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Reviving an Electrostatic Precipitator

Rebuilding can increase cost effectiveness and design flexibility
Peter Aa Hamon Research-Cottrell November 1991 Although electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) have been in use for many years to collect dusts from manufacturing operations in the pulp and paper, steel, cement, chemical, and petrochemical industries, their largest application today is in the removal of flyash from coal-fired boilers employed in steam or electric power generation. Compared with other dust-collection systems, ESPs are highly efficient in removing solid or liquid (mist) particles from effluent-gas streams. This is because, in the cleaning process, the forces in a precipitator directly work only on the suspended particles themselves, not on the entire gas stream. Most of the existing ESPs have been in service for 15 years or more, and their performance has inevitably deteriorated with age. In light of increasing pressure to comply with local and national air-quality standards, it is imperative that these units work properly at all times. Otherwise, plants could face fines, curtailed production, or even complete shutdowns. To forestall their failure or progressive deterioration, the engineer must weigh the options of rebuilding against replacing these aging units. Although the choice would have to be made on a case-by-case basis, the economics of rebuilding are generally the more ttractive option (Figure 1). Today, an existing unit can be rebuilt using all the latest design improvements, and still cost up to 40% less than installing a new unit of equal collection efficiency. Moreover, an entire ESP can be rebuilt to achieve higher efficiencies than even the best performance of the original unit. The cost of rebuilding a large ESP for a fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) unit typically ranges from $1.5/ft2 to $10/ft2 of collection area. The rebuilding cost of a smaller, acid-mist precipitator ranges from $3/ft2 to $25/ft2, where the fixed engineering costs account for the difference, relative to the FCC unit. All told, a rebuilt ESP rarely costs more than 60% of a comparable, new unit. Typically, the time required for completion of an in-kind rebuilding project (field work only) is four weeks, or less. With proper planning, almost all rebuilding tasks can be completed during a scheduled plant shutdown. On the other hand, extensive modifications could take up to 20 weeks to complete.

The way it works

In order to be able to exploit the recent advances in precipitator technology, the user must have a basic understanding of how it works. Essentially, there are three steps in the electrostatic precipitation process: Charging the suspended particles Collecting the charged particles Removing the collected particles by mechanically blowing - often called rapping - them into an external vessel

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Charging is carried out by applying a high d.c. voltage to a dual-electrode system. The grounded positive electrode placed near its charged negative counterpart allows formation of corona (a type of electrical conduction occurring in gases at or near atmospheric pressure) and a unidirectional electric field. By coming in contact with the negatively GAS charged ions produced by the corona, the entrained FLOW particles in the gas stream become negatively charged as well, and are driven toward the positive collecting electrode by the electric field. One important factor controlling the collection efficiency is the resistivity of the entrained particles to accepting the electrical charge. For example, if the resistivity is high, the charge may not be fully neutralized at the collecting plate. The result: There is a buildup of electric potential on the collected particles, leading to a decrease in collection efficiency. Ironically, the low-sulfur coals, widely used in industry to comply with S02-emission standards, produce flyash of high resistivity.

TOP STIFFENER TOP END PLATE

BOTTOM STIFFENER BOTTOM END PLATE

Novel design of the collecting plate offers superior response to rapping forces

Breaking the resistivity barrier

There are several methods to obviate the adverse effect of high resistivity of the flyash on collection efficiency. One is to precondition the gas stream with SO3 (by burning off elemental sulfur through a catalytic converter). Another is to employ "pulsed energization" of the electrodes, in which pulses of high d.c. voltage are introduced to maximize the charge transfer among the particles. Also, the unit can be equipped with additional collection area to compensate for the decreased collection efficiency. Because many of the older ESPs use wire electrodes drawn tight by weights, breakage of the wires has always been a problem, resulting in unscheduled outages. Now that rigid electrodes (typically of 16-gauge steel) are available, electrode breakage is a thing of the past. Some of the other design enhancements that can be incorporated in a rebuilt ESP are as follows: Wider plate spacing (11 to 16 in., depending on the application, vs. 9 in.) that requires fewer internal parts Collecting plates that respond better to the rapping forces, and require roughly one-half the input energy (compared to the older plate systems) to remain operationally clean External rapping systems than can be maintained and adjusted while the precipitator is on-line Transformer-rectifiers (T-Rs) that are more reliable because they use solid-state diodes rather than the previous vacuum-tube or electromechanical devices Microprocessor-based controls with built-in energy management systems that reduce power usage On-board diagnostics that reduce downtime and maintenance requirements

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BACK

Cost of rebuilding vs. replacement Considering that all these design improvements can be incorporated in a rebuilt ESP, there is no $/ft2 of need to get rid of the old unit altogether, and collecting 100% area replace it with a new one. Instead, the outdated Replace with unit can be renovated to provide an availability new unit $25 rate that is higher than what could ever be 80 obtained from the old design. Rebuilding a precipitator involves temporarily Rebuild existing unit, removing either part of the roof or the side of the 60 20 doubling the unit, and replacing some or all of the components. size The replacement parts include discharge electrodes, collecting plates, and auxiliary 40 equipment, such as the rappers and vibrators, T15 Rs, bus ducts (high-voltage distribution systems), and electrical controls. Renovation options
The minimum renovation involves what is known as "in kind" replacement. In other words, the internal parts are replaced plate for plate, and wire for wire. This type of rebuilding is usually the least expensive. However, it does not provide any of the availability, efficiency, and power improvements mentioned above.
10
Rebuild existing unit, same size

20

0 5

Figure 1. The economics of rebuilding are generally more An in-kind replacement may be appropriate if attractive than that for complete replacement, even when much of the old equipment is in good operating the collecting area is twice as large as the existing unit condition, except for the collecting and discharge electrodes that may be undergoing corrosion, mechanical failure, or both. This type of rebuilding scheme would also be appropriate if additional emission reductions are not required.

