INTRODUCTION

Particulate or dust can be defined as tiny solid particles that have

diameters greater than 1 μm. These particulate or dust can be emitted naturally
or man-made, such as volcanic eruption, manufacturing and industrial processes.
Industrial processes contributed the highest level of particulate or dust emission,
especially construction, agriculture, mining and power plants industries.

Particulate or dust generally formed by the disintegration or fracture

processes without any chemical or physical change. They will carry by air
currents and the excessive emission of particulate or dust may bring many
impacts to the environment and living organisms. The effects included damage
of the equipment, health problems, risk of dust explosions and fire, impaired
visibility and so on. Therefore, the control of particulate or dust emission from
the industrial gas streams must be done by the aid of one or more control
devices. These control devices include baghouse filters, cyclones, wet collectors,
fabric filters and electrostatic precipitators.

There are several factors that need to be taken in consideration when

choosing the type of control device that is suitable for the emission produced.
These factors include particle size distribution, particle loading, particle
composition, gas flow rate, gas temperature and pressure, desired collection
efficiency, operating cost and acceptable capital. Usually, more than one device
is more efficient but the operating cost would be high.

BAGHOUSE FILTERS

Baghouse filters are the most common technology to remove the

particulate materials from a gaseous stream. It is a series of cylindrical fabric
bags that consist of different composition and porosity. The efficiency of the
particulate filtering processes in baghouse filters is the fabric coverings and
these determined the porosity of the fabric bags. Without the fabric coverings,
fine particulate will plug in the fabric pores and lower the efficiency of the
baghouse filters. The examples of traditional fabric coverings are wool or cotton.
However, these fabric coverings have been replaced by synthetic fibers such as
nylons or acrylics which have better characteristics.
 The general principles of baghouse filters are very simple. Firstly, dusty air
is pulled through the fabric bags and the particulate matter will trap on the
exterior surface of the bag and accumulate slowly. Then, clean air will go
through the filter bags and flow out from the top of the filtering systems. Next is
the cleaning of the accumulation of particulate matter on the external surface of
the bags. The cleaning method is very important because the optimal thickness
of the particulate matter will block the filtering processes. The most popular
method is using the flexible frame that supported the fabric bags. The flexible
frame can be shaken periodically, causing the particulate matter accumulation to
break down and fall into the hopper below the fabric bags.

The most important advantage of baghouse filters is the high fractional

removal efficiency. It is able for the baghouse filters to remove high submicron
particulate and handle a great variety of dust loads. Baghouse filters also
efficient in handling dry or semidry and acid-gas scrubbing. The filter coverings
may contain alkali reagent that can neutralize the acid gases and let the
residues in dry condition. However, baghouse filters cannot tolerate with
moisture. This weakness causes corrosion to the filter system.

CYCLONES

Cyclones are inertial separators that operate on the principle of centrifugal

force to remove particles from gas streams. A standard cyclone design is able to
remove particles that have a size greater than 20 μm. Cyclones can be used as
it is or combined with other control device. Cyclones are used to pretreat the gas
stream by removing the parge particles while the second device will function to
collect smaller particles present at a much reduced particulate loading but at
higher collection efficiency.

The working principle of the cyclone is as follow. The gas stream enters
the cyclone in a manner that spirals around inside of the cyclones. Then, the
particles with a great inertia will be forced to the outside walls of the device. The
particles will then fall to the cone to the collection hopper due to the collision
with the outside walls of the cyclone. The clean gas will then rise near the center
and is exhausted through the top of the device.

There are two methods that cause the gas to spin in the cyclone. One of it
is by introducing the gas to the device in a tangential manner. The gas will curve
around the body of the device. The second method is by using axial vanes at the
inlet of the cyclones which will cause the gas to spin when it passes through the
vanes.

A cyclone is a quite simple and reliable particulate collector with a low

initial cost. It is easy to maintain and has a high temperature capabilities. When
compared to gravity settling chambers, cyclones are more efficient with heavier
loads because of the increased interparticle interactions. A disadvantage of
cyclone is that it is not able to remove very small particles which are smaller
than 10 μm.

ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATORS (ESP)

ESP is useful in removing the fine particles from gaseous stream. In an

ESP, particles will pass through a volume that has a large potential of about
~50kV. This potential is applied across a channel spacing which is around 10cm.
Electrons will be released from the discharged electrode due to the high field
strength. The high energy electrons will move away from the discharge electrode
and impact with gas molecules. This will cause the gas molecules to be ionized
and more electrons will be released. Electron avalanche is the term for the
generation of a large amount of free electrons. The free electrons will then be
transported beyond the localized field strength near the discharged electrode.
This will cause a decrease in the kinetic energy of the electrons. The electrons
will attach to the particles as they accelerate instead of generating more
electrons. ESPs are usually operated under turbulent flow conditions.

