ELECTROSTATIC

PRECIPITATOR

By
Surender Kumar

Ash generation
Sixty four per cent
electricity production
country.

of total installed capacity of

is based on coal and gas in the

Coal based thermal power plants comprising of 76299

MW electricity generating capacity : Total installed
capacity is 143311 MW
More than 300 million tonnes of coal with ash contents
35-45% is consumed in Thermal Power Plants
Nearly 100 million tonnes per annum coal ash is
generated.

Environmental Issues
Use of high ash content coal in power generation
leads to the following environmental issues :
Air pollution
Emission of particulate matter (dust)
Emission of sulphur dioxide and oxides of
nitrogen
Green house gas emissions
Water pollution
Cooling water discharge
Ash pond effluent
Solid waste
Large volume of coal ash generation

Emission Standards For

Thermal Power Plant
Power generation Capacity
(MW)

Particulate matter
emission

Less than 210 MW

350 mg/Nm3

210 MW or more

150 mg/Nm3

Depending upon the requirement of local situations,

which may warrant stricter standards as in case of
protected areas the State Pollution Control Boards and
other implementing agencies within the provisions of
the EPA, 1986 may prescribe limit of 150 mg/Nm 3
irrespective of the generation capacity of the plant.

Stack Height Requirement

In order to proper dispersion of SO2 emissions from thermal power plants,
stack height criteria is adopted in the country. However, for larger capacities
of boilers (500 MW and above), space provision for installing FGD system
has been recommended.
Power generation Capacity
Less than 200/210 MW

200/210 MW or less than

500 MW
500 MW and above

Stack height (metre)

H= 14(Q)0.3 where Q is emission
rate of SO2 in kg/hr and H is stack
height in metre
220
275

Conventional Practices for Control of Pollution

Air Pollution:
Particulates:
High efficiency Electrostatic
precipitator
Gaseous emission:
Dispersion through tall stacks
Water Pollution
Cooling Water Discharge: Once through with long
channels/cooling
tower
Ash Pond effluent: Settling ponds
Solid Waste
Coal ash:

Dumped into ash ponds.

Emphasis is being given to utilize ash for the

manufacture
of
builder
products,
cement,
construction of highways, filling of low
lying area and mine fill etc.

Stationary Source Air Pollution

Control
A lot of focus on this since one third of
energy is used for electrical generation
and a lot of this is from coal, the dirtiest
fossil fuel.
Use different devices to remove various
types of pollutants.
Most of the particulate mater is very small
i.e. <0.1m

A 1000 MW power plant burning 10,000

tons of coal per day can generate 4000
tons per day of concentrated aqueous
waste. Big disposal problem.

account for 10-15% of construction costs

in new power plants.

Sizes of various particles

Particulate Size Analysis of Fly Ash

Size of particles per cent distribution
() by weight
Particulate Size
%
< 10
32%
1020
24%
2030
14%
3040
10%
> 40
20%
Rate at which particles fall out of atmosphere depends on size.
Smaller particles fall more slowly. This allows them to travel long
distances

Precipitator: Removal of dust

from gas
Mechanical Type

Dust is removed mainly by centrifugal forces

Electrostatic Type

Ash is removed by the electric forces

Pollution Control Devices

Gravity separation is an industrial
method of separating two components
from a suspension or any other
homogeneous mixture where separating
the components with gravity is
sufficiently practical
The duration it takes for the solid particles to set to the bottom can be illustrated with
Stokes' Law:
v = (' - ) g dp/ (18 )
v = velocity of sinking / floatation (cm/s)
' = density of the solid particle (g/cm)
= density of the gas (g/cm)
g = acceleration of earth's gravitational pull (9.81 m/s)
dp = diameter of the solid particle (cm)
= viscosity of the gas (g/cms)

Cyclonic Collector
Cyclonic separation relies on both,
gravitational and centrifugal forces in
separation of components.
Cyclonic separation can be used to
clear gases and fluids that contain rough
particles.
When fluid or gas enters the cyclone with
high enough pressure, a spiral flow is
created.
Rough particles, being heavier, are thrown
into the wall of the separator where they sink
down into the bottom of the separator
Removed and the fluid flows out from the
outlet pipe that is situated at the center of the
cyclone.

Spray Tower or Scrubber

Spray towers or spray chambers are
a form of pollution control technology.
They consist of empty cylindrical
vessels made of steel or plastic and
nozzles that spray liquid into the
vessels.
The inlet gas stream usually enters
the bottom of the tower and moves
upward, while liquid is sprayed
downward from one or more levels.
This flow of inlet gas and liquid in
the opposite direction is called
countercurrent.
Many nozzles are placed across the
tower at different heights to spray all
of the gas as it moves up through the

Spray Tower or Scrubber

Bag Filter or Bag House

Commonly known as baghouses, fabric
collectors use filtration to separate dust
particulates from dusty gases.
They are one of the most efficient and cost
effective types of dust collectors available and
can achieve a collection efficiency of more
than 99% for very fine particulates.
Dust-laden gases enter the baghouse and
pass through fabric bags that act as filters.
The bags can be of woven or felted cotton,
synthetic, or glass-fiber material in either a
tube or envelope shape.
The high efficiency of these collectors is due
to the dust cake formed on the surfaces of the
bags. The fabric primarily provides a surface
on which dust particulates are collected

Wet Scrubber

Venturi Scrubber

Electrostatic Precipitator:
Works for particles
down to 1m
Collection
efficiency is more
than 99%
Uses about 40,000
to 80000 Volts

Location

Principle of Operation
I.

