respective single hopper 3; step b) also comprises sending said second shipping containers 7 from the workshop to the assembly site; and step c) also comprises arranging each first shipping container 6 vertically along its longitudinal extension above a respective second shipping container 7, also the latter arranged vertically along its longitudinal extension, so as to define one of the vertical longitudinal sectors 2’ of a filtering station 2.In this case the connection of said at least one hopper 3 to the portions 4’ of the compartment 4 also takes place by means of the connection between each first shipping container 6 and the underlying respective second shipping container 7. If, instead, the use of the second shipping containers 7 is not envisaged, the connection of said at least one hopper 3 to the portions 4’ of the compartment 4 occurs by directly connecting the hopper or portion of hopper below a respective first shipping container 6, at the lower base of said first shipping container.

[0101] Preferably, by constraining the sectors 2’ of each filtering station 2 to one another, the first shipping containers 6 are connected to one another, and the possible second shipping containers 7 are also connected to one another, by means of connecting devices, such as, for example, threaded bars with closing bolts, or so-called bridge fittings to be anchored to corner blocks of the container. Advantageously, it is desired to avoid welds that would eliminate the advantage of modularity, although in this context they are not excluded.

[0102] The connecting devices can connect the containers both in the horizontal and vertical direction.

[0103] In a first variant of the method, during the shipment the first shipping containers 6 are completely closed, each provided with four side walls 8 and two base walls removably attached to a respective first open frame 16 in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped; while in the assembly site the two base walls are at least partially open or removed.

[0104] A second variant of the method differs from said first variant only in that, in addition to the two base walls, also two or three mutually adjacent side walls of said four side walls 8 are removed.

[0105] In a third variant of the method, during the shipment the first shipping containers 6 are completely open, consisting of a respective first open frame 16 in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped; and in the assembly site for each first shipping container 6 four side walls 8 are attached to the respective first open frame, or only two or three mutually adjacent side walls 8 are attached to the respective first open frame 16. Optionally, one or two at least partially open base walls are also attached.Preferably, in the event of using the second shipping containers 7, during the shipment said second shipping containers 7 are fully open, consisting of a respective second open frame 17 in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A filtering apparatus (1 ) for filtering a flow of fumes from steel plants, comprising a plurality of filtering stations (2),wherein each filtering station (2) comprises in succession from bottom to top - at least one hopper (3) for collecting dust contained in the fumes and in which there is provided an inlet for the fumes to be filtered;- a compartment (4) provided with bag filters, adapted to be crossed by the fumes coming from the at least one hopper;- an upper chamber (5) adapted to convey the filtered fumes from said compartment;characterized in thateach filtering station (2) has a quadrangular plan and comprises several vertical longitudinal sectors (2’), constrained and adjacent to one another;and each vertical longitudinal sector (2’) comprises a first shipping container (6), arranged vertically along its longitudinal extension and within which a portion (5’) of said upper chamber (5) and a portion (4’) of said compartment (4) with filter bags are arranged.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in each filtering station (2), said at least one hopper (3) is connected to the portions (4’) of said compartment (4) with filter bags.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each vertical longitudinal sector (2’) further comprises a second shipping container (7), arranged vertically along its longitudinal extension and within which a portion (3’) of said at least one hopper (3) or a single hopper (3) is arranged;and wherein the first shipping container (6) is arranged above the second shipping container (7) and is larger than said second shipping container.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 3, wherein said first shipping container (6) is a 40-foot, that is 12,192 meters, shipping container, preferably a 40-foot High-Cube shipping container.

5. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said second shipping container (7) is a 20-foot, that is 6,096 meters, shipping container, preferably a 20-foot High-Cube shipping container.

6. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein for each filtering station (2) the first shipping containers (6), arranged vertically, comprise both a respective first open frame (16) in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped and the respective four vertical side walls (8), so that the portions (5’) of the upper chamber (5) remain separate from each other and also the portions (4’) of the compartment (4) of the bag filters remain separate from each other, while the respective two base walls are at least partially open for a passage of the fumes from the at least one hopper (3) to the portions (4’) of the compartment (4) and for a passage of the filtered fumes from said portions (5’) of the upper chamber (5) to a suction line (14) of the filtered fumes, respectively;or wherein each filtering station (2) comprises four vertical longitudinal sectors (2’), adjacent to each other two by two, and wherein for each filtering station (2) the first shipping containers (6), arranged vertically, comprise both a respective first open frame (16) in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped and only two adjacent walls of the respective four vertical side walls (8), so that the four portions (5’) of the upper chamber (5) are communicating with each other and also the four portions (4’) of the compartment (4) of the bag filters are communicating with each other, while the respective two base walls are at least partially open for a passage of the fumes from the at least one hopper (3) to the compartment (4) and for a passage of the filtered fumes from the upper chamber (5) to a suction line (14) of the filtered fumes, respectively;or wherein each filtering station (2) comprises two vertical longitudinal sectors (2’), and wherein for each filtering station (2) the first shipping containers (6), arranged vertically, comprise both a respective first open frame (16) in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped and only three adjacent walls of the respective four vertical side walls (8), so that the two portions (5’) of the upper chamber (5) are communicating with each other and also the two portions (4’) of the compartment (4) of the bag filters are communicating with each other, while the respective two base walls are at least partially open for a passage of the fumes from the at least one hopper (3) to the compartment (4) and for a passage of the filtered fumes from the upper chamber (5) to a suction line (14) of the filtered fumes, respectively.

