Collection and charging characteristics of particles in an electrostatic precipitator with a wet membrane collecting electrode

Electrostatic precipitator (ESP) with a wet membrane collecting electrodes plays an important role in the flue gas cleaning process. In this work, a lab scale ESP model, with a wet membrane collecting electrode, was constructed and investigated. The collection and charging characteristics of particles in the ESP model were studied. In addition, the discharge characteristics and electric power consumption of ESP were also presented. The mechanisms causing higher collection efficiency of this wet membrane-based ESP in the aspect of electrical characteristics were discussed in detail. Compared with the ESP with dry metal collecting electrode, results show that the discharge current of the ESP with wet membranes collecting electrode was higher for the same conditions. The wet membranes electrode had a better effect on the charging process of particles, especially for particles smaller than 1 μm in diameter. The collection efficiency of this ESP is by 3%-5% higher than the dry metal one at an equivalent discharge corona power consumption.