Performance evaluation and environmental benefit assessment of fine particle removal using a co-current flow rotating packed bed

Abstract

The air pollutant emission related to the anthropogenic activities affecting the environment and human health was a critical problem. Fine or ultrafine particulate matters were the major air pollutant from the industries. Thus, the high-gravity technology has holistically been applied to the integrated air pollution control due to its advances of low land demand, high mass transfer rate, low economic cost and easy operation and maintenance. In this study, the fine particle removal using a co-current flow rotating packed bed (CF-RPB) was evaluated along with different key parameters, including high gravity factor and liquid-to-gas (L/G) ratio. The obtained results suggested that CF-RPB could improve the particle removal efficiency up to 99.75 % which was increased as the high gravity factor and L/G ratio increased. In this study, a theoretical model was developed to describe that the particle size of 0.1 μm accounted for the major concentration. Furthermore, the environmental benefit of different particle control technologies was evaluated using environmental cost accounting. The results indicated that the application of CF-RPB for particle emissions control performed greater economic feasibility than Venturi scrubber and baghouse filter. CF-RPB could also be applied to the particulate and gaseous air pollutants removal, which has more advances than the electrostatic precipitator.