Numerical Study of Air Compressibility During Horizontal Pneumatic Transport

Using numerical simulations, the effect of the compressibility of air on the flow pattern of particles and pressure drop in the presence of particles during horizontal pneumatic transport operating under negative pressure was examined. The length and inside diameter of the pipeline were 30 m and 40 mm, respectively, and the chosen particles (4 mm in diameter) had densities of ρ_p = 1000 and 2000 kg/m³. The mean air velocities at pipe the inlet were U_inlet = 19, 22, and 28 m/s, and the range of the mass flow rate ratios of particle to air, μ, was varied up to 2.0. For a given inlet air velocity, the difference in the flow pattern between compressible and incompressible flow calculation is generally small. For ρ_p = 1000 kg/m³ particles the additional pressure drop in compressible flow increases when μ is above 0.5 and U_inlet is 28 m/s, μ is above 1.3 and U_inlet is 22 m/s, and μ is above 1.5 and U_inlet is 19 m/s. In these cases, the particle flow pattern is homogeneous. For ρ_p = 2000 kg/m³ particles, the pressure drop increases only when μ is above 1.5 and U_inlet is 28 m/s. The difference is not noticeable when the particle flow pattern is heterogeneous. Also, the difference in the additional pressure drop is much larger during homogeneous flow than heterogeneous flow.     

Vertical Profile of Particulate Matter Concentrations in Indoor Air (Case Study: Karaj,Iran)

Particulate matter is one of the most significant pollutants in indoor environments. The study of vertical profile concentration coefficients of different particulates leads us to figure out the most accurate pattern of vertical profile change of these hazardous particles. In this case, three different sizes of particulate vertical profile patterns, PM_1.0, PM_2.5, and PM₁₀, were evaluated in indoors in the city of Karaj. Samplings of first and fourth floors of 5 buildings located in different areas of Karaj were conducted constantly during 2011. The results of Mahestan Station illustrate the highest average concentration of PM₁₀ (173 µg/m³) whereas the RajaieShahr Station measurements indicates the highest average concentrations of PM_2.5(66 µg/m³) and also PM_1.0(51 µg/m³). Generally, the concentrations of the particulates in the first floors were higher than that in the fourth floors, and according to the air evaluation stations, all the particulates including PM_1.0, PM_2.5, and PM₁₀ had concentrations higher than the annual standard.     

Research on law and mechanism of dust explosion in bag type dust collector

The bag type dust collector will accumulate dust during long-term operation, and the high temperature during operation will cause dust explosion. In this paper, with the dust removal system involved in the “8·2” Kunshan dust explosion accident taken as the research background, the minimum ignition temperature and lower explosion limit experiments are carried out on aluminum powder with different particle sizes (10–60 μm) by using the lowest ignition temperature test device and the 20 L near-spherical explosive device. The dust concentration distribution and temperature field in the bag type dust collector are analyzed through the CFD-FLUENT software. Through the analysis of the experimental results, it is found that when the particle size of aluminum powder is 19 μm, the minimum ignition temperature is 585 °C, and the lower explosion limit of concentration is 0.04 kg/m³. The simulation results indicate that the dust particles gather in the dust collecting bucket, and the aluminothermic reaction occurs in the dust collecting bucket. The temperature of the upper and right parts in the dust collecting bucket is above 600 °C, which exceeds the minimum ignition temperature. At the interface between the dust hopper and the dust collecting bucket, the concentration of aluminum powder reaches 0.126 kg/m³, which exceeds the lower explosion limit of aluminum powder.     

Cooling Performance and Indoor Air Quality Characteristics of an Earth Air Tunnel Cooled Building

Most of the modern air-conditioned buildings have a low fresh air supply to reduce energy consumption. This results in a poor indoor air quality (IAQ) and a 30–200% higher sick building syndrome than that of a naturally ventilated building. Alternatively, energy-efficient and eco-friendly earth air tunnel system (EATS) provides a good IAQ because of the sufficient fresh air supply. This paper presents the cooling performance and IAQ characteristics of a sparsely occupied building supported with an EATS. The building was monitored for the concentration of fine and coarse particulate matter (PM), carbon dioxide (CO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO), temperature distribution and relative humidity (RH) in September and October 2012. The average PM₁₀, PM_2.5 and PM₁ concentrations were 6.77, 6.11 and 3.17 μg/m³ respectively when the EATS was operated. These are marginally higher compared to that when the EATS was not operated. The average indoor CO₂ level, air temperature and RH were 418 ppm, 26.5 °C and 58.2% respectively when the EATS was operated. The diurnal indoor CO₂ trend relates well with photosynthetic and anthropogenic activities in and around the building. The CO₂ and PM concentrations correlate well with indoor air temperature and RH with a time lag.     

