Numerical study of the influence of using crenelated collecting plates on the electrostatic precipitators

Abstract

Electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) are extensively used in industry to remove undesirable particles from flue gases using corona discharge. The particle collection efficiency of the ESPs is greatly affected by the optimization of collecting plates and corona electrode configurations. Different researchers are working to improve standard models in various ways to obtain a better performance of ESPs. This paper investigates the influence of using crenelated plates (CrPs) with five designs of collecting electrodes by changing the geometries of the crenelated part (the amplitude and the wavelength) and comparing them with flat plates (FPs) on the electrical proprieties of a single-stage ESP. The particle collection efficiency of the ESP and the dust particles’ transport behavior were enhanced using the crenelated collecting plates (CrPs), especially when using case E, which provides the highest collection efficiency for all particle sizes (0.01-5) μm. For instance, the particle collection efficiency of the CrP E type is 76%, which is 8% higher than the CrP D type for particles of about 0.1 μm. At the same time, 88% for CrP E with 0.05μm, which is 10% greater than the CrP D type. In addition, the influence of changing the amplitude (A) has more significant than changing wavelength (λ) on the particle collection efficiency and the dust particles’ transport behavior.