Diffusion and field charging is the mechanism that functions to deposit

electrons onto aerosol particles. Diffusion charging functions for particles that
are smaller than 0.3 μm while field charging for particles larger than 0.3 μm. ESP
can be divided into two configurations that is flat plate and tubular. Tubular are
less common and are usually used to remove liquid droplets from gas streams.
Example of liquid droplet is sulfuric acid droplet.

Flat plate ESP is more commonly used in coal-fired plants. They can be
further divided into two-stage design and single-state design. The two-stage ESP
will charge the particles first before removing them in a different section of the
ESP while single-stage EP will charge and remove the particles in the same
section. In these types of ESPs, the charging is from the vertical wire electrodes
while the collection is on vertical flat plates. The plates are placed in parallel
rows. Between the channels of the rows, gas will flow horizontally. Occasionally,
the plates are rapped and the dust will fall down in the hoppers. Rapping is a
mechanical technique for separating the trapped particles from the plate.

The effectiveness of the ESP mainly based on the frequency of use at

power stations. The advantages of ESP are the relatively low operation costs,
ability to handle relatively large gas flow rate, ability to operate at high
temperatures and collection efficiencies of 99%. However, ESP also has
weaknesses such as high sensitivity to fluctuations in gas stream conditions;
require special precautions for safeguarding personnel during maintenance due
to high voltage, production of ozone during gas ionization at negatively charged
electrodes and explosion hazards.

PARTICULATE SCRUBBER

Particulate scrubber is also known as wet scrubber. It is commonly used

to control particles and gases from sources including medical, hazardous and
municipal waste incinerators, industrial boilers, limekilns, and acid plants. In
general, this device works by using a stream of water to increase the collection
efficiency. The solid particle will interact with the stream. It will then be removed
as slurry or as a solution. Soluble gases can also be removed by liquid droplets.
Since water is used, the gas temperature and the humidity of the gas are not
limited.

There are several types of scrubbers that include cyclonic, venture and
spray tower. Spray towers operates with scrubber droplets travelling downwards
while the particles containing gas stream travels downwards. Cyclonic scrubber
on the other hand atomizes droplets of water with a spray bar. The spray bar is
located along the centerline of the cyclone. Then, the particles are transported to
the outer edge of the cyclone. The liquid also functions to clean the walls of the
cyclones.

Venturi scrubbers work by the acceleration of the gas stream to a velocity

of about 50 to 150 m/s through a constricted duct. Liquid is injected into the
beginning or at the throat entrance of the venture as the gas stream is
accelerated. The liquid will then be atomized by the high velocity gas stream
which flows past the inlets of the fluid. The particulate contaminants will be
impacted onto the scrubber droplets due to the high velocity between the
scrubber droplets and particles. The particulates will then become a part of the
scrubber making it easier to be removed because of the large particle size of the
scrubber droplet. The scrubber droplet is usually removed by a centrifugal
separator for example a cyclone.

There are several advantages of using a particulate scrubber to control

particulate emission. If compared to dry methods, a wet method is more efficient
in removing sticky particles and liquids. The device is also able to handle hot
gases, simultaneous gas and particle removal. Besides that, dust explosion risk
can also be reduced.

The disadvantage of this device is that if no proper measures are taken,

water pollution may occur. It may also experience mechanical failures due to the
dust build-up, erosion and corrosion. The scrubbing liquid and the disposed wet
sludge require treatment. This leads to a high operating cost. Besides that, the
white plume formed by the steam is discharged to the atmosphere. The plume
may create dense fog if a temperature invertion occurs thus, causing a hazard to
automobiles and other types of traffic.

CONCLUSION

The particulate collection device is selected based on the required

collection efficiency, capital and operating costs, pressure drop, operating
temperature and gas flow rate. The comparisons for the devices are stated in the
following tables:

Cyclones Fabric Filters

Gas contains mostly large particles Very high collection efficiencies

required

High dust loadings Particles do not adhere to fabric (filter

 bindings)

High efficiency for smaller particles not Gases will not condense
required

As a pretreater for another particle Relatively low gas temperature

device

Particle classification is desired Gas volumes are reasonably low

Wet Scubbers Electrostatic Precipitators

High particle removal efficiency for Very high collection efficiencies

particles greater than 1 μm required for small particles

Soluble gases, as well as particles, Very large gas volumes need to be

need to be removed treated

Humidification or cooling of gas stream Valuable material needs to be

is desired recovered

Gas stream contains a combustile gas Low pressure drop required

mixture

Acceptable particle resistivity

REFERENCES

Lehr, J., Hyman, M., Gass, T.E. & Seevers, W.J. 2001.Handbook of Complex
Environmental Remediation Problems. Mc-Graw Hill, United States of America.

See, N.J. 1992. Pollution Control: Issues and Techniques. 5th ed. John
Wiley& Sons, Inc., United States of America.

Guyer, H. H. 1998. Industrial Processes and Waste Stream Management.

John Wiley& Sons, Inc., United States of America.