Removal of Nano-sized Particles Using Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Gas Cluster Cleaning without Pattern Damage

As pattern size of semiconductor device becomes less than 20 nm, the removal of particles smaller than 10 nm without pattern damages requires new physical dry cleaning technology. CO₂ gas cluster cleaning is an alternative dry cleaning process to meet these cleaning requirements. To demonstrate gas cluster cleaning performance, particle removal efficiency (PRE) and gate structure pattern damages were evaluated. When pressurized and low temperature CO₂ gas was passed through a convergence–divergence (C–D) nozzle, high energy CO₂ gas clusters were generated at high speed in a vacuum atmosphere. The cleaning force of the CO₂ gas cluster is related to the flow rate of the CO₂ gas. The optimum CO₂ gas flow rate for the particle removal without pattern damage was found to be 6 L/min (LPM). Removal efficiency for 50 nm silica particles was greater than 90%, and no pattern damage was observed on 60 nm poly-Si and a-Si gate line patterns. It was confirmed that the CO₂ gas cluster cleaning force could be controlled by the CO₂ gas flow rate supplied to nozzle.     

Effects of radial air flow quantity and location of an air curtain generator on dust pollution control at fully mechanized working face

To better understand the effects of radial air flow quantity and the location of air curtain generator on dust pollution control, the 2–109₂ fully mechanized working face in Xinzhi coal mine (Huozhou Coal Electricity Group Co., Ltd., Shanxi, China) was numerically simulated in the present study. A full-scale physical model of the working face was established; then, based on airflow-dust particle two-phase flowing characteristics, the k-ε-Θ-k_p mathematical model was constructed. The comparison between simulation results and field measurements validated the model and the parameter settings. Furthermore, the effects of ventilation parameters on airflow migration and dust diffusion were numerically investigated using FLUENT. The results show that the increase of the radial air flow quantity (denoted as φ) and the distance of the air curtain generator from working face (denoted as d_w) is beneficial to the formation of a dust-control air curtain. At a constant d_w, the dust diffusion distance (denoted as D) decreases with the increase of φ. At a constant φ, D decreases with the increase of d_w when a dust-control air curtain is formed; otherwise, the increase of d_w leads to the increase of D. By analyzing the simulation results, the optimal ventilation parameters for 2–109₂ fully mechanized working face and those working faces under similar production conditions are determined as: φ = 240–270 m³/min and d_w = 20–30 m.     

Effect of Particle Properties on Slug Flow Conveying in a Horizontal Pneumatic Pipeline

The influence of particle properties on slug flow conveying was experimentally examined by using polyethylene particles of different densities from 825 kg/m³ to 945 kg/m³ in a horizontal pipeline 5.5 m in length, inside diameter of 32 mm, for air speeds below 8 m/s. It was found that hardness affects the slug flow conveying in such a way that for soft particles lower limiting velocity as well as boundary air velocities for suspension flow and slug flow increases. Additionally, it was found that the frictional characteristics of a particle influence its flow pattern. Also, there are two types of slug flow, that is, a solitary slug flow and a consecutive slug flow. In a solitary slug flow, there is at most only one plug in the pipeline. In a consecutive slug flow, the particles are conveyed continuously as slugs. There is always at least one slug in the pipeline.     

Study on coupling diffusion of composite dust and cloud-mist dedust technology in fully mechanized driving face of mixed coal-rock roadway

Aiming at addressing the problem of coal dust and rock dust mixed pollution in mixed coal-rock roadways, this study conducted a CFD numerical simulation on the coupling migration and pollution of coal dust and rock dust in the fully mechanized driving face of mixed coal-rock roadway (i.e., roadway section with both coal seam and rock stratum). Research findings: Small coal dust particles mainly migrate backward along the upper space of the roadway, while large coal dust particles mostly diffuse backward along the bottom of the air return side and settle evidently, with the concentration being higher than 1,000 mg/m³. The concentration of rock dust starts to decline significantly to about 350–800 mg/m³ in the middle and rear of the roadway. The concentration of coal dust is relatively high (200–500 mg/m³) in the front of the roadway, and it decreases gradually to around 175 mg/m³ in the middle and rear sections. With the increase of diffusion time T of rock dust and coal dust, the diffusion distance L_D shows a linear increasing trend. Both rock dust and coal dust conform to the linear equation L_D = 0.82 T + 11. After the application of the cloud-mist dedust technology, all the measuring points in the mixed coal-rock roadway witnessed a dust removal efficiency of above 75 %, which is a mark of effectiveness of the technology in improving the underground working environment.     

