In this post, Ivan Sretenovic, Director of Operations and Sales for ProcessBarron Canada, explains how ProcessBarron’s expertise in various industrial processes and the resulting flue gas particulate properties helps us customize solutions to your industry.
Air pollution control solutions (APC) vary by industry, and each industry faces different challenges because of the characteristics of the dust and particulates that they are dealing with. For example, the pulp and paper industry uses different technologies than the concrete industry. At ProcessBarron, we understand the underlying properties and characteristics of each application, which helps us develop customized solutions to enable smart, clean, and efficient production.
Successful optimization depends on understanding these characteristics to create custom solutions. We customize electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) for the industry to remove and evacuate ash effectively, based on the fundamentals of the application and the characteristics of the particulates in the air stream. Today, we will look at 3 examples of how different industries face different challenges.
Cement
The flue gas in cement applications is extremely hot, so ESPs are commonly preceded by a quench tower that cools the gas. The quench tower also reduces the gas volume and increases moisture content, making dust much easier to collect. This is important because cement applications collect a very high quantity of dust, which is high in oxides of calcium, silicon, aluminum, and other compounds that can be difficult to charge, particularly if the flue gas moisture content is low.
Biomass
In biomass applications, the particulates present are typically not overly abrasive but they can pose significant challenges if the discharge system isn’t designed correctly. A poorly designed hopper, for instance, can lead to the accumulation of dust, bridging, ratholing, and other undesirable phenomena that impede the removal of dust, causing potential operational issues.
The composition of ESPs for biomass boilers can vary greatly depending on the type of fuel that is burned. Ash handling is one of the most challenging aspects of boiler systems. Ash is highly corrosive on its own and often has debris such as sand mixed in with it. As a result, this can lead to significant damage to equipment, incurring costly repairs and unanticipated downtimes.
An additional concern in biomass combustion is the occurrence of unburned carbon carryover. This unburned carbon can pass through the exhaust system and end up in the baghouse or Electrostatic Precipitators (ESPs). These “embers” can cause hopper fires, leading to extremely costly damage to ESPs or baghouses.
However, while ashes can cause plugging in hoppers that are not designed properly due to their difficulty in flowing, they are not particularly abrasive and can be effectively managed with an appropriately designed trough-style hopper and conveying system.
To mitigate combustion issues, two strategies can be implemented:
- An appropriately designed trough-style hopper and conveying system can be used at the base of the dust collection device for managing dust accumulation. This setup allows for continuous evacuation of dust and particulates. These evacuation systems are typically paired with a rotary airlock valve or double dump valve to create a seal from the atmosphere and prevent air ingress.
- Mechanical dust collectors are simple and highly effective devices in eliminating ember carryover into downstream air pollution devices. They’ve been used for more than 60 years with biomass-fired boilers. They protect Induced Draft (ID) fans from wear and abrasion. The implementation of new units or improving the effectiveness of existing mechanical dust collectors is one of the most effective ways to prevent costly fires and protect facility assets. Following a few basic guidelines on the sizing, design, and operation of this equipment will result in significant improvement in the overall system.
Rotary airlock valves play a critical role in many industrial processes, particularly in air pollution control systems. They function by controlling the flow of material between two chambers with differing pressure levels or a chamber and the atmosphere while maintaining an airtight seal. In the context of dust collection and air pollution control, rotary airlock valves are often used in conjunction with a trough-style hopper and conveying system at the base of a dust collection device. This setup facilitates the continuous evacuation of dust and particulates, efficiently managing dust accumulation and preventing issues such as plugging. By creating a seal from the atmosphere, these valves also prevent undesired air ingress, thus contributing to the overall efficiency and safety of the system.
Metal Roasters and Smelters
The customization of air handling and air pollution control equipment for metal processing facilities is a complex process, primarily due to the nature of the particulates produced during roasting and smelting operations. These processes typically produce sticky particulates that can easily adhere to equipment surfaces and complicate filtration with ESPs and baghouses. For ESPs, solutions include the design of rapping systems that exert higher forces on deposited dust in order to dislodge it from collecting electrodes and evacuate it. Additionally, ESP power supplies must be designed appropriately to provide the required input to provide effective charging. Advanced ESPs must be robust, easily cleaned, and resilient to corrosive elements to collect and remove fine particulates.
Air pollution control products are designed differently for different applications because their dust characteristics differ. For example, off-gasses from a copper smelter contain particulate which is sticky and adheres to surfaces very persistently. ESPs for these applications need to be designed with this characteristic in mind, in order to effectively remove and evacuate the ash. There are many challenges in handling particulates in metal processing facilities, and the design of ESPs can be adjusted to tackle these challenges.
Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
ProcessBarron adopts a strategic approach to minimize power consumption, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Our experts tune and optimize fan design and operation, and by improving the efficiency of these systems, less power is consumed, which subsequently results in fewer greenhouse gas emissions. The experienced team at ProcessBarron, including specialists like Allen Ray, are adept in tailoring these solutions to meet specific industry needs, underlining ProcessBarron’s commitment to environmentally friendly practices.
Collaboration Is Key
ProcessBarron is uniquely positioned to create custom APC solutions because the collaboration between divisions within our company gives us an extensive knowledge base to address diverse applications. This enables us to collaboratively solve problems pertaining to air pollution control and material handling.
The collaboration between the different divisions within our company allows us to have an extremely broad knowledge base of the different applications above, in turn allowing us to collaboratively solve problems pertaining to air pollution control and material handling.
If you’d like to learn more about how understanding the physics of particulate matter could help your facility optimize your air pollution control for smart, clean, and efficient production, reach out to a salesperson today.