How Do Electrostatic Precipitators Work?

Reducing air pollutants is vital for human health and the health of the environment. Poor air quality has harmful effects on human health, particularly the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

Pollutants also damage plants and buildings, and smoke or haze can reduce visibility.

Industries are largely responsible for causing pollution. They are also the ones who have access to a number of pollution control devices that absorb, filter, dilute, and disperse pollutants.

One such device for pollution control is the electrostatic precipitator.

This device works by removing particles and smoke from a gas stream using an electrostatic charge. Dust particles travel past wires that have a high direct current (DC) voltage applied, which ionises the surrounding gas. This corona discharge causes the particles to pick up a small electrostatic charge, without impeding the gas flow. Originally designed for recovery of valuable industrial-process materials, electrostatic precipitators are used as air pollution control systems, particularly for removing particles from waste gases at industrial facilities and power-generating stations.

Electrostatic precipitators are an effective means of removing particles and offer the advantage of ensuring that pressure does not drop across the unit.

Precipitators function by electrostatically charging particles in the gas stream. The charged particles are attracted to and deposited on plates or other collection devices. The treated air then passes out of the precipitator and through a stack to the atmosphere. When enough particles have accumulated on the collection devices, they are shaken off the collectors by mechanical rappers. The particulates, which can be either wet or dry, fall into a hopper at the bottom of the unit, and a conveyor system transports them away for disposal or recycling. Precipitators are often deployed with denitrification units that remove nitrogen oxides and scrubbers or other devices that remove sulfur dioxide.

In many industrial plants, particulate matter created in the manufacturing process is released as dust in the hot exhaust gases. If released into the atmosphere, the particulates reduce visibility, can contribute to climate change, and lead to serious health problems in humans, including lung damage and bronchitis. Fine particles that are smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter can be especially dangerous because they are drawn deep into the lungs and can trigger inflammatory reactions.
Electrostatic precipitators are important tools in the process of cleaning up flue gases. They are highly effective at reducing particle pollution, including those particles whose sizes approximate 1 micron in diameter, and some precipitators can remove particles of 0.01 micron in diameter. In addition, they can handle large volumes of gas at various temperatures and flow rates, removing either solid particles or liquid droplets.

Companies that provide high caliber precipitators have both horizontal and vertical flow precipitators, Thermax is one such provider of these. They even make dry design type precipitators for varying gas volumes. Find out more about Thermax at https://www.thermaxglobal.com