Electrostatic precipitation in a small scale wood combustion furnace

Wood combustion generates a high concentration of particulate matter emission, but most of the particulates in the exhaust gas can be filtered through an electrostatic precipitator. The objective of this paper is to model the trajectory of particulates in the exhaust chimney of a small scale wood combustion furnace with an electrostatic precipitator. The precipitator consists of a central electrode subjected to a maximum high voltage of 50 kV and an outer electrode of 180 mm diameter, ground potential. The parameters including particle size, ambient temperature, pressure, gas flow rate and the applied voltage have been varied while computing the trajectories of the particles in the chimney. The trajectories of particulates have been analyzed for different sizes of a typical wood combusting stove by taking different forces into account on particulates. The critical conditions give the trajectory of particles as a function of particulate size and applied voltage together with the function of efficiency.

► Design of an electrostatic precipitator for a small scale wood combustion furnace. ► Flue gas particles trajectory model for electrostatic precipitation in wood furnace. ► Particles trajectory is a function of particle size and applied voltage. ► Electric wind enhances the particulate collection efficiency.