Flue gases flowing in the four-tubular electrostatic precipitator with an inserted screw construction based on CFD simulations

Particulate matter adversely affects human health, causing respiratory and other diseases that substantially reduce both quality of life and life expectancy. Electrostatic precipitation offers a promising solution to enhance the capture efficiency of particulate matter. This study investigates a novel approach to improve the efficiency of electrostatic precipitation by expanding tubes from one to four and incorporating a screw construction into a four-tubular precipitator. The increased collection area of this configuration leads to enhanced particle capture efficiency. However, uniform flue gas distribution across all tubes is important for high efficiency. Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations were employed to analyze the flow behavior within the electrostatic precipitator with and without the screw construction. Based on simulations, velocity profiles of flue gas and particles were created, and velocities in the individual tubes were also compared with each other. The results demonstrated that the screw construction effectively induces a more uniform flue gas flow, leading to improved particle capture. By optimizing the design and operation of the screw-augmented electrostatic precipitators, it is possible to significantly reduce particulate matter from small-scale combustion systems. Moreover, ensuring the structural integrity of the screw construction and the precipitator framework is essential for maintaining long-term performance and reliability under thermal and mechanical stresses.