7. An apparatus according to claim 3 or 5, wherein for each filtering station (2) the second shipping containers (7), arranged vertically, comprise a respective second open frame (17) in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped and neither the respective four vertical side walls nor the two base walls are provided.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein for each filtering station (2) there is provided only one hopper (3) and within each second open frame (17) there is mounted a portion (3’) of said hopper (3);or wherein for each filtering station (2) there are provided several hoppers and within each second open frame (17) there is mounted a hopper portion or an entire hopper (3) of said hoppers.

9. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein in each filtering station (2) there is provided only one hopper connected to the portions (4’) of the compartment (4); or there are provided several hoppers, each connected to at least two respective portions (4’) of said portions (4’); or there are provided several hoppers, each connected to a respective portion (4’).

10. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each portion (4’) of said compartment (4) comprises a plurality of further open frames, each further open frame being positioned in each bag filter to keep the bag open against the pressure of the flow of fumes.

11. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein in each first shipping container (6) there is arranged a quadrangular tube plate (9) dividing the portion (5’) of the upper chamber (5) from the portion (4’) of the compartment (4); and wherein said tube plate (9) is provided with a plurality of openings (10), and from each opening (10) a respective bag filter hangs, having a first open end connected to the respective opening (10) and a second closed end distal from said tube plate (9);preferably wherein the peripheral edge of the tube plate (9) is transversely connected to vertical beams (11) of a first open frame (16), in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, of the respective first container (6), so that the fumes flow, through the filter bags, into the openings (10) of said tube plate.

12. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising two rows of filtering stations (2), separated from one another by a zone (12) in whichthere are provided a fume inlet line (13) for introducing the fumes into the respective hoppers (3) and a filtered fume suction line (14) for aspirating the filtered fumes that are conveyed into the upper chambers (5).

13. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each filtering station (2) comprises four vertical longitudinal sectors (2’), adjacent to each other two by two.

14. A method of producing, transporting and assembling a filtering apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising the steps of:a) processing first shipping containers (6) in a workshop, arranging within said first shipping containers a respective portion (5’) of an upper chamber (5) and a respective portion (4’) of a compartment (4) provided with bag filters;b) sending said first shipping containers (6) from the workshop to the assembly site;c) arranging each first shipping container (6) vertically along its longitudinal extension, so as to define one of the vertical longitudinal sectors (2’) of a quadrangular-plan filtering station (2);d) assembling each filtering station (2) by constraining the respective vertical longitudinal sectors (2’) together so as to be adjacent to one other.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein step d) also comprises, for each filtering station (2), connecting at least one hopper (3) to the portions (4’) of said compartment (4) provided with filter bags;preferably wherein step d) comprises connecting a single hopper to portions (4’); or connecting several hoppers, each connected to at least two respective portions (4’) of said portions (4’) or connected to a single respective portion (4’) of said portions (4’).

16. A method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein step a) also comprises processing second shipping containers (7) in the workshop, arranging within said second shipping containers a respective portion (3’) of at least one hopper (3) or a respective single hopper (3);wherein step b) also comprises sending said second shipping containers (7) from the workshop to the assembly site;and wherein step c) also comprises arranging each first shipping container (6) vertically along its longitudinal extension above a respective second shipping container (7), also the latter arranged vertically along its longitudinal extension, so as to define one of the vertical longitudinal sectors (2’) of a filtering station (2).

17. A method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein, during shipment, said first shipping containers (6) are completely closed, each provided with four side walls (8) and two base walls removably attached to a respective first open frame (16) in the shape of a rectangle parallelepiped; and wherein in the assembly site the two base walls are at least partially opened or removed, and preferably wherein two side walls (8), adjacent to each other, of said four side walls (8) are also removed;or wherein, during shipment, said first shipping containers (6) are fully open, consisting of a respective first open frame (16) in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped; wherein in the assembly site for each first container (6) four side walls (8) are attached to the respective first open frame (16), or only two or three side walls (8) are attached, adjacent to one another, to the respective first open frame (16); and preferably wherein one or two, at least partially open, base walls are attached.

18. A method according to claim 16, wherein, during shipment, said second shipping containers (7) are fully open, consisting of a respective second open frame (17) in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped.

Images