Enhanced performance of electrostatic precipitators through chemical modification of particle resistivity and cohesion
- ADA Technologies, Inc., Englewood, CO (United States)
Control of fine particles, including particulate air toxics, from utility boilers is required near-term by state and federal air regulations. Electrostatic precipitators (ESP) serve as the primary air pollution control device for the majority of coal-fired utility boilers in the Eastern and Midwestern united States. Cost-effective retrofit technologies for fine particle control, including flue gas conditioning, are needed for the large base of existing ESPs. Flue has conditioning is an attractive option because it requires minimal structural changes and lower capital costs. For flue gas conditioning to be effective for fine particle control, cohesive and particle agglomerating agents are needed to reduce reentrainment losses, since a large percentage of particulate emissions from well-performing ESPs are due to erosion, rapping, and non-rapping reentrainment. A related and somewhat ironic development is that emissions reductions of SO{sub 2} from utility boilers, as required by the Title IV acid rain program of the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments, has the potential to substantially increase particulate air toxics from existing ESPs. The switch to low-sulfur coals as an SO{sub 2} control strategy by many utilities has exacerbated ESP performance problems associated with high resistivity flyash. The use of flue gas conditioning has increased in the past several years to maintain adequate performance in ESPs which were not designed for high resistivity ash. However, commercially available flue gas conditioning systems, including NH{sub 3}/SO{sub 3} dual gas conditioning systems, have problems and inherent drawbacks which create a need for alternative conditioning agents. in particular, NH{sub 3}/SO{sub 3} systems can create odor and ash disposal problems due to ammonia outgassing. In addition, there are concerns over chemical handling safety and the potential for accidental releases.
- Research Organization:
- USDOE Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center (PETC), PA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 121407
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9507159-; ON: DE95017240; TRN: 95:024022
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 11. annual coal preparation, utilization, and environmental control contractors conference, Pittsburgh, PA (United States), 12-14 Jul 1995; Other Information: PBD: [1995]; Related Information: Is Part Of Eleventh annual coal preparation, utilization, and environmental control contractors conference: Proceedings; PB: 440 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
EVALUATION OF AEROSOL EMISSIONS DOWNSTREAM OF AN AMMONIA-BASED SO2 SCRUBBER
Flue gas conditioning for improved particle collection in electrostatic precipitators