Inertial impaction, particle size

Inertial impaction involves the removal of contaminants smaller than the pore size. Particles are impacted on the filter through inertia. In practice, because the differential densities of the particles and the fluids are very small, inertial impaction plays a relatively small role in Hquid filtration, but can play a major role in gas filtration. 

Scmbbers make use of a combination of the particulate coUection mechanisms Hsted in Table 5. It is difficult to classify scmbbers predominantly by any one mechanism but for some systems, inertial impaction and direct interception predominate. Semrau (153,262,268) proposed a contacting power principle for correlation of dust-scmbber efficiency the efficiency of coUection is proportional to power expended and more energy is required to capture finer particles. This principle is appHcable only when inertial impaction and direct interception are the mechanisms employed. Eurthermore, the correlation is not general because different parameters are obtained for differing emissions coUected by different devices. However, in many wet scmbber situations for constant particle-size distribution, Semrau s power law principle, roughly appHes ... 

FIG. 14-130 Calve rt s refined particle ciit-size/power relationship for particle inertial impaction wet collectors. Ref. (R-19) by permission. 

The collection technique involves the removal of particles from the air stream. The two principal methods are filtration and impaction. Filtrahon consists of collecting particles on a filter surface by three processes—direct interception, inertial impaction, and diffusion (5). Filtration attempts to remove a very high percentage of the mass and number of particles by these three processes. Any size classification is done by a preclassifier, such as an impactor, before the particle stream reaches the surface of the filter. 

Direct interception occurs when the fluid streamline carrying the particle passes within one-half of a particle diameter of the filter element. Regardless of the particle s size, mass, or inertia, it will be collected if the streamline passes sufficiently close. Inertial impaction occurs when the particle would miss the filter element if it followed the streamline, but its inertia resists the change in direction taken by the gas molecules and it continues in a... 

PM Impingement-plate tower collection efficiencies range from 50 to 99 percent, depending upon the application. This type of scrubber relies almost exclusively on inertial impaction for PM collection. Therefore, collection efficiency decreases as particle size decreases. Short residence times will also lower scrubber efficiency for small particles. Collection efficiencies for small particles (< 1 fim in aerodynamic diameter) are low for these scrubbers hence, they are not recommended for fine PM control. 

The retention efficiency of membranes is dependent on particle size and concentration, pore size and length, porosity, and flow rate. Large particles that are smaller than the pore size have sufficient inertial mass to be captured by inertial impaction. In liquids the same mechanisms are at work. Increased velocity, however, diminishes the effects of inertial impaction and diffusion. With interception being the primary retention mechanism, conditions are more favorable for fractionating particles in liquid suspension. 

The principle of inertial impaction is employed to sample aerosols aerodynamically for characterization of particle size and will be dealt with theoretically later in this chapter. 

Inertial impaction is the method of choice for evaluating particle or droplet size delivery from pharmaceutical aerosol systems. This method lends itself readily to theoretical analysis, ft has been evaluated in general terms [39] and for specific impactors [40]. Inertial impaction employs Stokes law to determine aerodynamic diameter of particles being evaluated. This has the advantage of incorporating shape and density effects into a single term. 

Methods for analysis of the particle size distribution in the aerosol cloud include techniques such as time of flight measurement (TOE), inertial impaction and laser diffraction. Dynamic light scattering (photon correlation spectroscopy) is confined to particles (in suspension) in the submicron range. In addition to the size distribution, the particle velocity distribution can be measured with the Phase Doppler technique. 

It is dispersed by wind and removed by gravitational settling (sedimentation), dry deposition (inertial impaction characterized by a deposition velocity), washout by rain (attachment to droplets within clouds), and rainout (scrubbing action below clouds) (Schroeder et al. 1987). The removal rate and distance traveled from the source depends on source characteristics (e.g., stack height), particle size and density, and meteorological conditions. 

Collection of particles is based on filtration, gravitational and centrifugal sedimentation, inertial impaction and impingement, diffusion, interception, or electrostatic or thermal precipitation (e.g., see Spurny, 1986, Chapter 3). The choice of method depends on a number of parameters such as the composition and size of the particles, the purpose of the sample, and acceptable sampling rates. Table 11.10 summarizes some of the commonly used methods and the size ranges over which they are effective. 

Interception The inertial impaction model assumed particles had mass, and hence inertia, but no size. An interception mechanism is considered where the particle has size, but no mass, and so they can follow the streamlines of the air around the collector. If a streamline which they are following passes close enough to the surface of the fiber, the particles will contact the fiber and be removed (Figure 8.4). The interception efficiency depends on the ratio of the particle diameter to the cylindrical collector diameter (k= dp/Dc) ... 

Impaction is caused by the inertial mass of the traveling aerosol particles that forces them to move in a straight-line direction even when the flow of the inhaled air transporting them is bent around a curvature. Hence the particles tend to deposit on obstacles placed in the path of their travel. The inertial mass depends on particle size, density, and velocity. The stopping distance S of a particle having mass mP and initial velocity v0iP is defined according to... 

Filtration is a physical separation whereby particles are removed from the fluid and retained by the filters. Three basic collection mechanisms involving fibers are inertial impaction, interception, and diffusion. In collection by inertial impaction, the particles with large inertia deviate from the gas streamlines around the fiber collector and collide with the fiber collector. In collection by interception, the particles with small inertia nearly follow the streamline around the fiber collector and are partially or completely immersed in the boundary layer region. Subsequently, the particle velocity decreases and the particles graze the barrier and stop on the surface of the collector. Collection by diffusion is very important for fine particles. In this collection mechanism, particles with a zig-zag Brownian motion in the immediate vicinity of the collector are collected on the surface of the collector. The efficiency of collection by diffusion increases with decreasing size of particles and suspension flow rate. There are also several other collection mechanisms such as gravitational sedimentation, induced electrostatic precipitation, and van der Waals deposition their contributions in filtration may also be important in some processes. 

Related Calculations. In situations where the particles are so small that their size approaches the length of the mean free path of the fluid molecules, the fluid can no longer be regarded as a continuum that is, the particles can fall between the molecules. That problem can be offset by applying a factor, the Cunningham correction factor, to the calculation of the inertial-impact-number expression in step 2. 

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