Ventilation system

Ventilation system
This chapter will describe the dust collection, the airflows and the equipment venting. The three greatest gas flows that need to be dedusted in a wet process plant are: -Kiln e it gas -!ooler e haust gas -!ement mill e haust gas "maller amounts of gas need to be dedusted, while transporting or stoc#ing fine solid materials. The first part of the chapter will present several often-used dust collection systems as: -$lectrostatic precipitator -%abric type precipitator -&ravelbed filters -!yclones The second part will discuss the best application of these systems and define a method to find the optimal dedusting system for each of the above named gas flows.

Electrostatic precipitator
Basics
The separation of suspended particles from a gas by electrostatic precipitation requires three fundamental steps: -The electrical charging of the suspended particles -The collection of the charged particles in an electric field -The removal of the precipitated material from the collecting electrodes to a receiving hopper e ternal to the precipitator. %igure 1 visuali'es the negative corona as it occurs in a precipitator. The corona may consist of to 'ones. The first 'one is the active or glow region around each discharge electrode in which electrical brea#down of the gases occurs and ioni'ation ta#es place.
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The second 'one is the region between glow and the collector electrode, which contains a dense cloud of gaseous ions of the same polarity of the discharge electrodes, moving rapidly towards the collector electrodes under the influence of the electric field.

Figure 1: Different zones of the corona discharge

The establishment of the corona is dependent on the electric field distribution in the interelectrode space being non-uniform. This non-uniformity mainly depends on the dimensional differences of the electrodes. *f there is no difference in the radii of the electrode surface +e.g. two plates,, the electric field will be uniform and therefore no corona will e ist in this field. The corona is defined by the application of a voltage of sufficient magnitude that results in electrical brea#down of the gas close to the discharge wires due to the high field
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strength in this region +very small surface radii,. . further increase in the voltage applied to the electrodes will lead to a complete brea#down of the gas with consequent spar#over, which if allowed to persist for any length of time will effectively short circuit the electrodes and interrupt precipitation. %igure ) illustrates the particle charging and collection. .s previously stated, the interelectrode space contains a dense cloud of rapidly moving gaseous ions. The charging of the dust particles ta#es place within /./1 seconds and is attributed to a small proportion of ioni'ed gas molecules coming into collision with the particles and attaching themselves. The dust particles dust particles acquire a charge and are propelled towards the collector electrodes, to which they adhere and give up their charges.

Figure 2: Charging and precipitation of the particles.

The #ey parameter influencing the precipitation is the dust resistance. This may be defined as the resistance of a one-centimeter cube of dust, when a potential is applied uniformly over opposite faces of the cube.

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1ust with resistivities lower than 1/2 ohm-cm or higher 1/11 are difficult to precipitate. The resistivity depends mainly on two fairly independent conduction mechanism. 3ne is the volume conduction, which increases towards higher temperatures +for non-conductive materials,4 the other is the surface conduction. The surface conduction can be easily altered by condensation, it therefore increases with decreasing temperature and depends strongly on the dew point of the gaseous compounds. %igure - illustrates the resistivity of dust from a wet #iln as a function of the temperature and the dew point temperature.

Figure 3:

iln dust resisti!ities in a "et process.

*t is very common to condition the gas, if the dust resistivity is too high. . special chamber, tower or system in which the cooling and humidifying process can be carried out must be employed. *t is essential that the water must be fully evaporated before the gases leave the tower in order to avoid the formation of slurry in the bottom. The main factors influencing the evaporation are the droplet si'e and the contact time. The smaller

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the droplets the faster the evaporation and the lower the needed contact time between the gas and the droplets. 6ormally #iln gases of a wet process, especially if no dryer is used, don7t need to be conditioned. Their dew point may be between 25 and 85 degree !elsius and their temperature around )//. %igure 0 illustrates some resistances of cooler waste air dusts. .s one might see some of the cooler e haust gases don7t need conditioning while others do. 9owever the conditioning of the cooler waste air is not a big deal, in:ecting water near the cooler outlet can do it.

Figure #: Electric resistance of clin$er cooler dust.

The conditioning of cement mill gases is also fairly simple4 it can be done by in:ecting properly water into the mill, which is often already done in order to decrease the temperatures. %igure 5 illustrates the resistance of cement mill dust.

