Air Pollution

Control
Devices

OCTOBER 26

Jamia Millia Islamia

Department of Civil Engineering
Authored by: SACHIN
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Air Pollution Control Devices
Those devices which help in reducing particulate matter

The important devices which are used to control particulate matter are:-
 Gravitational settling chambers
 Centrifugal collectors including cyclone collectors and dynamic precipitators
 Wet scrubbers(collectors) including spray towers, wet cyclone scrubbers and
venturi-scrubbers
 Electrostatic precipitators
 Fabric filters

1. Gravitational Settling Chambers:-

a. Minimum particle size that can be removed is >50 µm
b. Efficiency is <50%
c. Simple to design and maintain, and low pressure loss
d. Requires larger spaces, and collection efficiency is also low. Only larger
sized particles are separated out
e. The emitted smokes, when made to pass through a settling chamber, drop
some of their larger sized particles in the chamber, under Stoke’s law. The
largest size particle(d) that can be removed with 100% efficiency in such a
chamber of length L and height H is given by equation
. .
𝑑 = 𝐶. √
…………..(i) . .
where vh = horizontal velocity of gas passing through the chamber, between
0.5 to 2.5 m/sec.
ρp = density of particles removed
µ = viscosity of air, at the given temperature in kg/m.sec

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 C = correction factor for existing non-quiescent conditions in the gas flow
through the chamber, generally taken at equal to 2

Fig:- Gravitational Settling Chamber

2. Centrifugal collectors including Cyclone collector and Dynamic

precipitator:-
a. Minimum particle size that can be removed is between 5-25 µm
b. Efficiency is 50 – 90%
c. Relatively inexpensive, simple to design and maintain ; requires less floor
area; ensures dry continuous disposal of collected dusts; low to moderate
pressure loss (2.5 to 20 cm); can handle large volumes of gases at
temperatures upto 90˚C. Cyclones are widely used in industries producing
large quantities of gas containing larger sized particles, like, Cement and
Fertilizer plants, Petroleum refineries, Asphalt mixing plants, Grain mills,
Cotton gins, etc.
d. Requires much head room; collection efficiency is low for smaller
particles, quite sensitive to variable dust loadings and flow rates.

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e. A cyclone collector is a specially designed closed chamber, in which the
velocity of the inlet gas is transformed into spinning vortex, and the
particles from the gas are thrown out under the centrifugal force. The
particles thrown out the walls of the chamber, slide down to the hopper,
and, are thus removed. Its efficiency depends on the generated centrifugal
force, which in turn, depends on mass of the particles (Mp), inlet gas
velocity (vi), and radius of cyclone (R), and is given by equation
𝒗𝟐𝒊
𝑭𝒄 = 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒈𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 = 𝑴𝒑. 𝑹 …………(ii)
f. A dynamic precipitator imparts centrifugal force to the entering gas with
the help of rotating vanes, and is, thus about 7 times more effective than an
ordinary Cyclone. Such a unit can work as an exhaust fan as well as dust
collector. They are widely used in Ceramics, Food and Pharmaceutical, and
Wood working industries. They cannot, however, handle wet fibrous
material, which tend to accumulate on the moving vanes.