Modeling Dense-Phase Pneumatic Conveying of Powders Using Suspension Density

This article presents results of an investigation into the modeling of pressure drop in horizontal straight pipe section for fluidized dense-phase pneumatic conveying of powders. Suspension density and superficial air velocity have been used to model pressure drop for two-phase solids-gas flow. Two applicable models formats (developed by other researchers using two different definitions of suspension density) were used to represent the pressure drop due to solids-gas flow through straight pipe sections. Models were generated based on the test data of conveying power-station fly ash and electrostatic precipitator (ESP) dust (median particle diameter: 30 and 7 µm; particle density: 2300 and 3637 kg m^?3; loose-poured bulk density: 700 and 610 kg m^?3, respectively) through a relatively short length of a smaller diameter pipeline. The developed models were evaluated for their scale-up accuracy and stability by using them to predict the total pipeline pressure drop (with appropriate bend model) for 69 mm I.D. × 168 m; 105 mm I.D. × 168 m and 69 mm I.D. × 554 m pipes and comparing the predicted versus with experimental data. Results show that both the models with suspension density and air velocity generally provide relatively better prediction compared to the conventional use of solids loading ratio and Froude number. For fly ash, the two formats result in considerable different predictions, whereas they provide relatively similar results for ESP dust.     

Improved design of dust test chamber for uniform distribution of dust sedimentation rate

Soiling problems are always encountered for equipment installed in outdoor environments, such as headlamps of automobiles, air conditioners, solar collectors, and so on. How to prevent soiling problems on this equipment is one of the challenges for the design of their external layouts. Thus, evaluations of the dust sedimentation quantities on the surfaces of such equipment are necessary. Outdoor testing is usually straightforward but it takes a long time to experience various environmental parameters, such as dust-laden air, wind speed, wind direction, and so on. Indoor tests, performed in a dust test chamber, are instruments for controlling various environmental parameters independently. The conventional design for a dust test chamber is aimed at providing for a test under extreme environmental conditions. The uniformity of dust sedimentation rate within the chamber is not rigorously controlled. Nevertheless, some applications such as the effect of dust sedimentation on the glazing of solar collector require uniform distribution of dustfall in the test chamber for the indoor (laboratory) test. An improved design for a conventional dust test chamber is proposed. Performance tests done with the remodeled dust test chamber based on the improved design show that the normalized standard deviation of the dustfall concentration can be controlled within 2.41% ± 1.29%.     

Development of Venturi negative-pressure secondary dedust device and application of local spray closure technique

In order to enhance the spray for dust suppression performance in a fully-mechanized mining face, based on orthogonal test, comparison test, numerical simulation and field application, the Venturi negative-pressure secondary dedust device was developed. Meanwhile, the local spray closure technique was proposed, which can not only effectively prevent the escape of coal dust from entering the footway space, but also remove coal dust around the respiratory zone from the footway space successfully. The results demonstrated that, under spray pressure of 6?MPa, the Sauter mean droplet size, negative pressure suction flow rate and effective spray distance of the novel dedust device with a throat-to-nozzle distance and throat diameter of 20?mm and 65?mm were 47.37?µm, 11.21?m³/min and 5.4?m respectively. Moreover, the novel dedust device produced droplets to a smaller scale than a single-nozzle. Additionally, the negative pressure and airflow velocity in the negative pressure suction inlet of novel dedust device were within the range from ?0.97?Pa to ?541.04?Pa and from 2.96?m/s to 27.29?m/s respectively. Finally, compared with the original dust suppression measures, the local spray closure technique can enhance the removal ratio of respiratory dust by an average of 44.3%.     

送风速度对地板送风房间空气品质影响的数值模拟

针对全尺寸地板送风办公房间,采用数值模拟方法研究了当送风量和送风温度一定时,送风速度对室内流场、温度场和污染物浓度分布的影响。研究结果表明,当送风速度小于0.9m/s时,室内气流呈置换通风状态,主动式污染物CO2呈分层分布,室内空气质量较好;当送风速度大于0.9m/s时,室内气流呈混合通风状态,不利于主动式污染物CO2的排除,但有利于排除被动式污染物苯。     

Computational Fluid Dynamics Study of Flow and Aerosol Concentration Patterns in a Ribbed Smoked Sheet Rubber Factory

