Air Pollution Control Equipment: Settling Chambers, Cyclone Separators, and Electrostatic Precipitators
Air pollution control equipment is engineered to remove particulate matter (PM) and gaseous pollutants from industrial flue gas streams before atmospheric discharge. The selection of particulate control technology depends on flue gas flow rate, temperature, particle size distribution, and target collection efficiency. Gravity settling chambers collect large particles ($d_p > 50\ \mu\text{m}$) by reducing gas velocity. The minimum collection particle diameter ($d_p$) achieving 100% removal in a chamber of length $L$, height $H$, and horizontal gas velocity $v_h$ is governed by Stokes' Law : $$v_s = \frac{g \cdot (\rho_p - \rho_g) \cdot d_p^2}{18 \cdot \mu} = \frac{H \cdot v_h}{L}$$ For centrifugal collection in Cyclone Separators , gas enters tangentially to create a vortex. The cut diameter ($d_{pc}$), representing the particle size collected with 50% efficiency, is evaluated as: $$d_{pc} = \sqrt{\frac{9 \cdot \mu \cdot W}{2 \cdot \pi \cdot N_e \cdot v_i \cdot (\rho_p ...