Corona Generation

II. Particle Charging

III. Particle collection
IV. Particle removal

Corona Generation
Ionization of gas molecules by electron collision
in regions of high electric field strength
The process of corona generation requires a
non uniform electric field which is obtained by a
small diameter wire as one electrode
It results in high electric field near the wire
The electric field decreases inversely from the
wire surface

Corona generation
Electrons are present near the wire in high
electric field
Are accelerated to high velocities and
possess sufficient energy
Impact take place with gas molecules in
region
Orbital electrons are removed (process
multiplies)
Gas molecules are ionized

Negative corona
Discharge electrode is negatively charged
Collecting electrodes are earthed.

Particle Charging

Electric field lines intersect the particles

Ions tend to travel in the maximum voltage gradient
Ions are held to the dust particles with ions take place
Saturation depends upon the magnitude of electric
field, size of the particles, dielectric constant of the
particle; larger the particles, easily are removed

Particle Collection
Forces on particles are gravitational,
inertial and aerodynamic forces
Migration velocity is the velocity where
electric and viscous drag forces are equal

Particle Removal
The collected particles are to be removed
by washing or rapping
The ash particles fall into a hopper with
some re-entrainment of ash
So, small portions are to be rapped in one
time

Electrostatic Precipitators

Components of ESP
Mechanical System

Electrical & Electronic Sy

Casing

Transformer

Hoppers

Rectifiers

Gas Disribution Sysrem

Insulators

Collecting and Emitting

system

Heaters

Rapping system

Auxiliary Control panel

Electronic Controller

Rapping frequency controlle

Casing
An all welded steel structure assembled
from pre-fabricated wall and roof-panels
designed for horizontal gas flow
Gas pressure and temperature and the
wind load will cause the casing structure
to flex
The electrodes must remain perfectly
alligned during operation

Hoppers
Pyramidal type
The valley angle of the hoppers (angle
between hopper corner and horizontal) be
more than 55 degrees for easy flow of dust
Lower portions of the hoppers are provided
with electrical heaters with thermostatic
control
Provided with gas baffles

Gas Distribution Screen

Located at the inlet of
precipitator
To distribute gases uniformly
over the cross sectional area
Modular design and hang
within a framework in the
precipitator casing inlet
Gas velocity is reduced
approx 1/10th of the velocity in
the ducing before the
precipitator

Electrodes
Collecting electrodes are made of steel plates
and shaped in one piece
Upper edge of the plates is provided with hooks
which are hung from support angles welded to
the roof structure
The lower edge of each plate has a shock
receiving plate
Emitting electrodes are wire type, best suited fo
difficult dusts with high electric resistivity

Rapping Mechanism Collecting

Electrodes
Each collecting plate has a shock
receiving plate at its lower end

Tumbling hammers are mounted

on a in a staggered fashion, with
one hammer for each shock bar
horizontal shaft

Shaft rotates slowly, hammers in turn over

balances, hitting associated shock bars

Rapping frequency must be low enough to

avoid dust losses from rapping

Rapping System-emitting
Electrodes
Dust is also accumulated on emitting electrodes
and the corona will gradually be suppressed as
the dust layer grows
Tumbling hammers are mounted on a horizontal
shaft in a staggered fashion
One rapping mechanism is provided per
electrical section
The gear motor is controlled by a programme
relay, adjusted to optimum conditions during
commissioning

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Mainly with High voltage transformer rectifier (HVR)
with electronic controller (EC).
The transformer -rectifier supplies the power for
particulate charging and collection.
The basic function of the EC is to feed the
precipitator with maximum power input under
constant current regulation.
Should there be any flash over between collecting
and emitting electrodes, the EC will sense the flash
over and quickly react by bringing the input voltage
to zero and blocking it for a specific period.

Auxiliary Control Panel

The ACP houses the power and control circuits required for
rapping motors and heating elements of the precipitator.
The complete ACP is of modular type withindividual
modules for each feeder.
Each module houses the power and control circuits with
meters, push buttons, switches and indicating lamps
The modules for the outgoing feeders are
Hopper heaters for each field.

Support insulator heaters

Shaft insulator heaters
Collecting electrode rapping motor for each field.

After the ionized gases are cleared and the

dielectric strength restored, the control will quickly
bring back the power to a preset value and raise it
to the original non sparking level.
Regulated AC power from EC is fed to the primary
of the transformer which is stepped up and rectified
to give a full wave power output.
The transformer -rectifier is mounted on roof
of the precipitator while the EC is located in an
airitioned control room.

