Investigation of Main Experimental Factors to Small Electrostatic Precipitator Prototype for PM 2.5 Elimination

Abstract

Electrostatic precipitator (ESP) is well known for dust removal with high efficiency; however, it still needs to be developed to reduce the amount of PM2.5 in a specific area due to the complexity of the PM2.5 emissions sources. In this research, the new ESP prototype was developed to investigate the factors affecting the efficiency of an electrostatic precipitator for PM2.5 removal in Thailand. In this work, the prototype of ESP was constructed with a range of DC voltages from 0-30 kV. Pulse width modulation (PWM) was used to adjust the voltage for supplying a high direct voltage to the model. Electrode plates are made of stainless steel with the dimension of 0.8 mm thickness, 410 mm wide, and 400 mm high. Three key parameters (e.g., voltages (0-30 kVDC), air velocity (0.2-1.6 m/s), and time of the experiment (0-120 mins) were investigated to find the suitable condition for capturing PM2.5. The results found that the highest efficiency of PM2.5 removal was 95% at 48 minutes of time experiment, the air velocity of 0.2 m/sec, and the voltages of 24 kVDC. When relative humidity and air velocity increase, the efficiency of PM2.5 removal tends to decrease. In addition, the too low distance between electrostatic wire and electrode plate can occur corona discharge breakdown voltage.