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method was used to investigate velocity, temperature, particles trajectories, and aerosol concentration in a natural ribbed smoked sheet rubber factory. A model to improve the smoke aerosol particle ventilation was proposed. The simulation was performed using turbulent free convection flows where the Rayleigh number was between 5.3838 × 10¹⁰ and 33.2003 × 10¹⁰. A total of 2,159,347 mesh volumes were applied to the entire ribbed smoked sheet rubber cooperative. Results from the CFD simulation and experiment showed positive results. The air containing smoke particles moved naturally from ventilating lids of the smoke room to the roof. The smoke particles followed the airflow fields at the junction of the roof and traveled to workplace areas. Results show that the thick cloud of smoke particles remained in the workplace after traveling for more than 200 m. Particle concentration was high in the area above the ceiling and lower along the elevation in a downward direction. This is potentially harmful to the employees who work in the factory for long periods of time. Modification of the roof to include a ridge vent showed considerable improvement in ventilation, which largely decreased the aerosol particle concentration inside the factory.     

Research on wet-type swirl dust collection technology and its application in underground excavation tunnels

Wet-type dust collectors are widely used in underground excavation tunnels to control dust pollution. Nozzles and filter screens easily blocked by deposited scale and sticky dust, however, are usually a challenging problem for traditional wet-type dust collectors. This increases the cleaning workload and reduces the service life of the equipment. To address this issue, a wet-type swirl dust collection method without using spray nozzles and filter screens is proposed, and a novel wet-type swirl dust collector is designed. Experiments and field application of the wet-type swirl dust collector were carried out. Experimental results showed that the optimum water intake of the dust collector was 1.0 m³/h at 1480 r/min^?1 impeller speed; the dust suppression efficiency of the dust with particles size less than 75 μm was 93%, and that of dust with particles size of 180–250 μm was 95.2%. The field application in China's Tongqing Mine indicated that the respirable dust at the roadheader driver was reduced to 6.9 mg/m³, with a dust removal rate of 92.0%. The wet-type swirl dust collector effectively improves the dust collection efficiency and makes up for the problem of nozzles and filter screens being easily blocked in underground excavation tunnels by the traditional methods.     

Preparation of monodisperse charged droplets via electrohydrodynamic device for the removal of fine dust particles smaller than 10 μm

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) device is utilized in various applications and could be useful for the suppression of particulate matter in ambient conditions. In this study, we focused on the ejection of charged droplets containing electrolytes in a microdripping mode and with high charge density. Several different electrolytes with different physical and electrical properties were tested for our EHD process in order to produce the charged droplets stably. Results from series images by high-speed camera represented that droplet size and frequency were dependent on the applied voltage and flow rate, and showed different behaviors in various EHD modes such as dripping, microdripping, mixed dripping, and unstable dripping. Consecutive experimental data for charge density showed that 15?wt% KCl solution was proper to obtain highly charged droplets with the size from 50 to 100?μm. For this solution, the suppression of the fine dust particle was tested for the removal of PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 at various applied voltages. The droplet formation in microdripping mode was effective for the removal of smaller dust particles and could be applicable for the air remediation in indoor or domestic environment.     

PRELIMINARY PERFORMANCE TESTS OF A PULSED JET PLEATED PAPER CARTRIDGE FILTER SYSTEM

ABSTRACT

A pulsed jet pleated paper cartridge filter system was tested for particle removal efficiency and operating stability using agricultural limestone as the test dust. The test system consisted of 6 pleated paper filter units arranged in parallel, each unit having an effective filtration area of 18.1 square meters. The system was operated at constant pressure drops of 6.25, 7.50 and 8.75 kPa (2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 inches of water), with face velocities of 0.78 to 1.04 m/ min (2.5 to 3.4 feet per minute) and dust loadings ranging from 0.5 g/ m to 2.5 g/ m³. Penetration through the media appeared to be relatively independent of dust loading, and efficiencies were in the 99.95 + % range. Slightly lower efficiencies were found for particles having diameters of 0.3 to 1.0 micrometers. A measure of the redeposition of dust pulsed from the filter was required to describe the effects on the pulse rate caused by changes in system flow and pulsing set point. Increased redeposition was found to occur with increasing flow rate, causing an increase in the pulse rate required to maintain operation of the system at a pulsing set point. Overall, the reverse pulse jet pleated paper cartridge filter system displayed extremely high particle removal efficiency in a compact unit that operated with low differential pressure.     

