Design and economic benefits from the operation of pulse-jet fabric filter pilot plants

This paper reports that utility power plant flue gas particulate collection is generally accomplished by either electrostatic precipitation (ESP) or fabric filtration (FF). The majority of existing units use ESP's but an increase in the use of FF's occurred during the 1970's and 80's. This was partially due to advances in FF state-of-the-art technology and the tightening of regulatory requirements. Fabric filtration is usually accomplished by reverse gas (RGFF), shake and deflate (SDFF), or pulse jet (PJFF) methods. Regardless of the method, the efficiency and reliability of operation are of paramount importance, especially when six minute averaging (or similar) is required for opacity measurements. Many items enter into the efficiency and reliability of FF's with a primary one being the performance of the fabric itself. The fabric could possibly fail in a given situation and as a minimum would impact outlet emissions, cleaning frequency, and pressure drop. The fabric's performance is very much a function of the flue gas conditions and flyash characteristics