Environmental Engineering

Dr. Ramakrishna Bag

Dept of Civil Engineering
NIT Rourkela

Gravitational settling chamber

Gravitational settling chambers are used to remove large, abrasive
particles of dia. > 50 m from gas stream.
It require simple maintenance but less efficient for removing smaller
size particles.
Chamber

Gas inlet

Gas outlet

Dust hoppers

Howard settling chamber

Gas inlet
Gas outlet

Tray

Chamber width = W

Design aspect
For a settling chamber with dimensions L W H and n number of trays, the
hydraulic diameter of flow passage between trays is given by
=

2
+

. (1)

and the Reynolds number

=

(2)

where is viscosity of gas and v is the velocity inside the chamber is given by
=

.. (3)

Q = volumetric flow rate of the gas stream in m3/s.

Substituting for v and Dh in Eq. (2) we get,

=

2
+

.. (4)

The spacing between the trays H is given by

.(5)

Provided there is no dust layer initially present on the tray surface,

substituting for H we have
=

2
+

.(6)

If a layer of dust Hd is initially present then

=

..(7)

Now,
=

.. (8)

For laminar flow conditions within trays, particles of size dp of a particular material will
settle a distance y, with a terminal velocity vt in time t. During this time the particles are
transported a distance L with the velocity of the gas stream, v. Equating this two we get,

(9)

Value of y can be found out from particle settling velocity, vt

vt can be found from the following equation:

(10)
where, dp is particle diameter in m, p is the density of particle in
kg/m3, g is the density of gas, CD drag coefficient.

If the particles are uniformly distributed over the incoming stream, the
efficiency of collection is given by
=

. (11) or

...(12)

When y H, all particles of that size (or larger) will be collected in the
settling chamber.

 Efficiency relationship is based on laminar flow condition, usually flow

in settling chamber is turbulent rather than laminar. For turbulent
flow the collection efficiency is calculated by the following equation

It has been observed that Stokes law is a reasonable approximation for

calculating settling velocity. The minimum particle size that can be removed
with 100% efficiency can be found out from the following equation:

(13)

Usually p >> g, therefore (p - g)= p

 Electrostatic precipitator: ESPs are commonly installed in coal fired

power plants to remove most of the ash particles from fumes.

Working principle : An electrostatic precipitator (ESP) is a highly efficient

filtration device that uses force of an induced electrostatic charge minimally
obstructing the flow of gases through the unit. ESP applies energy only to the
particulate matter being collected.

 Electrostatic Precipitators or ESPs can collect particles sized 0.1 to 10 microns very
efficiently. They are generally more efficient at collecting fine particles.

Electrostatic precipitators take advantage of the electrical principle that opposites

attract. A high voltage electrode negatively charges airborne particles in the exhaust
stream. As the exhaust gas passes through this electrified field, the particles are
charged. Typically 20,000 to 70,000 volts are used.

A large, grounded flat metal surface acts as a collection electrode. Microscopic

particles are attracted to this surface where they build-up to form a dust cake.
Periodically, a rapper strikes the plate to knock the dust cake into a collection
hopper.

 A shell or house contains the electrodes, exhaust gases and rapper. The
shell must be well built with a rigid frame to hold the components in
their proper place.
Often shells are insulated to minimize temperature differences and
prevent gases from condensing into corrosive liquids.
ESPs can handle large volumes of hot exhaust gases - beneficial for
high-temperature exhausts found at Portland Cement plants, steel
industry furnaces and industrial and utility boilers

Efficiency of an electrostatic precipitator is expressed as

where vpm is the velocity of particle in m/s, Ac is surface are of

precipitator, Q is volumetric flow rate in m3/s.
For a parallel cylindrical collector
For a parallel cylindrical collector
Dc is the diameter of cylinder, S is the between two parallel plates, V is the
volume of the precipitator.