CED 30403-Air Pollution Control Technology

UNIVERSITI KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysian Institute of Chemical & Bioengineering
Technology

CEB 30403
Air Pollution Control Technology

PARTICULATE EMISSION CONTROL BY ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATOR

(ESP)

1.0 INTRODUCTION
The unit is constructed on a skid mounted steel structure and comes complete with a
laboratory scale ESP. This model (AP-05) operates two-stage electrostatic
precipitation principle. All airborne contaminating particles are lifted by the airflow
stream to an ionizing section where the particles are given a strong electrical charge.
These charged particles are attracted to and captured by a series of collector plates
where they are contained until cleaned.

Common to all precipitator designs is the fact that, in any type of electrostatic air
cleaner, three basic functions must be accomplished:

i) Charging (or ionizing) the pollutants so they can be removed from the
airstreams by electrical or magnetic forces.

ii) Collecting the resultant contaminant ions by subjecting them to a precipitating

force, which diverts them from the normal airflow path and forces them to
impact on collecting surfaces.

iii) Removal of precipitated contaminants from the air cleaner.

1
CED 30403-Air Pollution Control Technology

2
 CED 30403-Air Pollution Control Technology

2.0 GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Before operating the unit, students must familiarize themselves with the unit.
The SOLTEQ Electrostatic Precipitator System (Model: AP 05) consists of
several components as described below:

2.1 SPECIFICATIONS
2.1.1Test Rig

Epoxy coated skid mounted construction with lockable wheels.

2.1.2 Laboratory Scale ESP

Cabinet (HxLxW) : 0.60 x 1.05 x 0.60 m

Fan : 'A HP TEFC motor and drives

Operating voltages
Voltage gradient
(ionizer)
: 7,200 VDC (ionizer)
8,800 VDC (collector)
: 11,158 VDC/inch
24,768 VDC/inch
(ionizer) Transformer
power pack

2.1.3 Digital Thermo-Anemometer

Material of probe : Stainless steel
Diameter of probe : 8.12 mm with integral handgrip
and
15.2 cm coiled cord.
Length of probe : 25.4 cm
Velocity : 0 - 30 m/s

2.1.4 Analytical Balance

Weighing Capacity : 41 kg
Resolution : 0.5 g

External Dimensions . : 372 (W) x 615 (D) x 130 (H) mm

3
 CED 30403-Air Pollution Control Technology

2.2 REQUIREMENTS

Electricity 240VAC/1-phase
Water Supply Laboratory mains

2.3 OVERALL DIMENSION

Height 1.82 m
Width 2.42 m
Depth 1.21 m

3.0 PREPARATION

3.1 EP operational checkout

The precipitator power supply is equipped for either 115V or 220V single phase
operation only. Blower motors can be operated on 115V or 220V single phase, or on
230 or 460 three phase power, as specified.

1) Plug in the power cord. The EP is ready for operation by turning the blower switch
and power supply circuit breaker "ON". With the power supply circuit breaker "0N",
the indicating light will glow and the meter will register a reading. If the meter registers
above or below the specified range, turn the rheostat adjustment screw to obtain the
required meter reading. If a malfunction occurs, it will be indicated by the meter, or the
circuit breaker will trip "OFF". When the power supply cover is removed, it opens the
safety switch to prevent shock from contact with any of the exposed high voltage
components. Primary power enters a transformer which produces the necessary voltage
for the operation of the precipitator.

A. No meter reading.
1. Primary power is not reaching the power supply.
2. The power supply safety switch is not activated.
3. The high voltage lead is not attached to the feed through insulator in the
cell access door.

B. Circuit breaker trips "OFF".

1. Cell operating voltage set too high (by the rheostat).
2. Bent or warped collector plate.
3. Foreign metallic or conductive object between collector plates.

4
 CED 30403-Air Pollution Control Technology

2) Listen to the sound created by operation of the EP. Soft buzzing (due to corona
action) and occasional arching or "snapping" are normal. A brief rush of arching each
time any electrical module is turned ON is likewise common. But loud "horsefly" type
buzzing, or continuous arching and crackling, are not acceptable. Such noises must be
investigated to determine their cause, and the problem creating them must be corrected.
The sound of air in self-contained units should be "smooth", with no pulsations, squeals
or rattles.

3) If any of the high voltage indicator lamps do not bum with a stable brightness, there
is probably an electrical malfunction. When in doubt, always check EP voltages with
the test probe of a high sensitivity digital voltmeter.

4) There is usually a dramatic difference between the very dirty prefilter (or plate edges
at the cell inlet) and the clean plate trailing edges at the cell outlet. This effect can be
used to confirm that the precipitator has operated properly.

3.2 EP collector cleaning

To maintain effective air cleaning performance, electrostatic collecting cells must be

cleaned regularly to remove accumulated dust. Prefilter Of used) generally requires
cleaning at the same time (occasionally more often).

1). Preparation for cleaning.

Unscrew the time delay screw from the safety interlock box. Unlatch the cell access
door and ground out any high voltage charge on the collecting cells with an insulated
handle screwdriver. Remove collecting cells.

2). Cleaning procedure.

The best cleaning procedure is usually soak-washing. Recommended cleaning

compounds vary, depending on the character of the particulate (contaminant) collected.
Regular commercial dishwasher detergent is effective in many cases. As an alternate,
the standard cleaners used on plant and process equipment may be used if they are
inhibited to be safe with aluminum.

