Particle migration in electrostatic precipitators

Electrostatic precipitators are used to remove particulates from exhaust gases in the process industries. They can handle very high throughputs and the gas pressure drop is low. They represent a very high capital investment and demands on performance are becoming ever more stringent. There is thus a strong incentive to improve designs. An experimental programme has been carried out to study aerosol particle migration in the precipitation zone of a parallel plate precipitator. The behaviour of these particles depends on both the gas flow field and the electrostatic field. Here, the authors discuss how the field strength and gas flow conditions, such as level of turbulence, effect the collection of particulate pollutants