Filtration of Electrified Solid Particles in a Fibrous Filter

Abstract

The aim of the present work is to verify experimentally the influence of the charge level on collection efficiency during the first stages of filtration. A charge classifier was used to measure the charge level of the aerosol as a function of particle diameter. The filter was made of polypropylene with diameter of 0.047 m and a thickness of 2.6 mm. The solid particles used as test dust were a phosphate rock powder (density 2940 kg/m3 and average Stokes diameter of 3.40 m). The aerosol was dispersed by a TSI Venturi type generator. The particle charging was achieved by a corona charger. In all the tests performed, a linear relation between the particles acquired charge and their diameter was observed. A gradual increase of the charge level was observed with an increase of the tension in the corona charger (0, -3, -6 kV). The filtration results indicated that the global collection efficiency of the filter was very sensitive to the variation of the charge level of the particles. Both efficiency and pressure drop increased when the charge level increased. During the tests, the small increase in pressure drop indicated that the cake had not yet been formed.