If the collected contaminant is a dry dust or powder, it can often be removed from the
cells by rapping the collecting cell against the side of a dust bin or by blowing off the
dust with a blast of compressed air. Eventually, it will become necessary to provide a
soak-washing.

5
 CED 30403-Air Pollution Control Technology

4.0 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES

4.1 Equipment Preparations

1. Make sure that the EP filter (the collecting plates) and the prefilter (the honey
combed like filter) is cleaned and free from dust that will block the surface of the
plates.
2. Make sure all the plugs are disconnected from the power supply. Also make sure
that all the switches (the on off switch and the circuit breaker switch) on the
equipment are switched off and the range adjustment is set to zero.
CAUTION: The equipment is using high voltage electricity. Thus, precaution step
is needed to prevent accident.
3. Make sure that the insulator of Cable 1 (at the front door) and Cable 2 (at the top
door) is not damaged. II it is damaged, tape the damaged area with the black tape
to prevent from short circuit.
4. Make sure that the bypass valve is always open throughout the whole experiment.
And make sure that the feeder valve is closed before starting the experiment.

4.2 Sample Preparations

1. Dismantle the feeder's cover from the cone shaped feeder. Weight the cone shaped
feeder on a balance. Reset the balance to zero.
2. Fill in the feeder with 50 grams of kaolin powder.
3. Take the filled cone shaped feeder and attach the cover on to it.
4. Reset the balance to zero.
5. Weight the covered filled feeder on the balance and record the reading.

4.3 Experimental Procedures

1. Weight the clean prefilter on a balance. Take down the balance reading.
2. Put the prefilter in the equipment and lock it to prevent from falling.
3. Attach the feeder to the inlet. Connect the feeder with the compressor tube.
4. Plug in and switch on the equipment's balance. Reset the balance to zero.
5. Put in the EP filter (the collecting plates) in the equipment. The well cleaned EP
filter is suppose to weight around 13759.0 grams. NOTE: Make sure that the EP
filler is not too close to the equipment walls and the door to prevent from short
circuit.
6. Reset the balance to zero again. This time the balance reading is set to take the
weight of the particles that will be collected by the EP filter in the experiment.
7. Connect Cable 1 (cable at the front door) and Cable 2 (cable at the top door) to the
EP filter.
8. Close the front door and the top door.
9. Plug in and switch on the equipment plug to the main power supply.
10. Switch on the on/off switch. The blower and the power regulator will be activated.
11. Switch on the circuit breaker at the power regulator panel. Then set the regulator to
1.25 mA.

6
 CED 30403-Air Pollution Control Technology

12. Detect for any short circuit of the machine by hearing carefully to any spark's
sound.CAUTION: Do not let the equipment to have very frequently spark's sound.
This will affects the balance's circuit and hence, the balance's reading. If the short
circuit is very serious, the circuit breaker will switched off automatically. When this
happens, reset the regulator to zero, switch off and plug off the equipment's plug
from the power supply. Wait for around 5 minutes for the electric charge on the
equipment to disappear, and repeat again Step 5 to Step 12. Do not touch the
equipment before the electric charge disappear.
13. Plug in and switch on the compressor's plug to the main power supply. Adjust the
feeder valve so that the kaolin powder flows steadily in the inlet. The kaolin powder
is let to flow 30mins.NOTE: Make sure that the flow is not too big so that the kaolin
powder is not finished before the experiment time is over. Also always check the
inlet tube and knock a bit the inlet tube if the kaolin powder is stacked there.
14. After 30mins, switch off the compressor, reset the regulator to zero, and turn off the
on/off switch. Wait for about 5 minutes for the electric charge to disappear.
15. Open the top and front door and disconnect Cable 1 and Cable 2 from the EP filter.
16. Let the balance to be stabilized and then take the reading of the balance. The reading
you get is the collected particles at the EP filter. NOTE: Do not take the balance
reading while the EP filter is connected with the cables. This is because the cables
affect the EP filter weight. Thus the reading will be different.
17. Take out the EP filter and put it aside.
18. Carefully take out the prefilter. Try to prevent the trapped particles from falling to a
minimum rate. The weigh the prefilter on a balance and write down the reading.
19. Clean the EP filter, prefilter and the chamber from kaolin powder.
20. Repeat the experiment with attar flour for another hour.
21. Calculate the efficiency of the equipment by using the readings obtained. Compare
the efficiencies between kaolin powder and atta flour. The efficiency of the machine
can be calculated using the formula below:

koalin collected
 x 100
koalin delivered - koalin tra pped

RESULT OF EXPERIMENT
EXPERIMENT 1 2
Initial
KAOLIN Final
(FEEDER) Delivered
Initial
KAOLIN Final
(PLATE) Collected
Initial
KOALIN Final
(PREFILTER) Trapped
EFFICIENCY (%)

7
 CED 30403-Air Pollution Control Technology

EXPERIMENT 1 2
Initial
ATTA FLOUR Final
(FEEDER) Delivered
Initial
ATTA FLOUR Final
(PLATE) Collected
Initial
ATTA FLOUR Final
(PREFILTER) Trapped
EFFICIENCY (%)

Note: The result are in grams