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Figure %: Electric resistance of cement mill dust.

.lthough the conditioning itself is easy the control of this system is difficult, as condensation of the vapor in tubes or machinery has negative consequences, specially when dealing with cement dust.

E&uations
.ccording to 1eutsch, the efficiency of a precipitator is given by:

=1 F
where

F =e
for a tube precipitator, or

)WL VR

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F =e
for a plate precipitator, or

WL VR

F =e
for both types. 6otation: % ; relative dust loss

WA Q

< ; effective migration velocity = ; total length of the collecting electrodes in the direction of the gas flow V ; gas velocity through the precipitator ( ; distance between the discharge and collecting electrodes . ; total collecting area of the collecting electrodes > ; treated gas quantity per unit time <e see that the efficiency, which is defined as the share of the dust collected to the dust entering, increases with a higher effective migration velocity in a higher total area of collecting electrodes, it decreases with increasing gas flow. The effective migration velocity, is the velocity component of the dust particles perpendicular to the collector plates. The dependencies can be illustrated by the following formula:
W = PE c E p a 2

"o that the velocity increases with a constant depending on dust conductivity +1.5 to ),, the charging field strength, the precipitating field strength and the particle radius. *t decreases mainly with the gas viscosity. The suggested migration velocities for wet process #iln dust range between ? over 11 to 1- cm@s. 9owever note that these formulas may indicate dependencies, but are not appropriate for design porpoises. Aost designing companies have gathered enough e perience to ma#e reliable calculation on base of this e perience.
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Ventilation system %igure 2 illustrates the dependency of the efficiency of the electrode voltage

Figure ': Variation of collection efficiency "ith a!erage electrode !oltage.

Design features
<e might differ one-stage and two-stage precipitators. *n difference to the more common one-stage precipitator where the charging and precipitating occurs in one stage, the charging in a two-stage separator occurs separately before entering the precipitating stage. 9owever two-stage precipitators didn7t gather a lot of importance in the cement industry and therefore won7t be mention again. Cesides the electrodes one of the most important features is the power unit and the way of regulating the voltage of the precipitator. <hen a gradually increasing voltage is applied to an electrode system, little current will initially be drawn until the voltage is of sufficient magnitude to result in the brea#down of the gas close to the discharge electrodes, the corona effect. %urther increases in the applied voltage will result in large increases in current until the voltage is high enough to cause a complete brea#down of the gas. The consequent spar#over will, if allowed to persist for any length of time, effectively short-circuit the precipitator and interrupt precipitation. *t is desirable to operate with some but not e cessive spar#ing. "par#-over generally occurs over a wide pea# voltage range, starting with a spar# every minute and increasing to 1//7s or even 1///7s of spar#s per minute for higher voltages as seen in figure 8.
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Figure (: E)ponential !ariation of spar$*rate "ith pea$ electrode !oltage

9owever the pea# voltage is not a parameter which is easily measured. 3f far greater significance is the average value, on which the charging and precipitating field strengths depend. . direct relationship e ists between spar#-rate and the average electrode voltage. <ith no spar#ing the voltage increases with power input, but with the onset of spar#ing some power is lost in spar#s. .s the spar# rate increases, more and more power is lost in spar#s and less is used in corona. The electrode voltage rises to a ma imum and then falls of as the spar#ing losses gain importance over the increased power input. *n practice it would appear that the ma imum value corresponds to a spar# rate of the order of 1//7s per minute and for the precipitator to operate at ma imum efficiency the voltage applied to the electrodes must be sufficient to maintain this rate of spar#ing. Variations in the geometry of the electrodes towards each other, as well as variations of the gas and dust composition may influence this optimal spar#-over rate. There are two traditional types of automatic control to maintain the system at ma imum efficiency. The first ma#es use of the average voltage@spar# rate relationship and see#s to maintain the voltage at the optimum +figure B,.

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1/

Figure +: ,!erage electrode !oltage "ith spar$ rate

The second type ma#es use of the input power@average voltage relationship by comparing the changes in the voltages applied to the primary of the 9. T. transformer with the corresponding changes in the electrode voltage +figure ?,. The input voltage is increased in discreet steps until the electrode voltage4 having risen to a ma imum value begins to fall. The input voltage is than reduced by a determined amount and the stepped increase is repeated.