The next level of renovation involves some degree of upgrading, which allows the plant engineer to take advantage of some of the latest design improvements at minimal cost. One option is to retain the taut-wire design and plate spacing, but switch to collecting plates that respond better to rapping forces. Although this modification improves collection efficiency, reliability will still be a problem as long as wires are present.

Replace the wire electrodes

The optimum renovation is to replace the weight strung wire electrodes with their rigid counterparts, and to increase collecting-plate spacing from 9 to 12 in., or more. Unlike the weighted wires, rigid electrodes will not break, and they stay straight and aligned. Consequently, they eliminate unscheduled outages due to wire failure, the main source of high maintenance costs and production losses. For optimum collection efficiency, energy economy, reliability and long-term cost performance leverage, the choice will likely be a switch to rigid electrodes, and installation of more-responsive collecting plates at some wider spacing. This optimum configuration requires new, high-voltage T-Rs, and microprocessor-based controls that improve efficiency while reducing energy use by the unit. The controls are designed to automatically regulate the amount of power to the ESP, based on the type and quantity of incoming particles, and opacity of the gas stream. With these controls, it is possible to cut energy consumption by as much as 40% of installed power rating.

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Pike n Spike Rigid Discharge Electrode

Transformer-Rectifier

Discharge electrode MIGI rapper

Collecting electrode MIGI rapper G-OPZELTM Collecting electrode

Perforated Plate

Rebuilding allows incorporation of the latest design features in an existing ESP

If additional process capacity, or reduced emissions is needed, it may be necessary to increase the width, length, or height of the ESP. This will help accommodate larger, or a greater number of discharge and collecting electrodes, thus increasing the collecting area and treatment time. The unit can be made longer by adding extra collecting fields. Addition of taller internals requires cutting off the roof of the precipitator, raising it, and replacing the internals with taller discharge and collecting plates. Although this is the least expensive means of increasing the collecting area, there is a design constraint that will limit the ratio of height. Often, the site will also permit rebuilding the internals with extra collecting surface to the sides to make the ESP wider.

When to rebuild
To decide whether a precipitator needs rebuilding, the engineer needs to thoroughly inspect and test the unit to see how well it is operating. It is recommended that the user run efficiency tests, not just an emission test, on the unit. However, the emission test is particularly important in light of the new U.S. Clean Air Act because a 10-yr or older precipitator may not meet today's emissions standards.

All told, a rebuilt electrostatic precipitator rarely costs more than 60% of a comparable, new unit

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The specific items to look for during the comprehensive evaluation of an old ESP are: - Rate of material loss Examine the dimensions of the internals, such as the diameter of the discharge-electrode wires, and thickness of the collecting plates, in order to determine the overall deterioration rate. This can be done by subtracting the present thickness from the original value, and dividing that number by the years in service. A loss rate of more than 10%/yr is excessive. - Corrosion Find out how badly portions of any collecting plates have been corroded. Corrosion is severest where the process gas is the coldest. Also, look for signs of corrosive damage in areas where there is an in-leakage of ambient air, or where the local gas temperatures are lower than the temperature of the bulk gas. Corrosion is predominant in processes that run the fluegases close to, or below, the dew point. The casing and other structural supports can also corrode, but because of the smaller initial thickness, plates and wires will usually fail first. - Outages due to broken wires If the unit fails two or three times a year because of broken wires, it is time to find out if corrosion or fatigue is the underlying cause. If such is indeed the case, consider a complete replacement, or a new design. Otherwise, expect repeated outages due to broken wires, causing noncompliance. Moreover, just one unscheduled outage can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a day in lost production. - Misalignment The symptoms are lower efficiency overall, broken discharge electrodes, and decreased power levels due to high rates of sparking. - Stack emissions Unless the inlet loading has been increased, any sustained increase in maintenance costs and stack emissions indicate that the ESP is not working as efficiently as it should. The higher stack emissions can also force the unit out of regulatory compliance. - Fuel or feedstock change Prior to changing fuels, modifying process conditions, or introducing a new process, investigate the effect of this change on precipitator operation. Additives that improve a process have been known to adversely affect ESP operation. - Added capacity Before increasing process capacity or air flow, consider adjusting the precipitator design accordingly. The existing ESP may not operate within compliance or at peak efficiency at the increased capacity. A new or enlarged precipitator field may be all that is needed to meet the demand.

HAMON. All rights reserved

Hamon Research-Cottrell 58, East Main Street Somerville, NJ 08876 U.S.A.

Technical and Field Services Tel: 1-800-722-3046 or 908-203-6606 services.hrcus@hamonusa.com

Parts and Customer Service Tel: 1-800-722-7580 or 908-333-2154 Fax: 908-333-2154 parts.hrcus@hamonusa.com