Technological advances in high-efficiency particulate collection

Abstract

Particulate control equipment for the larger industrial processes, which can effectively collect particles in the submicrometre range, is limited to the electrostatic precipitator and bag filter as cost effective methods. To meet ever decreasing emission levels, demanded by the Regulatory Agencies, the equipment suppliers and academics are involved in ongoing research and development activities in order to obtain a better understanding of the collection process itself, such as to achieve improved performance and, equally importantly, plant reliability and availability.This paper reviews some of the activities in the electrical, microelectronics, material sciences, fluid flow and finite element analysis fields and indicates how the findings are leading to new designs that are more reliable and also how the improvements are making the equipment more cost effective while operating at a higher performance level.Finally, with the concern over the emission of 'air toxics', while both the electrostatic precipitator and bag filter are established technology for effectively removing solid and liquid particulates with sizings well below 1 micrometre there is now an additional requirement for collecting vapour phase materials to meet the latest regulatory emission levels. Some ideas and approaches are examined which can prove effective in collecting the majority of materials classified as 'air toxics', such that the equipment will meet the existing and possible future emission standards.

Scaleup Investigation of a Wire-Plate Geometry Electrostatic Precipitator

“…However, it was pointed out that precipitators in operation are frequently oversized (Felder & Arce-Medina, 1980;Cañ nadas et al, 1997;Gallimberti, 1998), a fact that results in an appreciable increase in cost. One of the reasons for this is the frequent use of the Deutsch-Anderson equation in the project, which underestimates the removal efficiency of the particles in the sub-micrometric range, as observed by various authors (Leonard et al, 1980;Riehle, 1997;Parker, 1997). On the other hand, when the project is accomplished through data obtained from equipment in operation, according to Blanchard et al (2001), many times the designer commits errors due to the difficulty in matching the experimental conditions (Felder & Arce-Medina, 1980).…”

A banked wide-angle diffuser with application to electrostatic precipitators

“…The scale of an ESP in application is significantly larger than that of the diffusers presented in this study. As a general rule, scaling effects are not expected for factors less than 39 10 but may arise for factors larger than 28 16. However, two aspects of the present design require special attention with regard to scaling.…”

Technological progress in particulate removal equipment at U.S. coal burning power plants

“…Specifically, we ask whether there is evidence of technological advance in particulate control technology at coal-fired boilers in the U.S. given the use of emissions standards throughout the history of regulation. Our question is not about advances in the state of the art, as this can be established by experimental evidence reported in the academic literature (Parker 1997). Rather, our question is whether these experimental advances have found their way into practice and impacted the performance-adjusted costs of installing and operating FGPC control technology at coal-fired plants.…”