Figure -: Variation of .. /. transformer primary !oltage "ith a!erage electrode !oltage and electrode current. (iess !onsulting

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To create a spar#-over a high voltage has to be applied over a certain period of time. *f the voltage is applied for a shorter period of time no spar#-over will be obtained, so that the negative effects of the spar#-over, mostly consisting in the energy-loss that it represents, are eliminated. Theoretically higher voltage increases the field strengths, creates a higher number and density of ions, enlarges the migration velocity and has positive effects on the efficiency. %igure 1/ illustrates a sample voltage waveform, as used by %. =. "midth. The impulse length can be varied between 5/-)// s-2, the repetition frequency ranges from )5 to 0// pulses per second.

Figure 10: Voltage "a!eform for the F.1.2midth pulse energization system.

%.=. "midth claims to gain a good control, because of the possibility to vary two parameters, pulse length and frequency. %igure 11 illustrates the ideali'ed waveforms of precipitator voltage and current.

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1)

Figure 11: 3dealized "a!eforms of precipitator !oltage and current

=urgi also e perimented with pulse energi'er. The pulse length was between 1// and -// s-2 and the frequency ranged from 1/ to 5//9'. %igure 1) compares the migration velocities achieved in an $D downstream of a cement mill with a conventional system +line, and with the pulse energi'ation +dots,.

Figure 12: Comparison of the migration !elocities for pulse energization "ith con!entional po"er supply at an E4 do"nstream of cement mill

*n this case the pulse energi'ation doesn7t seem to have a positive effect at all. 9owever it seems that the effect of pulsing might depend on the gas flow that needs to be dedusted. %igure 1- illustrates a similar comparison to the above listed, with the difference that the $D is positioned downstream of a preheater #iln.
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1-

Figure 12,: Comparison of the migration !elocities for pulse energization "ith con!entional po"er supply at an E4 do"nstream of preheater $iln

*t seems that the pulse energi'ation has in this case a negative effect, as the migration velocities are mostly lower with this new system. .lthough there have been systems that were improved by pulsing, it seems that the ma:ority didn7t improve, as pulse energi'ation disappeared as fast from the mar#et as it appeared. *n a practical precipitator, the spar#-over voltage may be several #ilowatts lower than in the ideal case and although this reduction may appear relatively small4 the effect on the overall efficiency of a precipitator is very great. This is the result of inaccuracies in construction and design, which cause defects such as uneven spacing of the discharge electrodes, vibration of the discharge electrodes, sharp corners on points on the collector electrodes, e cessive dust build up in some areas, uneven gas flows and electrode warping. .ny of these, as well as other factors, can cause the spar#-over voltage to be locally reduced. *t may be stated that the efficiency of a given precipitator will always increase as the number of separately energi'ed sections rises. The number of separate sections is therefore an important quality parameter. 9owever note that the mounting and maintaining of the electrodes has a great influence on the $D7s efficiency. %igure 1- s#etches some simple types of discharge electrodes, all of which provide sharp edges +small surface radii, in order to promote the formation of the corona.

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10

Figure 13: 2imple discharge electrodes

The tensioning of these thin wire electrodes, is usually achieved either by their inherent springiness, or by hanging heavy weights on their ends, but since such electrodes are susceptible to brea#age, some designs incorporate mounting arrangements, such as frames +figure 10,, to enable the electrodes to be supported.

Figure 1#: Discharge frame "ith tensioning e&uipment (iess !onsulting

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15

3f great importance, with thin wire electrodes, is the need to ensure that the electrode does not pass the ends of the collector electrode, either at the top or the bottom, because spar#ing tends to concentrate at these points leading to spar# erosion and rapid failure of the discharge electrodes. %igure 15 illustrates an unbrea#able discharge electrode.

Figure 1%: Ele) discharge electrodes

%igure 12 visuali'es a typical arrangement of this type of electrodes.

Figure 1': ,rrangement of Ele) electrodes (iess !onsulting

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12

%igure 18 visuali'es the current density distribution between the discharge electrode and various different collecting electrodes.

