Fabric filters filter efficiency

Typical new equipment design efficiencies are between 99 and 99.9%. Older existing equipment have a range of actual operating efficiencies of 95 to 99.9%. Several factors determine fabric filter collection efficiency. These include gas filtration velocity, particle characteristics, fabric characteristics, and cleaning mechanism. In general, collection efficiency increases with increasing filtration velocity and particle size. 

Because of their inherently high efficiency on dusts in all particle-size ranges, fabric filters have been used for collection of fine dusts and fumes for over 100 years. The greatest limitation on filter application has been imposed by the temperature limits of available fabric materials. The upper limit for natural fibers is about 90°C (200°F). The major new developments in filter technology that have been made since 1945 have followed the development of fabrics made from glass and synthetic fibers, which has extended the temperature limits to about 230 to 260°C (450 to 500°F). The capabihties of available fibers to resist high temperatures are still among the most severe limitations on the possible applications of fabric filters. 

Collection Efficiency The inherent collection efficiency of fabric filters is usually so high that, for practical purposes, the precise... 

Fabric filters are limited by physical size and bag-life considerations. Some sacrifices in efficiency might be tolerated if higher air-cloth ratios could be achieved without reducing bag life (improved pulse-jet systems). Improvements in fabric filtration may also be possible by enhancing electrostatic effects that may contribute to rapid formation of a filter cake after cleaning. 

Small solid particles, present in dust and grit emissions, have very low settling velocities (Table 4.4) The collection efficiencies of simple cyclones are tlierefore, as shown in Figure 17.3, relatively low. Fabric filters, electrostatic precipitators or wet scrubbers may be required to remove particles <5 pm in size with an acceptable efficiency. Therefore the cost of pollution control inevitably increases when dealing with particle size distributions skewed towards the lower end. 

Fossil-fuel and wood-waste fired industrial and commercial fuel combustion units commonly use multiple cyclones (generally upstream of a wet scrubber, ESP, or fabric filter) which collect fine PM (< 2.5 im) with greater efficiency than a single cyclone. In some cases, collected fly ash is reinjected into the combustion unit to improve PM control efficiency (AWMA, 1992 Avallone, 1996 STAPPA/ALAPCO, 1996 EPA, 1998). 

For a given combination of filter design and dust, the effluent particle concentration from a fabric filter is nearly constant, whereas the overall efficiency is more likely to vary with particulate loading. For this reason, fabric filters can be considered to be constant outlet devices rather than constant efficiency devices. Constant effluent concentration is achieved because at any given time, part of the fabric filter is being... 

Semidry Scrubbers The advantage of semidry scrubbers is in that they remove contaminants by way of a solid waste that is easier to dispose of (less expensive). Initially, the scrubbing medium is wet (such as a lime or soda ash slurry). Then a spray dryer is used to atomize the slurry into the gas which evaporates the water in the droplets. As this takes place, the acid in the gas neutralizes the alkali material and forms a fine white solid. Most of the white solids are removed at the bottom of the scrubber while some are carried into the gas stream and have to be removed by a filter or electrostatic precipitator (discussed later). Although semidry systems cost 5-15% more than wet systems, when combined with a fabric filter, they can achieve 90-95% efficiencies. Dry scrubbers are sometimes used in a very similar fashion, but without the help of gas-liquid-solid mass transfer, these systems use much higher amounts of the solid alkali materials. 

The ability of the gas stream to permeate the filter is also affected by the shrinking and elongation of the fabric. Elongation of the fibers results in increased pore space, and conversely shrinkage decreases the pore volume. Fabrics of good dimensional qualities are essential to fabric life and efficiency. 

Fabric filters can be more costly to operate and maintain than electrostatic precipitators, cyclones, and scrubbers however, fabric filters are more practicable for filtration of specific dusts. For example fabric systems are the typical control method for toxic dusts from insecticide manufacturing processes, salt fumes from heat treating, metallic fumes from metallurgical processes, and other applications. Any other control method may not be as efficient, nor economically feasible for such applications. 

A major market which has developed for fabric fillers is for the control ot flue-gas fly ash in the utility industry. This market is primarily at the expen.se of electrostatic precipitators. Fabric filters have the inherent advantage of operating at a high level of collection efficiency tor a wide range of dust and gas conditions. 

Dust cake The dust layer that builds up on a fabric filter, initially improving its collection efficiency. 

One of the oldest, simplest, and most efficient methods for removing solid particulate contaminants from gas streams is by filtration through fabric media. The fabric filter is capable of providing high collection efficiencies for particles as small as 0.5 pm and will remove a substantial quantity of particles as small as 0.01 pm. In its simplest form, the industrial fabric filter consists of a woven or felted fabric through which dust-laden gases are forced. A combination of factors results in the collection of particles on the fabric filters. When woven fabrics arc used, a dust cake eventually forms. This, in turn, acts predominantly as a sieving mechanism. When felted fabrics are used, the dust cake is minimal or nonc.xistent. 

Fabric filters (baghouscs) represent a second accepted method for separating particles from a flue gas stream. In a baghouse, the dusty gas flows into and through a number of filter bags, and the particles are retained on the fabric. Different types are available to collect various kinds of dust with high efficiency. 

Fabric-filter systems, commonly called bag-filter or bag-house systems, are dust-collection systems in which dustladen air is passed through a bag-type filter. The bag collects the dust in layers on its surface and the dust layer itself effectively becomes the filter medium. Because the bag s pores are usually much larger than those of the dust-particle layer that forms, the initial efficiency is very low. However, it improves once an adequate dust-layer forms. Therefore, the potential for dust penetration of the filter media is extremely low except during the initial period after startup, bag change, or during the fabric-cleaning, or blow-down, cycle. 

Under controlled conditions (e.g., in the laboratory), the inherent collection efficiency of fabric filters approaches 100 per cent. In actual operation, it is determined by several variables, in particular the properties of the dust to be removed, choice of filter fabric, gas velocity, method of cleaning, and cleaning cycle. Inefficiency usually results from bags that are poorly installed, torn, or stretched from excessive dust loading and excessive pressure drop. 

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