Electrostatic enhancement of fabric filtration of fly ash and spray-dryer by-product

The paper describes small pilot-scale experiments, showing that the pressure-drop increase during the fabric filtration of redispersed spray-dryer by-product (chiefly calcium salts and fly ash) is significantly reduced by electrostatic enhancement of the filtration. The pressure drop rise for a typical electrostatically augmented fabric filtration (ESFF) is only 25% or less of that of the rise for a conventional filtration cycle. The ESFF takes advantage of the electrical characteristics of the spray-dryer by-product, specifically the higher natural electrical charge, as compared to fly ash, and the relatively lower electrical resistivity of the spray dryer by-product at the high moisture and the low-temperature conditions of filtration of spray dryer by-product. The low resistivity of the spray-dryer by-product and certain fly ashes allows application of high corona voltages in the new center-wire ESFF to produce an even slower pressure-drop increase over the filtration cycle. Center-wire ESFF proved to be operable under conditions of high gas velocities and grain loadings that were beyond the range for successful conventional reverse-air fabric filtration. Results of tests on the center-wire ESFF are presented and compared with conventional fabric filtration.