22-05-2023
ELECTROSTATIC
PRECIPITATOR
Dr. Vikas Varekar
VJTI, Mumbai
Electrostatic Precipitator
• Electrostatic precipitator (ESP) are particulate collection
devices that utilizes electrical energy directly assist in the
removal of the particulate matter.
• They have been successfully used for removal of the fine
dusts from all kinds of waste gases with very high
efficiency
• Particles as small as a tenth of a micron can be removed
• In this instrument a gas containing aerosols is passed
between two electrodes that are electrically insulated from
each other and between which there is a considerable
difference in electric potential, aerosol particles precipitate
on the low potential electrode
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Electrostatic Precipitator
• ESP consist of six major components
1. A source of high voltage
2. Discharge electrode and collecting electrode
3. Inlet and outlet for the gas
4. A means (generally a hopper) for disposal of the collected
material
5. An electronic cleaning system
6. An outlet casing to form an enclosure around the electrodes
(precipitator shell)
Electrostatic Precipitator
• Pre-treatment of the gas
• The gases entering an ESP may or may not have pre-
treatment before entering the unit
• Pre-treatment could consist of removing part of the dust
loading by use of certain mechanical collectors or by
adding chemicals to the gas to change the physical
properties of the gas to enhance precipitation action
• The entire ESP is enclosed in a casing
• The actual geometric configuration may be either
rectangular or cylindrical
• In all cases there is an inlet and outlet connection for
gases, hoppers to collect the precipitated matter and the
necessary discharge electrode and collector surfaces
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Electrostatic Precipitator
• Precipitators are usually build with a number of auxiliary
components, which include access doors, dampers safety
devices, and gas distribution systems
• The access provisions can be either door or a plate which
are closed and bolted under normal operating conditions
but which can be opened when necessary for inspection
and maintenance
• Dampers are the means by which the quantity of gas is
controlled
• In addition the safety grounding system is extremely
important and must always be in place during operation
especially during period of inspection
Electrostatic Precipitator
• The most common grounding system consist of a
conductor, one end of which is grounded to the casting,
and the other end is attached to the high voltage system
by an insulated operating lever
• The collection systems consist of collecting surfaces
where the particulate matter is deposited.
• Also a device for rapping or vibrating the collection
surfaces is included so that the deposited particles can be
dislodged
• The high voltage system includes the discharge electrode
and the insulators
• Electrical insulation must be done for safety purposes
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Electrostatic Precipitator
• The precipitation hopper is integral with the precipitator shell
and is made from the same material
• The function of the hopper is to collect the precipitated material
for final disposal
• ESP requires a high voltage direct current source of the energy
for operation
• Therefor transformer are required to step up the normal service
voltages to high voltages
• Rectifiers convert the alternating current to unidirectional
current
Electrostatic Precipitator
• Principle of ESP
• In ESP the gas stream is passed between two electrodes,
across which a high potential difference is maintained
• Out of two electrodes, one is discharging electrode and other a
collecting electrode
• Because of a high potential difference and the discharge
system, a powerful ionising field is formed
• Potential is as high as 100 kilo volts (usually 40-60 kv) are
used
• Consequently, ionisation creates an active glow zone (blue
electric discharge) called the “ Corona” or “ Corona Glow”
• Gas ionisation is the dissociation of gas molecules into free
ions
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Electrostatic Precipitator
• Principle of ESP
• As the particulates in the carrier gas pass through this
field, they get charged and migrate to the oppositely
charged collecting electrode
• The particles once deposited on the collecting electrode
lose their charge and are removed mechanically by
rapping, vibration or washing to a hopper
Electrostatic Precipitator
• Steps of ESP
1. Place the charge on the particle to be collected
2. Migrate the particle to the collector
3. Neutralise the charge at the collector
4. Remove the collected particles
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Electrostatic Precipitator
• Classification of ESP
• Single stage ESP
• Two stage ESP
• In single stage ESP gas ionisation and particulate
collection are combined in a single step
• Whereas in the case of a two stage precipitator, particles
are ionised in the first chamber and collected in the
second chamber
• All industrial ESP are single stage, used for highly loaded
gas
• While two stage precipitators are used for lightly loaded
gas
Electrostatic Precipitator
• Types of single stage precipitator
• Pipe type precipitator
• Plate type precipitator
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Pipe Type Precipitator
• In the pipe-type precipitator, the collecting electrodes are
formed by a nest of parallel pipes which may be round,
square or octagonal
• The pipe is about 30 cm in diameter or less
• The most common form of a discharge electrode is a wire
with a small radius of curvature, suspended along the axis
of each pipe
• They must be weighted or supported to retain proper
physical tension and location, electrically insulated from
the support grid
• The gas flow is axial from bottom to top
Pipe Type Precipitator
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Plate Type Precipitator
• In this type the collecting electrodes consist of parallel
plates
• The discharge electrodes are similar to those used in
pipe-type precipitator i.e. they are wires with a small
curvature
• The wire are suspended midway between the parallel
collecting electrodes and usually hang free with a weight
suspended at the bottom to keep them straight
• Discharge electrodes are made from non-corrosive
materials like tungsten and alloys of steel and copper
• The gas flow is parallel to the plates
Plate Type Precipitator
• Plates may be 1-2 m wide and 3-6 meter long
• The parallel plates should be spaced at equal intervals
• The collection of the aerosols takes place on the inner
sides of the parallel plates
• The dust material can be removed by rapping
• The particles thus removed, fall into hoppers at the base
of the precipitator
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Plate Type Precipitator
Electrostatic Precipitator
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Electrostatic Precipitator
• Classification
• Dry and wet precipitator
• Depending upon the mode of operation is a dry process
or wet process
• If the particulate matter is removed from the collecting
electrode by rapping or vibration it is known as dry
precipitator
• If water or other fluid is used for removal of solid
particulate matter it is known as wet precipitator
• Wet precipitators are more efficient collectors as compare
to dry precipitators
Electrostatic Precipitator
• Particle resistivity
• Dust resistivity is a measure of the resistance of the dust
layer to the passage of a current
• For practical operation the resistivity should be 107 and
1011 Ohm-cm
• At higher resistivity particles are difficult to charge
• Higher resistivity may be conditioned with moisture to
bring them into acceptable range
• If the particle resistivity is too low (< 105 Ohm-cm)
particles accept a charge easily but dissipate it so quickly
at the collector electrode, that the particles are re-
entrained in the gas stream, this result in low efficiency
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Electrostatic Precipitator
• Particle resistivity is depends upon the composition of the
dust and the continuity of the dust layer
• Resistivity is also affected by the ESP operating
temperature and by the voltage gradient
Electrostatic Precipitator
• Particle re-entrainment
• Particle re-entrainment is a problem associated with the
particle charging
• It occurs primarily in two situations- due to either
inadequate precipitator area, or inadequate dust removal
from the hopper
• Re-entrainment reduces ESP performance because of the
necessity of recollecting dust which had been previously
removed from the carrier gas
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Advantages of ESP
Disadvantages ESP
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Applications
Applications
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