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 Fig:- Cyclone Collector

3. Wet scrubbers including spray tower, cyclonic scrubber and

venturiscrubber:-
a. Minimum particle size that can be removed
i. For Spray tower > 10 µm
ii. For Wet cyclonic scrubber > 2.5 µm
iii.For Venturi-scrubber > 0.5 µm
b. Efficiency
i. For Spray tower < 80% ii. For Wet cyclonic scrubber < 80% iii. For
Venturi-scrubber < 99%
c. The Spray tower and
Venturiscrubber can be made to
remove gaseous pollutants also,
along with removing particulate
matter.
d. Hot gases can be cooled down
e. Corrosive gases can be recovered
and neutralized
f. The separated gases through contact
with aqueous chemicals may
produce such useful byproducts, as
chemicals and fertilizers.
g. A lot of wastewater needing
disposal may be produced
h. Maintenance cost is high, when
corrosive materials are collected.
i. Wet outlet gases cannot rise high from
the stack
j. Poses freezing problems in cold
countries
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 k. Plume may sometimes be visible in the sky due to presence of water
vapour.
l. In these devices, the flue gas is made to push up against a down falling
water (liquid) current. The particulate matter mixed up with water droplets
and, thus, falls down and gets removed.
m. Water solutions, when replaced with other aqueous chemical solutions, like
lime, potassium carbonate, a slurry of MnO and MgO, etc. do help in
removing gaseous pollutants also from the flue gases.

4. Electrostatic precipitators:-
a. Minimum particle size that can be removed is > 1 µm
b. Efficiency is 95-99%
c. Particles may be collected wet or
dry.
d. 99% and plus efficiency can be
obtained
e. Even small particles can be
removed
f. Maintenance is nominal, unless
corrosive and adhesive materials
are present in flue gases.
g. They contain a few moving parts.
h. They can be operated at high
temperatures upto 300-450˚C.
i. Higher initial costs
j. Sensitive to variable dust loadings
and flow rates
k. They use high voltage, and hence
may pose risk to personal safety of
the staff.

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 l. Collection efficiency reduces with time.
m. In electrostatic precipitators, the flue gas is made to pass through a highly
ionized zone, where the particles get electrically charged and are separated
out from the gas, with the help of electrostatic forces in the powerful
electric field.
n. They are widely used in Thermal power plants, Pulp and Paper industries,
Mining and Metallurgical industries, Iron and Steel plants, Chemical
industries, etc.

5. Fabric Filters:-
a. Minimum particle size that can be removed is < 1 µm
b. Efficiency is > 99%
c. Fabric filters can give high efficiency, and can even remove very small
particles in dry state.
d. Performance decrease becomes
visible, giving pre-warning.
e. High temperature gases need to be
cooled to the range 100-450˚C,
within which, the filters are stable.
f. The flue gases must be dry, as
otherwise, there is a risk of
condensation inside the filter, which
can cause clogging.
g. The fabric is liable to chemical
attack.
h. In such a system, the flue gas is
allowed to pass through a woven or
felted fabric, which filters out the
particulate matter and allows the gas
to pass. Small particles are retained on the fabric, initially through

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 interception and electrostatic attraction; and later on, when dust mat is
formed, the fabric starts collecting particles more efficiently.
i. A baghouse filter unit, provided in an ordinary room of the factory,
contains several vertically hanging fabric cylindrical bags (1.8 to 9 m
long); the upper ends of the bags are closed, and lower ends are attached to
a hopper, where also, the inlet of the flue gas is located. The upward
moving gas drops out particulate matter in these bags, which settles down
into the hopper, and cleaner gas goes out through the fabric filters. The
framework housing the hanging bags, is provided with an automatic
shaking device for cleaning the bags of the collected dust.

Those devices which help in reducing gaseous pollutants

The important devices which are used to control emission of gaseous pollutants in
industries are:-
 Absorption Units including spray towers, plate towers, packed towers, and
venturi-scrubbers
 Adsorption Units use adsorbents like activated carbon, molecular sieves
(dehydrated zeolites, i.e. alkali or metal silicates), etc.
 Combustion or Incineration Equipments

1. Absorption Units:-
Out of these devices, spray towers and venturi-scrubbers can simultaneously be used for
removing particulate pollutants, and have already been described above. Scrubbers are
generally less effective in removing gaseous pollutants than towers, but then, towers get
frequently clogged by particulate matter.
Other effective devices for removing gaseous pollutants, i.e. plate towers and packed
towers, shown below in fig. respectively.

