Electrostatic precipitator

modeling and simulation

Kejie Fang Longhua Ma
Institute of Industrial Control
Zhejiang University
OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION
 Introduction
 Research and design in ESP
 Simulation results and analysis
 Conclusion
 • INTRODUCTION
1. Background
Nowadays, the environment protection
has become a crucial problem and the
authorities are requested to set increasingly
more stringent limits , one of which is the
emissions from the industrial plants of solid
particulate and other gaseous pollutants.
 • Introduction

2. ABOUT ELECTROSTATIC
PRECIPITATOR
2.1 What is ESP

Electrostatic precipitator (ESP) is a widely

used device in so many different domains to
remove the pollutant particulates, especially
in industrial plants.
 • Introduction

2.2 HOW ESP WORKS

2.2.1 Main process of ESP

Generally, the processes of electrostatic

precipitator are known as three main stages:
particle charging, transport and collection.
 • Introduction

These are stages interacted that originated

from the complexity of the processes of
precipitator.

To characterize all these stages

determines to take a great number of basic
phenomena into account from a physical
point of view when they occurred.
 • Introduction

Schematic of wire-plate ESP

Fig.1 Schematic of wire-plate electrostatic

precipitator
 • Introduction
Mechanism of ESP

Fig. 2 Mechanism of electrostatic precipitator

 • Introduction

2.2.2 PROCESS OF Particle

charging
Particle charging is the first and foremost
beginning in processes.
As the voltage applied on precipitator reach
threshold value, the space inside divided
into ionization region and drift region.
 • Introduction

The electric field magnitude around the

negative electrode is so strong that the
electrons escape from molecule.

Under the influence of electric field, the

positive ions move towards the corona, while
the negative ions and electrons towards the
collecting plates.
 • Introduction

2.2.3 Particle transport

In the moving way, under the influence of
electric field, negative ions cohere and charge
the particles, make the particles be forced
towards collecting-plate as well as Fig.2
shows.
 • Introduction

2.2.4 Particle collection

As soon as the particles reach the plate,

they will be neutralized and packed by the
succeeded ones subsequently. The
continuous process happens, as a result,
particles are collected on the collecting
plate.
• Research and design in ESP
modeling
The numerical model describes in time
and space the relevant processes that are
involved in transport, charging, migration
and collection of fly ash. To represent the
complete processes, the model is therefore
structured into several modules.
The model here is organized into
the following three sections:
1. electric field and discharge processes

2. particle charging

3. particle collection
3.1 electric field and discharge
processes
The particle collection in electrostatic
precipitators is largely dominated by the
distribution of the electric field in the
interelectrodic space.
In the absence of particles, neglecting the
transport gas velocity and by assuming that
the magnetic field due to the corona current
is negligibly small.

Electronical conditions are described by

next three equations :
 ρe
∇ V =−
2
(1)
ε0
ρe = ε 0 (∇ V ⋅∇ρ e )
2
(2)

→
E = −∇ V (3)

Here V is the electric potential, ρ e is the space-

charge density, ε 0 is the permittivity of free
space and E is the electric field.
Here, we adopt equations (4) (5) (6) to
describe the electric field distribution with the
initial and boundary conditions.

∞ cosh[π ( y − 2mS y ) / 2 S x ] − cos(πx / 2 S x )

∑ ln{cosh[π ( y − 2mS
m = −∞ ) / 2 S x ] + cos(πx / 2 S x )
}
y
V ( x, y ) = V0 ∞ cosh(πmS y / S x ) − cos(πa / 2S x )
∑
m = −∞
ln{
cosh(πmS y / S x ) + cos(πa / 2 S x )
}
 V( x, y) means the electric potential of
the position (x, y), V0 is the initial potential
on the wire, Sx is distance between
collecting plate and wire, Sy is half length of
the two nearest wires ,a is the radius of
particle, when x, y means the coordinates
direction, shown as Fig.3.
Fig. 3 Sketch of precipitator geometry and
computed grid
 ∆ V0 ∆ ρ 0 ∆ V0 ∆ ρ 0 ρ4 − ρ2 ρ1 − ρ 3
ρ = ε 0(
2
0 + ) = − ε 0 ( E0 x + E0 y ) (5)
∆x ∆x ∆y ∆y 2d x 2d y

d (V4 + V2 ) + d (V1 + V3 ) + d d ρ 0 / ε 0
2
y
2
x
2
x
2
y
V0 = (6)
2(d + d )
2
x
2
y

ρ and V0 mean the charge density and

electric potential at the position as Fig.3
shown.
3.2 particle charging
The field charging refers to the local
distorsion caused near the particle surface
by the difference in dielectric constants.

This process continues until the particle goes

up to the saturation charge, which produces
an electric field on particle surface equal and
opposite to the external field.
Equation (7) is chosen to describe the
model of particle charging :

εr
qs = 12πε 0 R 2
E0 (7)
εr + 2
Where ε r is the relative dielectric constant
and E0 is the external field, qs and R are the
particle charge and radius.
3.3 particle collection

This module simulates in detail the boundary

layer near the collecting plates and the
interchange that take place.

Here, we choose equation (8) to describe

particle collection .
 a w⋅ y
C = C 0 ⋅ exp(− ( − x)) (8)
f v

C is the particle density, C0 is the entry density of

particle, a is the unit collecting area in the flow
way, f is area of ESP cross section, when w
means particle velocity towards plate and v is the
velocity moving to outlet.
4 Simulation results and analysis

According the above analysis of the

mechanism and modeling of ESP, we design
a simple ESP simulation platform which is
based on Scilab .
Fig.4 Simulation Platform
Fig.5 Input Interface
 Simulation of electric field

Fig.6 Distribution of electric field Ex

we can find that around the wires, Ex get a
largest value, when at the connecting way
of two wires, Ex is no more than zero. The
cause of this distribution is the potential, at
the connecting way of wires, nearly zero.
Ex is decreased regularly from the wire at
the coordinate line x, but larger when
close to the collecting plate.
 Simulation of electric field

Fig.7 Distribution of electric field Ey

 Simulation of particles density
distribution

Fig.8 Particle density distribution in ESP

From Fig.8, we see the particles density
distribution obviously. The density reaches the
largest value at the entry of the ESP under the
influence of electric wind. The value of density
gets smallest near the wire at the direction to
collecting plate.
 Simulation of deposit density

Fig.9 Distribution of deposit density

Fig.9 shows us the deposit density, along
the collecting plate deposit density is
decreased definitely, since as time go on,
the particle is collected by the plate
continuously. So at the later part, the deposit
density is lower, and reasonable.
• CONCLUSION
we construct a numerical model of
electrostatic precipitator and design base on
Scilab. The simulation results of these
processes are according with laboratory
experimental tests to obtain physical
information and useful validations.
The
End
Thanks