Basic Environmental Engineering and Pollution Abatement

Air pollution control

DR. PRASENJIT MONDAL

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

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 Problem 1
Calculate the plate area of an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) removing 90% of
particulate matters (PM) from the exit gas of a cement industry having 200 ppm of PM.
What change in plate area of above-mentioned ESP would be required to improve the
collection efficiency from 90% to 99% ?
(Assume the exit gas flow rate as 150 m3/s and the drift velocity of particles w = 0.11)
Solution

Collection efficiency = 1-e-wA/Q

When 0.9 = 1- e-0.11A/150
A1 = 3139.89 m2

When 0.99 = 1- e-0.11A/150

A2 = 6279.77 m2
Increase in plate area A2 – A1 = 3139.88 m2

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 Problem 2
An ESP is to be constructed to remove fly ash particles from stack gases flowing at a
flow rate of 10 m3/s. Analysis of a similar system shows that drift velocity can be
taken as w = 3.0x10-1xdp, here dp is particle diameter in μm and w is in m/s.
Determine the plate area required to collect particulate matter of 0.5 μm size with
99% efficiency.
Solution
W = 3.0 x 10-1x 0.5 = 0.15 m/s
Efficiency of ESP = η = 1-e-wA/Q
Thus, W = -Q/A ln(1-η)
Or 0.15 = -10/A ln(1-.99)
A = 307.011m2

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 Problem 3
Calculate the sedimentation rate in gravity separation for the particle size limiting to
dlim = 7 µm. The particle density = 1040 kg/m3 , liquid density = 1000 kg/m3 and
Viscosity of continuous phase = 1x10-3 N-s/m2
Solution:
For gravity separation
Laminar gravitational free settling velocity

𝑑𝑝2 (𝜌𝑠 − 𝜌𝑙 ൯ 𝑔
𝑢𝑔 =
18µ
7 × 10−6 2 (1040 − 1000ሻ
𝑢𝑔 = × 9.81 = 1.068 × 10−6 𝑚Τ𝑠 𝑒𝑐
18 × 0.001
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 Problem 4
A multi- tray settling chamber having 8 trays, including the bottom surface, handles
6 m3/s of air at 20 °C. The trays are spaced 0.25 m apart and the chamber is to be 1
m wide and 4 m long. What is the minimum particle size of density 2000 kg/m3 that
can be collected with 100% efficiency? What will be the efficiency of the settling
chamber if 50 µm particles are to be removed? Laminar flow condition within the
chamber and presence of no dust initially on the trays may be assumed.

In the above example, is the laminar assumption justified? If not, what is the
collection efficiency for 56 and 50 µm particles?
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Solution

µg at 20°C =1.81x10-5 kg/m-s and ρp=2000 kg/m3. Since ρp >> ρg , ρg may be

neglected in the above equation. Substituting for n = 8, W = 1 m, L = 4 m, G =9.81
m/s2 and Q= 6 m3/s, we have

= 56 µm
= (dp/dp, min)2
= (50/56)2
= 80%

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 Particle Reynolds no.

For 56 µm For 50 µm

Rep= [2000*56*10-6*(6/4*1)]/[1.81*10-5] Rep= [2000*56*10-6*(6/4*1)]/[1.81*10-5]

= 9281 = 8287

Thus , laminar assumptions are not correct for both the cases and
η𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑏 = 1 − 𝑒𝑥𝑝 −η𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑟

η𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑏 = 1 − 𝑒𝑥𝑝 −1 η𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑏 = 1 − 𝑒𝑥𝑝 −0.8