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 Fig:- Plate tower Fig:- Packed tower
These absorption units work on the principle of transfer of the pollutants from the gas
phase to the liquid phase. In other words, the pollutants from the dirty gas, get absorbed
in the liquid, through which the gas is made to pass, in these units. Such absorption
takes place by diffusion as well as dissolution.
The effectiveness of these devices, naturally, depends upon the solvent (liquid), through
which gas is made to pass. When water is used as the solute, the removal is restricted
only to a few inorganic gases, such as NH3, Cl2 and SO2.
All such absorbent units must be properly designed for the given conditions, before one
of them is adopted. Care should also be taken to ensure that the pollutants transferred
from air to water, may not cause heavy and uncontrollable water pollution.

2. Adsorption Units:-

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Adsorption units use adsorbents like
activated charcoal, molecular sieves
(dehydrated zeolites, i.e. alkali or
metal silicates), activated alumina,
silica gel, etc.
In adsorption units, the dirty gases are
made to pass through the beds of such
adsorbent materials, wherein the
pollutants are effectively caught and
removed. Activated carbon beds can
very effectively catch hydrocarbons,
H2S and SO2.
One special form of molecular sieve
can also capture NO2. The above adsorbents, except activated carbon, have the
drawbacks of preferably capturing water, before catching any of the gaseous pollutants;
and hence, water may have to be removed from the gas, before it is treated in such units.
Moreover, almost all the adsorbents are subject to destruction at moderately high
temperatures (150˚C for active carbon, 600˚C for molecular sieves, 400˚C for silica gel,
and 500˚C for activated alumina). Hence, they prove to be very inefficient for purifying
industrial gases at such high temperatures.
3. Combustion or Incineration Equipments:-
Combustion or Incineration Equipments may be used to purify polluted gases, when the
pollutants in the gas streams are oxidisable to an inert gas. Pollutants, like hydrocarbons
and carbon monoxide (CO) can be easily burnt, oxidised, and removed in such
equipments.
Both, Direct flame combustion by afterburners (Fig. 18.21), and catalytic combustion
(Fig.), have been used in commercial applications. Catalytic incineration can be used
when combustible materials in the waste polluted gas, are too low to make directflame
incineration feasible. This generally happens when the energy of the polluted gas is
lesser than 3.7 MJ/m³. At all such energy contents, the gas burning becomes self
supporting after initial ignition, thereby making possible the use of direct flame

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incineratora, Secondary supporting fuel may also sometimes be used to make such a
method feasible.
It has also to be ensured that the final combustion product from the incinerator is easily
disposable, and less toxic than the original gas pollutants, being removed. Direct flame
incineration has been successfully used to purify the industrial gases in Varnish
cooking, Meat smoke houses, and Paint bake oven industries.
When the combustible fuel value of the polluted gases are lower, some catalytic
materials have been found to accelerate the rate of oxidation, without themselves
undergoing a chemical change, thus reducing the incineration time, or making the
incineration feasible even with low-energy polluted gases.
Costly Platinum or palladium compounds have often been used as catalysts.
Conventionally, such a catalytic compound is placed in a bed similar to absorption beds,
and the supporting lattice is made of ceramic.
The old catalytic systems were effective only when the hot gases were being passed
through them; and hence, pre-heating by per-heaters (as shown in Fig. 18.22) was an
absolute necessity. But in modern days, even cold catalytic systems, which work at
ambient temperatures, have been designed, thus eliminating the necessity of preheating.
Catalytic incinerators have often been successfully used to control SO2, NOx, CO,
hydrocarbons, etc. Besides being costly, their major drawback is their susceptibility to
poisoning by sulphur and lead compounds, even in trace amounts.
Catalytic combustion has successfully been used in purifying emissions from industries,
like, Varnish cooking, Asphalt oxidation, Printing press, etc.

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References
Garg, S. K. (2012). Sewage Disposal and Air Pollution Engineering (Vol. 2). New Delhi:
Khanna Publishers.

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