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An experimental-scale electrostatic precipitator (ESP) was built to investigate the influence of temperature and gas media on collection efficiency and energy consumption. High temperature was harmful to the performance of the ESP and had a considerable influence on large particles. The maximum collection efficiency was lower and energy consumption was higher under coal pyrolysis gas media than under air. Two improvement methods, namely, gas media conditioning and positive polarity power supply, were studied in this work. Both methods can improve the performance of high-temperature ESP under coal pyrolysis gas media. The improvement in collection efficiency under the effect of gas conditioning decreased and that under the effect of a positive power supply increased with the increase in temperature. Gas conditioning and positive power supply increased the maximum collection efficiencies of the ESP at 600 °C under coal pyrolysis gas media by 3.0% and 11.8%, respectively. Unlabelled Image • High temperature was harmful to the performance of the ESP. • The performance of ESP in coal pyrolysis gas is inferior to that in air. • Gas conditioning and positive power supply can improve the performance of ESP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract To study the characteristics of positive and negative DC discharge under coal pyrolysis gas media at 20 °C–600 °C, the I V characteristics and the current composition are analyzed under different conditions. Due to the difference of ionization mechanism, the corona onset voltage of negative corona is lower than that of positive corona under air gas medium. Under non-electronegative gas media, no corona occurs during negative discharge. However, during positive discharge, with the increase of output voltage, three types of discharge are successively observed, namely corona, glow and arc. Under N 2 gas media and at 400 °C, the maximum collection efficiency of positive electrostatic precipitator is 98%, while that of negative electrostatic precipitator is 82%. When the collection efficiency is 70%, the energy consumption index of negative electrostatic precipitator is about 200 times higher than that of positive electrostatic precipitator. A linear relationship between I/V and V is observed and the ionic mobility can be calculated through the slope. At 350 °C, the ionic mobility under H 2 gas medium is 5.25 cm2/(V*s) while the ionic mobility under N 2 gas medium is 0.1 cm2/(V*s). The ionic mobility is proportional to the absolute temperature according to the discharge experimental data at 350 °C–600 °C. The factor β i , which is only related to gas media, is 0.0001653 cm2/(V*s*T) for N 2 and 0.0087308 cm2/(V*s*T) for H 2. These results assist in understanding the property of ESP at high temperatures. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Under coal pyrolysis gas medium, corona only occurs in positive discharge. • Under N 2 gas medium, the positive ESP is better than negative ESP. • The ionic mobility under H 2 is about 52 times higher than that of N 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A modified ESP model suitable for high temperature gas was established. • The effect of temperature on ESP performance was investigated numerically. • An optimized ESP with assistant electrodes was developed and compared with the conventional ESP. High-temperature electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) are a potentially effective technology for purifying high-temperature gases. In this study, a comprehensive numerical model was developed to investigate the electric field and particle migration characteristics of an ESP at temperatures ranging from 400 to 600 °C. Moreover, an optimized ESP with assistant electrodes for improved high-temperature particle capture was proposed. The electric field, flow field and particle capture characteristics of the two types of ESPs were compared to demonstrate the superiority of the optimized ESP. Results indicated that high temperatures had a negative impact on ESP performance. As the temperature increased, the operating voltage of the ESP decreased, leading to decreases in both the electric field strength and space charge density. The effective migration velocity of the particles also decreased with increasing temperature, and the inhibitory effect of high temperature on particle capture increased with increasing particle size. The optimized ESP with assistant electrodes exhibited more favorable electric field and flow field characteristics for particle capture compared to those of the conventional ESP. The optimized ESP exhibited higher electric field strength, which increased the electric field force on the particles and promoted particle capture. Meanwhile, the space charge density of the optimized ESP was lower, effectively inhibiting the occurrence of back corona. Moreover, the optimized ESP enhanced the ionic wind downstream of the discharge electrode, thereby promoting particle migration towards the collection electrode. Consequently, the ESP with assistant electrodes effectively improved the collection efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a numerical model of an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) suitable for high-temperature flue gas was established using COMSOL Multiphysics, and the effects of temperature and H 2 O concentration on the high-temperature ESP performance were studied. The results showed that, at the same voltage, increasing the temperature increased the negative ion density, thereby improving the particle charge and collection efficiency. However, increasing the temperature led to a decrease in the maximum operating voltage of the ESP, which reduced the negative ion density and electric field intensity at the maximum operating voltage and weakened the diffusion and field charges of the particles, leading to a further decrease in the maximum collection efficiency. Increasing the H 2 O concentration in the flue gas increased the negative ion density and, thus, enhanced the diffusion charge of the particles, which helped improve the collection efficiency. [Display omitted] • A modified ESP model suitable for high temperature gas was established. • The plasma model was used to simulate corona discharges in the ESP. • The effect of temperature on ESP performance was studied numerically. • The effect of H 2 O concentration in flue gas on ESP performance was studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]