= 63 % = 55 %

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 Problem 5
Calculate the net air-to-cloth ratio for a reverse air baghouse with 10 compartments
containing 276 bags each. The diameter of each bag is 11 in, and the bag height is 28
ft. One of the compartments is always offline for cleaning, and another is offline for
maintenance. Use a gas flow rate of 350,000 acfm.
Solution Acfm= Actual cubic feet per minute
Individual area of bag = πDh = π ( 11 / 12 ft) (28 ft) = 80.6 ft2 / bag
Total bag area = individual bag area x (No of bags per compartment) x (No of
compartment)
= 80.6 x 276 x 10
= 222456 ft2
Net air-to-cloth ratio = Q / A = (350000 ft3/min) / (222456 ft2 )
= 1.57 ft/min
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 Problem 6
Estimate the liquid purge rate for a scrubber system treating a gas stream of 25,000
scfm with a particulate matter loading of 1.0 grains per scf. Assume that the scrubber
particulate matter removal efficiency is 97% and the maximum suspended solids level
desirable in the scrubber is 3% by weight. 1 lb = 7000 grain
Answer : scfm= Standard cubic feet per minute
Calculating the inlet particulate mass :
Inlet mass = ( 25000 ft3/min)( 1 grains/ft3)( 1 lb /7000 grains)= 3.57 lb/min
Collected Mass = efficiency * Inlet Mass = (0.97)(3.57 lb/min) = 3.46 lb/min
Purge solids of 3.46 lb/min are 3% of the total purge stream, therefore :
Purge stream = (3.46 lb/min) / 0.03 = 115.3 lb/min
A stream with 3% suspended solids has a specific gravity of about 1.03, therefore:
Purge stream density = ( 8.34 lb water/gal)(1.03) = 8.59 lb/gal
Purge stream flow rate = (115.3 lb/min) / (8.59 lb/gal) = 13.4 gal/min
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 Problem 7

A venture scrubber is to be used to collect PM from a gas stream. The liquid flow
rate through the scrubber is 20 gallon per minute per 1000 cu.ft per minute of gas
and the relative velocity of the gas to liquid is 400 ft/sec. The gas is air at STP and
carries particles of density 1500 kg/m3. Determine the efficiency of the scrubber as
a function of particle diameter. Consider the viscosity of the gas as 1.8*10-5 kg/m-s
and empirical factor for throat geometry and other parameters (K) is 0.2.

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Solution
Collection efficiency

Impaction parameter
Droplet diameter is a function of liquid flow rate and gas velocity as
In this case do in μm = 16400/400 + 1.45*(20)1.5 =170.7 μm = 171*10-6 m

vr = 400 ft/sec = 122 m/sec 1 ft /sec = 0.3048 m/sec

Impaction factor = [C*1500*dp2*122]/[18* 1.8*10-5 * 171*10-6 ] = 3.3 C*dp2

Efficiency = 1-exp(-0.2*20* (3.3 *C*dp2)1/2)

= 1-exp(-7.27 (C) 1/2dp)

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 Problem 8

A packed filter handling 1.0 m/s of standard air is packed with fibers of size 100 μm
in diameter. Dust- laden air passes through the filter with a velocity of 1.5 m/s and
the packaging density is 0.1. The average diameter of the particle in the air is 1.0
μm and the individual fiber efficiency ,ηf = 0.6
(a) Determine the dimensions of the packed filter if the overall efficiency is 99.5 %
Assume W=H
(b) What is the filter length if η=99.9 %?

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= velocity of gas
inside the filter

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 Problem 9

What is the aspect ratio for a five-field electrostatic precipitator having collection plate
heights of 30 ft, collection plate lengths of 9 ft, and a precipitator width (normal to gas
flow) of 50 ft?

Answer :
Aspect-Ratio (AR) = L / H
= ( 5 fields )( 9 ft/field ) / ( 30 ft )
= 1.5
So the Aspect-Ratio for a five-field electrostatic precipitator is 1.5.

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Thanks

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A fabric filter has 2000 m2 of filter area and treats 15 m3/s of air carrying a dust of
concentration 0.015 kg/m3.Assume K1=25 kPa-s/m and K2= 10-5 s-1.If filter must be
cleaned when pressure drop reaches 3.0 kPa, after what period must cleaning occur?

Solution: Given: filter area =2000 m2, air flow rate =15m3/s
Therefore filtration velocity , 0.0075 / 2000 m/ s = 25
Dust mass , w =Civt,
Where: Ci is the concentration of dust in air, kg/m3

equation: P = P1+ P2 = K1v +K2vw

Where P1 and P2 is pressure difference
P = K1v+K2vw = K1v+ K2vC t
T = 33300s = 9.26h

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