ROOM-TYPE AIR CLEANER DESIGN CRITERIA AND PROTOTYPE PERFORMANCE

ABSTRACT

Two rules-of-thumb for minimum performance of a room-type air cleaner have been developed from consideration of a first order model for room air quality. By adopting a criterion that the use of an air cleaner should cause the particle concentration to be at least cut in half, the rule-of-thumb for a room with no smokers is that the product of filter efficiency and flow rate should be ≥.8 m³/min (≥30 cfm). If the particle concentration is dominated by smokers or other sources, the product of filter efficiency and filter flow rate should be = m³ /min (= 100 cfm)

Tests were conducted to determine the efficiencies of candidate filter media. The selected media, Filtrete G-0115, has a fractional efficiency for 1 μm particles of 97 percent when clean, and an efficiency of 78 percent when fully loaded. This drop in efficiency is due to the masking of the electrets on the surfaces of the filter fibers.

A fibrous filter room-type air cleaner was designed to perform in accordance with the rules-of-thumb. When operated with a clean filter, the maximum flow rate is 3.2 m³/min and, when operated with a fully loaded filter, the maximum flow rate is 1.8 m³/min. The system has a multispeed fan which will provide lower flow rates.     

Hollow ZnO from assembly of nanoparticles: photocatalytic and antibacterial activity

Hollow shells of ZnO were formed by the assembly of nanoparticles using PEG 400 wherein PEG-400 acted like both a solvent and a structure directing agent. The structure, morphology and optical properties were characterized by using PXRD, SEM, TEM and absorption studies. The hollow shells were found to possess high crystallinity with a surface area of 8 m² g^?1. The assembly was formed by nanoparticles ranging from 50 to 60 nm, whereas the size of the hollow shell ranged from 500 nm to 1 micron. Photocatalytic activity of these nanostructures was studied using Rhodamine B (RhB) and methyl orange (MO). Nearly 99% of the RhB dye was found to be degraded in 60 min while for MO, the degradation was 97% in 50 min. The pseudo-first-order rate constant was calculated as 0.072 min^?1 for the degradation of RhB and 0.075 min^?1 for the degradation of MO. The hollow shells were found to exhibit significant bacterial inhibiting efficacy at a low concentration of the particles. Comparative studies were carried out for photodegradation of Rhodamine B dye and antibacterial activity using spherical particles of ZnO and assembly of particles to form rods of ZnO. The results indicated that these hollow nanostructures could be used as a potential catalyst for the removal of dyes from water and as an antibacterial agent.     

Near-Zero Air Pollutant Emission Technologies and Applications for Clean Coal-Fired Power

Coal is the dominant energy source in China, and coal-fired power accounts for about half of coal consumption. However, air pollutant emissions from coal-fired power plants cause severe ecological and environmental problems. This paper focuses on near-zero emission technologies and applications for clean coal-fired power. The long-term operation states of near-zero emission units were evaluated, and synergistic and special mercury (Hg) control technologies were researched. The results show that the principle technical route of near-zero emission, which was applied to 101 of China’s coal-fired units, has good adaptability to coal properties. The emission concentrations of particulate matter (PM), SO₂, and NO_x were below the emission limits of gas-fired power plants and the compliance rates of the hourly average emission concentrations reaching near-zero emission in long-term operation exceeded 99%. With the application of near-zero emission technologies, the generating costs increased by about 0.01 CNY∙(kW∙h)^–1. However, the total emissions of air pollutants decreased by about 90%, resulting in effective improvement of the ambient air quality. Furthermore, while the Hg emission concentrations of the near-zero emission units ranged from 0.51 to 2.89 μg∙m⁻³, after the modified fly ash (MFA) special Hg removal system was applied, Hg emission concentration reached as low as 0.29 μg∙m⁻³. The operating cost of this system was only 10%–15% of the cost of mainstream Hg removal technology using activated carbon injection. Based on experimental studies carried out in a 50 000 m³∙h⁻¹ coal-fired flue gas pollutant control pilot platform, the interaction relationships of multi-pollutant removal were obtained and solutions were developed for emissions reaching different limits. A combined demonstration application for clean coal-fired power, with the new “1123” eco-friendly emission limits of 1, 10, 20 mg∙m⁻³, and 3 μg∙m⁻³, respectively, for PM, SO₂, NO_x, and Hg from near-zero emission coal-fired power were put forward and realized, providing engineering and technical support for the national enhanced pollution emission standards.     

通风策略对室内空气品质的影响

讨论了通风对空气品质的影响，包括：室内污染物及潜在化学反应再生物、送风量及室外污染物、室内气流组织特性、通风系统的清洗与维护等；提出了改善室内空气品质的通风策略的4个建议：CFD方法的应用、低温送风、需求控制通风以及个体化通风。