Scrubber pressure drop

Type of scrubber Pressure drop, Pa Minimum collectible particle dia, )JmC ... 

Used for further scrubbing after the venturi scrubber. Pressure drop is more than... 

High N2 in refinery effluent Scrubber pressure drop Dirty amine... 

A considerable reduction in particle size separation can be achieved at the expense of increased pressure drop using a Venturi scrubber (see Fig. 11.2c). 

Pressure drop in a venturi scrubber is controlled by throat velocity. While some venturis have fixed throats, marw are designed with variable louvers to change throat dimensions and control performance for changes in gas flow. Pressure-drop equations have been developed by Calvert (R-13, R-14, R-15), Boll [Ind Eng Chem Fundam, 12, 40 (1973)], and Hesketh [J. Air Pollut Control Assoc, 24, 939 (1974)]. Hollands and Goel [Ind Eng Chem Fundam, 14, 16 (1975)] have developed a generalized pressure-drop equation. 

All venturi scrubbers must be followed by an entrainment collector for the liquid spray. These collectors are usually centrifugal and will have an additional pressure drop of several centimeters of water, which must be added to that of the venturi itself. 

Subsequently, Calvert (R-19, p. 228) has combined mathematical modehng with performance tests on a variety of industrial scrubbers and has obtained a refinement of the power-input/cut-size relationship as shown in Fig. 14-130. He considers these relationships sufficiently reliable to use this data as a tool for selection of scrubber type and performance prediction. The power input for this figure is based solely on gas pressure drop across the device. 

Gas pressure drop, cm of water across wet scrubber collection device... 

Current designs for venturi scrubbers generally use the vertical downflow of gas through the venturi contactor and incorporate three features (I) a wet-approach or flooded-waU entry sec tion, to avoid dust buildup at a wet-dry pmction (2) an adjustable throat for the venturi (or orifice), to provide for adjustment of the pressure drop and (3) a flooded elbow located below the venturi and ahead of the entrainment separator, to reduce wear by abrasive particles. The venturi throat is sometimes fitted with a refractoiy fining to resist abrasion by dust particles. The entrainment separator is commonly, but not invariably, of the cyclone type. An example of the standard form of venturi scrubber is shown in Fig. 17-48. The wet-approach entiy section has made practical the recirculation of slurries. Various forms of adjustable throats, which may be under manual or automatic control. 

Lucas and Porter (U.S. Patent 3,370,401, 1967) developed a fiber-bed scrubber in which the gas and scrubbing liquid flow vertically upward through a fiber bed (Fig. 17-55). The beds tested were composed of knitted structures made from fibers with diameters ranging From 89 to 406 [Lm. Lucas and Porter reported that the fiber-bed scrubber gave substantially higher efficiencies than did venturi-type scrubbers tested with the same dust at the same gas pressure drop. In similar experiments, Semrau (Semrau and Lunn, op. cit.) also found that a fiber-bed contactor made with random-packed steel-wool fibers gave higher efficiencies than an orifice contactor. However, there... 

In Venturi scrubbers the gas is the motive fluid. This equipment is of simple design and is able to handle slurries and large volumes of gas, but the gas pressure drop may be high. When the reaction is slow, further holdup in a spray chamber is necessary. 

Preconditioning for Particulates Heavy particulate loading of the inlet gas with dust, grease, oils, or other aerosols can be very dam-aging to the pore structure of the filter bed, resulting in an eventual pressure-drop increase. Oils and heavy metals that are deposited on the filter bed can be poisonous to the microorganisms that live within the biofilm. Particulate APC equipment such as fabric filters and venturi scrubbers are generally adequate for this level of particulate removal. 

Increasing either the gas velocity or the liquid droplet velocity in a scrubber will increase the efficiency because of the greater number of collisions per unit time. The ultimate scrubber in this respect is the venturi scrubber, which operates at extremely high gas and liquid velocities with a very high pressure drop across the venturi throat. Figure 29-8 illustrates a commercial venturi scrubber unit... 

Wet scrubbers rely on a liquid spray to remove dust particles from a gas stream. They are primarily used to remove gaseous emissions, with particulate control a secondary function. The major types are venturi scrubbers, jet (fume) scrubbers, and spray towers or chambers. Venturi scrubbers consume large quantities of scrubbing liquid (such as water) and electric power and incur high pressure drops. Jet or fume scrubbers rely on the kinetic energy of the liquid stream. The typical removal efficiency of a jet or fume scrubber (for particles 10 g. or less) is lower than that of a venturi scrubber. Spray towers can handle larger gas flows with minimal pressure drop and are therefore often used as precoolers. Because wet scrubbers may contribute to corrosion, removal of water from the effluent gas of the scrubbers may be necessary. 

The power consumed to operate a wet electrostatic precipitator is much less than that required by most other methods of control. There are four areas in which power is consumed (1) electrostatic power, (2) fan power, (3) insulator heating power, and (4) pump power. The total electrostatic power input required for operation is 0.8 to 1.0 kW/1,000 ft of collection area. A comparable piece of equipment is a venturi scrubber with 50-in.wg pressure drop. The power required for this installation would be 6 to 7 kW/1,000 cfm. This would mean that approximately seven times the power would be needed to achieve the same amount of cleaning with a venturi scrubber as opposed to using a precipitator. 

Sauter mean diameter The average ratio of the volume to the surface area used in the determination of the pressure drop in a scrubber. 

Slot venturi A device used to adjust the pressure drop in a scrubber. 

There are economic and operational reasons for considering an additional stage of compression. The addition of a stage of compression requires an additional scrubber, additional cylinder or case, and more complex piping and controls. In addition, there are some horsepower losses due to additional mechanical friction of the cylinder or rotating element and the increased pressure drop in the piping. This horsepower loss and additional equipment cost may be more than offset by the increased efficiency of compression. 

A pipe that releases gas to disperse into the atmosphere is called a vent. If the gas is burned at the tip, it is called a flare. In its simplest form, a vent or flare tip is a pipe. Sometimes the pipe diameter is reduced for the last 5 ft or so to increase exit velocity for better mixing with the air. The operating pressure of the vent scrubber can be adjusted by reducing the tip diameter to increase pressure drop across the tip. Fluidic seal., also give increased pressure drop and can be used to reduce the infusion... 

When the relieving scenarios are defined, assume line sizes, and calculate pressure drop from the vent tip back to each relief valve to assure that the back-pressure is less than or equal to allowable for each scenario. The velocities in the relief piping should be limited to 500 ft/sec, on the high pressure system and 200 ft/sec on the low pressure system. Avoid sonic flow in the relief header because small calculation errors can lead to large pressure drop errors. Velocity at the vent or flare outlet should be between 500 ft/sec and MACH 1 to ensure good dispersion. Sonic velocity is acceptable at the vent tip and may be chosen to impose back-pressure on (he vent scrubber. 

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