ABSTRACT
Due to growing concern about air pollution and its harmful effects on the health of the population, especially in regard to sub-micrometric particles, some studies have reported that applying an electric field to particle suspensions can improve filter performance by enhancing the deposition of particles in the filter medium. This can result in better particulate retention, which is particularly important for industrial processes such as cement production. The objective of this study was to investigate the behavior of cement particles with electrostatic charges during cake formation in fabric filters. The particles (with a d50 % of 17 µm) were generated using a dust feeder at a flow rate of 0.083 kg s-1. The fiberglass filter medium was subjected to filtration tests with constant dust concentrations (9-12 g.m-³) and air surface velocities (6 cm.s-1and 10 cm s-1) until the pressure drop reached the maximum value of 400 Pa. The electrostatic precipitator utilized discharge voltages of 0, 4, 10, and 12 kV. The particles were initially passed through the electrostatic precipitator to become charged with voltages of 0, 4, 10, and 12 kV applied. The results indicated a reduction in pressure drop of up to 55 %. The study observed a change in the deposition behavior of particles on the filter medium surface and in the filter cake formation, demonstrating that the electrostatic charge improves air filtration performance, resulting in higher efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