Design data (500 MW unit)

Gas flow rate

750.1 Cu.m/sec

Temperature

123 C

Dust Concentration
74.51gms/Nm

No. of gas path per boiler

No. of fields in each path
Collection efficiency
Velocity of gas
Treatment time

Four
Six
99.87%
0.893 m/sec
25.2 secs

Collecting electrodes
No.of rows per field
57
No. per fields
342
Total no. of collecting plates per boiler 8208
Nominal ht. of each plate
12.5 m
Nominal length of each plate
750
mm
Specific collecting area
167.96
sq.m/cu.m/sec

Emitting electrode
Type
Spiral with hook
Size
Dia. 2.7 mm
No. of electrodes in one row
324
No. of electrodes in one field
3024
Total no. of electrodes per boiler 72576
Plate / wire spacing
150 mm

Rappers for Collecting electrodes

No. and type of rappers One drop hammer per
row of collecting electrode
Rapper size 4.9 Kgs.
Frequency of rap
varying from 15 raps / hour
at the inlet field to 2 raps/hour at the exit
field.The frequency of rap can be adjusted
between 10 and 2 per hour
according to
requirement
Drive
Geared electric motor controlled by
microprocessor based management system
Location On the side panel of casing

Rappers for emitting electrodes

No. and type of rappers
One drop
hammer for two rows of
electrodeselectrode
Rapper size
3.0 Kgs.
Frequency of rap
10 raps per hour
Drive
Geared
electric
motor controlled by
microprocessor based
management system
on
top of ESP

Hoppers
Type
Pyramidal
Nos.
72
Capacity
8 hours storage
Heating Electrical heaters provided for the
bottom of hoppers

Gas distribution system

Type and Quant.
Location

Perforated
plate, 2 sets
Inlet and outlet of ESP

Rectifiers
Rating
70 KV peak
No.
48
Type
Silicon diodes full wave
bridge connection
Mounted on the top

Rectifier control panel

Type of control
No.
Location
at ground floor

Thyristor
48
in the control room

Auxilliary control panel

No.
Four
Eqpt. Controlled
Geared motors of
rapping mechanisms of collecting and
emitting electrodes, heating elements on
hopper insulator housing

Motors for emitting electrodes

Quantity
48 Nos.
Rating
Geared motor;
0.33 HP/ 2.5 rpm at 3 phase, 415 V 50 Hz.
Location
on the top of ESP

Rapping of collecting electrodes

Quantity
24 Nos.
Rating
Geared motor;
0.5HP/ 1.1 rpm at 3 phase, 415 V 50 Hz.
Location
on the side panels
of the casing

Field Currents
Fields
Current
in Ma

250 350 500 650 800 900

Advantages of using ESP

Versatility
Effective performance on a wide range
of industrial processes.
Emissions
Electrostatic Precipitators can achieve
emission levels as low as ImglNm3.
Low Overall Energy Requirement
Significantly lower than alternative
methods of dust control.

Pressure Loss
Resistance negligible, rarely more than
25 mm w.g. Fan power costs are
therefore low.
Adaptability
Tolerates considerable fluctuations in
operating conditions.
Effect on Dust
Normally the dust is recovered in its
original state.

Maintenance
Internal items: maintenance at normal
plant shut- down usually suffices.
External items: regular but not frequent.
Durability
Robust construction gives longer life
under arduous conditions.
Abrasion effects are insignificant due to
low operating velocities.
Labour
Minimum operator supervision required.

Operation
Switch on electric heaters 24 hrs. prior to ESP
charging
Switch on rapping motors just before boiler light
up
The ESP should not be energized unless flue
gas temperature exceeds the dew point
temperature
During oil firing ESP can be charged with 50mA
field currents in all fields
If flashover occurs, reduce the voltage level

LOCATION OF ESP

ECO

APH

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ESP
Collector plate
Emitter coil

Flue gas

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plate

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1.Electron emission
1

ESP PROCESS
Dust layer
STEPS
2.Dust particle charging

Collecting
electrode,
grounded

2
3
3.Migration

5.Rapping
5

4
4.dust collection

Discharge electrode with

Negative high tension (20-60kV)
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EMITTING SYSTEM

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EMMITING ELECTRODE STRUCTURE

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FIXING ARRANGEMENT OF EMITTING

ELECTRODE

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EMITTING RAPPING MECHANISM

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Rapping Motor &

Mechanism

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COLLECTING PLATE ASSEMBLY

ARRANGEMENT

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Rapping
Mechanism

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Collecting
electrodes
Emitting
electrodes

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Rapping
Mechanism

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Rectifier
Transformer

Rapping
Motors

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ESP HOPPER

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Working Principle
Emitting
electrode

collecting
electrode

Weakest field
Weakest field

Strongest field

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Voltage in
KV

SPARK

Time in
msec

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THANK YOU

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