Claims
- 1. An inertial-electrostatic wet-wall precipitator unit for extracting particles from a contaminated gaseous stream, the unit comprising:
- (A) a vertically-mounted, grounded collector tube whose upper end is enclosed by a cover, said tube having an upper inlet section, a main section and an open-ended outlet section;
- (B) a discharge electrode assembly including a wire extending through said main and outlet sections and having a high voltage imposed thereon to establish an electrostatic field in said sections which causes ions to be generated at said wire;
- (C) means feeding a liquid into the tube at the junction of the inlet and main sections to form a liquid film on the inner surface of the tube which flows downwardly into and is discharged from the open end of the outlet section;
- (D) means to introduce said contaminated gas stream tangentially into said inlet section;
- (E) means coupled to said outlet section to produce a suction force drawing said tangentially-introduced stream from the inlet section at high velocity, said means to produce a suction force in combination with said means to introduce the gas stream tangentially imparting a swirling motion to the gas stream to cause said gaseous stream to flow in a helical path down the tube against the liquid film and to induce a swirling pattern therein, the centrifugal force created by the swirling motion urging particles carried by the gaseous stream to migrate toward and to be collected by the film to be flushed out of the tube, which migration is further promoted by the electrostatic force acting on the particles which are charged with ions in the field; and
- (F) means to periodically interrupt the flow of said gaseous stream through the tube to so modify the swirling film pattern as to cause the film to scrub particle deposits that form on the inner surface of the tube despite the flushing action.
- 2. A unit as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means to produce a suction force to draw said stream is constituted by a blower whose input is coupled to said outlet section and whose output is exhausted into the atmosphere.
- 3. A unit as set forth in claim 2, wherein said means to periodically interrupt said suction force is constituted by a controllable shutter in the output of said blower.
- 4. A unit as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means feeding the liquid into the tube includes an annular slot at said junction.
- 5. A unit as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means to introduce the gaseous stream includes a horn-shaped spinner duct having a flattened mouth.
- 6. A unit as set forth in claim 5, wherein the mouth is flush with the cover of the inlet section.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 270,675, filed June 4, 1981, which in turn is a continuation of application Ser. No. 898,556, filed Apr. 21, 1978, entitled "Wet-Wall Electro-inertial Air Cleaner."
US Referenced Citations (6)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1184886 |
Mar 1970 |
GBX |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
898556 |
Apr 1978 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
270675 |
Jun 1981 |
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