Figure 1(: Current density distri5ution

The ET electrode is illustrated separately in figure 1B, as this type is the one, which best matches the ideal case.

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18

Figure 1+: 6/ collector electrode

This type of electrode was developed parallel to the increase of the duct spacing ta#en place at the end of the 8/7s. *t was found that a higher duct spacing does not have negative effects on the efficiency if the current input per volume rate of gas is maintained constant, e.g. doubling the duct spacing and mean while the precipitator voltage. <hile traditional ducts spacing ranged between )// and -// mm, modern duct spacing ranges between 0// and 2// mm, or even over B// in some cases in Fapan. Cy increasing the duct spacing the cost of construction and maintenance will be lowered, but the cost for the electrical power unit rise. Therefore it doesn7t seem economically reasonable to use large spacing with small $D units. 9owever the large spacing might even lead to a higher performance, as misalignments have less effects on the efficiency. The most common types of cleaning features installed are hammers and vibrators such as: -"pring loaded or gravity loaded drop hammers

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1B

-Tumble hammers, mounted on a rotating shaft, which are alternately pic#ed up and then allowed to overbalance and fall under gravity -$lectro-magnetic hammers -$lectrically or pneumatically operated vibrators . single short sharp blow seems to be more effective in causing the dust to shear off the electrodes. 9owever a certain percentage of dust will always reenter the system. Cesides these two important features, electrodes and power unit, there are a couple of smaller features that might as well heavily influence the $D7s efficiency. 3ne is the gas distribution device at the $D7s entrance. %igure 1? shows some simple devices.

Figure 1-: 7as distri5ution de!ices

. pretty common device installed in $D7s downstream of a cement mill is the louvre-type pre-collector, as shown in figure )/.

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1?

Figure 20: 1ou!re*type pre*collector

%igure )1 presents some drawings of popular inlet transition pieces. 6ote that a certain amount of dust will always be precipitated by mechanical means, such as decreasing gas velocity, as the whole $D might wor# as a settling chamber.

Figure 21: Different inlet designs

%igure )) and )- illustrate the two common construction forms for $D7s.

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)/

Figure 22: 2tressed*s$in construction

Figure 23: Framed construction

.s it is mostly too e pensive too build huge precipitators in a pressure shoc# resistance manner, especially $D positioned downstream of a #iln or even coal grinding facility are equipped with pressure relief features such as s#etched in figure )0 and )5.

Figure 2#: 4ressure relief !enting

Figure 2%: Vented roof

Corrosion
The internal parts and especially the discharge electrodes are sub:ect to severe corrosive conditions, which may seriously damage the functionality of the $D. .s you might imagine the high relative humidity of conditioned gas flows itself starts corrosive processes at the surface of unalloyed steel. The higher the share of corrosive compounds as "3) or !l is, and the nearer the gas temperature to the dew point, the more corrosion is e perienced. The use of aluminum alloyed steel might be recommended. 9owever note that these alloyed steel resist corrosion only with a certain p9 range. *f the condensation product
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)1

has a p9 outside of this range, corrosion still goes on. .lso note that some alloyed steels are more sensible towards inter-crystalline pitting-type of corrosion, depending on the quality of the steel +chemical and crystalline homogeneity, itself, and mainly on the temperature. 9owever tensions and oscillation might increase in combination with corrosion heavily the ris# of brea#age. There are several facts to consider when trying to minimi'e corrosion with economical limits. %ind economical optimum between e pensive corrosion-resistant material and damage caused by corrosion. %ind optimal hammer frequency and weight in order to lower the oscillations without influencing the efficiency. %ind optimal tensioning weight for the electrodes Try to #eep the temperature way above the dew point, 0/ to 5/ degrees !elsius are recommended. Try to find the optimal temperature without lowering the efficiency of the $D too much. Keep in mind that a higher temperature also influences the gas volume and therefore the fan performance. Try to minimi'e the turn-off time. *f the $D is turned off condensation should not be allowed. !ontrol the temperature. Aaintain the isolation properly. This point is especially important for $D7s operating with cement grinding circuits. Ainimi'e the lea#age air leading to local condensation. !hec# air seals at the dust transport regularly.

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