DESIGN OF PARTICULATE COLLECTORS

Six different mechanisms are operative in the design of particulate

collectors:

Gravitational settling - gravity.

Centrifugal impactio n - centrifugal force
Inertial impaction - particulates in flow have inertia that brings it to
the collector.
Electrostatic precipitator - electric field
Direct interceptio n - streamlines of flow directly goes o ver the
solid collectors.
Diffusion - particles in flow have random Brownian motio n that
brings it close to the collector.

Choice of a particular collection device depends on:

(A) particulate characteristics - physical and chemical nature.

(B) gas flow rate
(C) T and P of the stream
(D) Nature of gas stream, such as corrosivity
(E) Treatment and disposal of effluent and collected particulates.

Common types of equipment:

Gravity Settler, Centrifugal (cyclone) separator, wet collectors,

fabric filter, electrostatic precipitator.

Collection efficiency is always defined as

 = (residence time in the reactor) / (time of collection)

Examples of Particulate Collectors
 GRAVITY SETTLER

L
x

y
H

z hoppers

Applicable mainly to particulates of dp > 10 m.

Applicable to streams with gas velocity < 300 cm/s

Two types of models:

(A) Block flow or Plug flow model - Very little or no mixing in the
z - direction.

(B) Mixed flow (Backmixing) model - Very good mixing in the z-

direction.
B lock flow or Plug flow Model:

For a particulate to settle out into the hopper at a distance H and escape
from the gas

T = H / Vt

Residence time,

tR = L / V

Collection efficiency ,

d = tR / t = (VtL/ HV) = VtLW /Q

Note that Vt is a function of particulate diameter. Minimum particulate

size collected is when t = t R.

—> Reducing H/L decreases dp,min, ie, increase L or decrease H.

—> Instead of one long L, small H chamber, several baffles are placed
across the chamber horizontally, spaced several inches apart. For a
chamber with N horizontal baffles, o = N d.

Problems with gravity settler:

(i) turbulence in gas stream changes the particle trajectory,
(ii) Re-entrainment of dust already on the collector is a possibility.
MIXED FLOW ( BACKMIXING )MODEL:

If mixing is good in the z-direction, but not in the the x-direction, we

have to do a mass balance over a length dx

V
Vt H

Fraction collected is (Vt/H) dt

(Vtdt is the vertical height travelled by a particle, H is the total fall

height).

Change in concentration in passing section dx is dc = -c. (Vtdt)/H

and dt = dx/V

Hence we have

Integrating
ADVANTAGES OF A GRAVITY SETTLER:

Low energy

Low maintenance expense

Reliability

DISADVANTAGES:

Large size

Low collection efficiency for smaller particulates

CYCLONE SEPARATORS

** Works on the principle of spinning the gas stream so that particles of

higher mass fall out in proportion to the velocity.

** The tendency of particles to move in a straight line when the

direction of the gas stream is changed is the primary mechanism of
imparting centrifugal motion.

** Removes particles of diameter > 10 microns. But efficiency is > 95%

only for particles greater than 25 microns.

** There are however three different types: high volume cyclone (low
efficiency), medium cyclone and high efficiency cyclone (low
throughputs).
Top Inlet Cyclone Separator
Vane Axial Entry Cyclone Separator
Bottom Inlet Cyclone Separator
Collection Efficiency of a Cyclone:

** First, the number of revolutions Ne in the outer vortex is given by

(1)

** To be collected the particles must strike the wall within the amount of
time the gas travels in the outer vortex. The gas residence time in the
outer vortex is given by

(2)

** Maximum radial distance travelled by a particle is the width of the

inlet duct W. Assume that centrifugal force quickly accelerates the
particle to its terminal velocity in the radial direction. The terminal
velocity that will allow a particle to be collected in time t is

(3)

Remember that Vt is given by the Stokes law

(4)

Eliminating t between (2) and (3) and equating (3) to (4) we get

The above gives the minimum particle diameter that will be collected.
The theoretical equation derived has a major flaw – it states that all
particles with diameter larger than dp will be collected with 100%
efficiency, which is NOT correct.

Lapple derived a semi-empirical relationship which gives the “50% cut

diameter” dpc., which is the diameter of particles collected with 50%
efficiency.

Lapple then derived a general curve for standard conventional cyclones

that can be used to predict the collection efficiency of any given particle
size. This has been further enhanced by an algebraic relationship
between collection efficiency and cut diameter obtained by Theodore
and DePaola:

Note that j is the collection efficiency for the jth particle size range and
dpj is the characteristic diameter for that size range.

The overall efficiency of the cyclone is the weighted average of the

efficiencies for various size ranges
 Standard Cyclone Proportions

Percent collection efficiency

L1 = L2 = 2Do
H = W/2 = Do/2
De = Dd/2 = Do/2

dpj/dpc
 TYPICAL CYCLONE DIMENSIONS

• Diameter: 6 to 10” (15 to 25 cm)

• Inlet Velocities: 50 to 60 ft/s (15 to 20 cm/s)
• Volumetric Rates:
– 500 to 1000 ft3/s (15 to 20 m3/min)
– Capacities as high as 30,000 ft3/min have been
manufactured.
 Pressure Drop in Cyclones
•Large diameter cyclones are less efficient than small diameter ones.
•However, large D will have lower P.
P in cyclones related to the number of velocity heads of loss, Hv
Vg2  g H v
P(inches of fluid ) 
2 g L
•Note: Vg2/2g is one velocity head (Vg is the inlet gas velocity)
L corrects for P in terms of fluid height.
* Lapple’s observation: HW K = 16 for std. Cyclone
Hv  K  2
De (tangential gas entry)

Vg2  g HW
P  K  2
2 g L De
P : simple cyclones (0.5 to 2” of water); high efficiency (2 to 6” water).
 Cyclone Design Optimization
(Know dp from size distribution curve, Qp, Tg, P from stack sampling)

Choose a dpc

Repeat with different dpc

(Obtain required efficiency)

Locate optimum dpc on optimization
curve to get correct D)
1 2
  P 2Q2   Q2 D1 
3 2

D2  D1   and P2  P1  

2 
  P1Q1   Q1 D2 
Note: Q1 = 0.094 m3/s; P1 = 1,000 kg/m3; D1 = 0.254 m.