A newly developed electrostatic enhanced pleated air filters towards the improvement of energy and filtration efficiency

Abstract The widely utilized high efficient particulate air filters (HEPA) lead to high building energy consumption. Indoor particle removal technology with minimal pressure drop is urgently needed for both air purification and energy conservation. Electrostatic enhanced air filter (EEAF) has potential to achieve high filtration efficiency and low energy consumption simultaneously. It uses external electric field to improve fabric filter performance without adding pressure drop. However, available researches utilized EEAF with flat filter in laboratory-scale study, which restricted engineering applications due to limited filtration area and high pressure drop. In order to improve EEAF, the present study developed electrostatic enhanced pleated air filters (EEPF). Experiments and mathematical model established in our previous study were adopted to investigate filtration performance of EEPF for fine particles (0.01–10 μm). Compared to EEAF with flat filter, EEPF saved 75% energy consumption and improved filtration efficiency up to 20%. Results show that filtration efficiency of EEPF was sensitive to duct velocity, applied voltage and filter type. Ozone mass generated by EEPF satisfied ASHRAE standards. The validated mathematical model was adopted to optimize pleat geometries of EEPF. Compared with HEPA, optimal EEPF had comparable filtration efficiency (>98%) and saved 70% energy consumption.

[1]  I. Agranovski,et al.  Enhancement of the Performance of Low-Efficiency HVAC Filters Due to Continuous Unipolar Ion Emission , 2006 .

[2]  S-J Cao,et al.  On the construction and use of linear low-dimensional ventilation models. , 2012, Indoor air.

[3]  J. Vendel,et al.  Clogging of fibrous filters by solid aerosol particles Experimental and modelling study , 2001 .

[4]  T. Oda,et al.  Submicrometer particle removal indoors by a novel electrostatic precipitator with high clean air delivery rate, low ozone emissions, and carbon fiber ionizer. , 2013, Indoor air.

[5]  Yong Li,et al.  Human responses to high air temperature, relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentration in underground refuge chamber , 2018 .

[6]  D. Wise,et al.  CFD assessment on particulate matter filters performance in urban areas , 2019, Sustainable Cities and Society.

[7]  Chuen-Jinn Tsai,et al.  Novel Wire-on-Plate Electrostatic Precipitator (WOP-EP) for Controlling Fine Particle and Nanoparticle Pollution. , 2015, Environmental science & technology.

[8]  Zhuangbo Feng,et al.  Modeling filtration performance of pleated fibrous filters by Eulerian-Markov method , 2018, Powder Technology.

[9]  Shi-Jie Cao,et al.  Ventilation control strategy using low-dimensional linear ventilation models and artificial neural network , 2018, Building and Environment.

[10]  M. L. Laucks,et al.  Aerosol Technology Properties, Behavior, and Measurement of Airborne Particles , 2000 .

[11]  Voltage–current characteristics of needle-plate system with different media on the collection plate , 2014 .

[12]  J. Mo,et al.  Toward energy saving and high efficiency through an optimized use of a PET coarse filter: The development of a new electrostatically assisted air filter , 2019, Energy and Buildings.

[13]  Zhuangbo Feng,et al.  Fast and accurate prediction of airflow and drag force for duct ventilation using wall-modeled large-eddy simulation , 2018, Building and Environment.

[14]  G. Bacchiega,et al.  BACK-CORONA MODEL FOR PREDICTION OF ESP EFFICIENCY AND VOLTAGE-CURRENT CHARACTERISTICS. , 2006 .

[15]  M. T. Araji,et al.  Pilot-study on airborne PM2.5 filtration with particle accelerated collision technology in office environments , 2017 .

[16]  Xiaofeng Li,et al.  Electrostatically assisted metal foam coarse filter with small pressure drop for efficient removal of fine particles: Effect of filter medium , 2018, Building and Environment.

[17]  Z. Long,et al.  Evaluation of the performance of an electrostatic enhanced air filter (EEAF) by a numerical method , 2018 .

[18]  Zhuangbo Feng,et al.  Modeling unsteady filtration performance of pleated filter , 2016 .

[19]  Jae Hong Park,et al.  Removal of submicron particles using a carbon fiber ionizer-assisted medium air filter in a heating, , 2011 .

[20]  Guilherme Carrilho da Graça,et al.  Impact of PM2.5 in indoor urban environments: A review , 2018, Sustainable Cities and Society.

[21]  Massimiliano Scarpa,et al.  CO 2 based ventilation control in energy retrofit: An experimental assessment , 2018 .

[22]  K. W. Lee,et al.  Theoretical Study of Aerosol Filtration by Fibrous Filters , 1982 .

[23]  Derek Clements-Croome,et al.  A review of air filtration technologies for sustainable and healthy building ventilation , 2017 .

[24]  Zhuangbo Feng,et al.  Influence of air change rates on indoor CO2 stratification in terms of Richardson number and vorticity , 2018 .

[25]  Johan Meyers,et al.  Influence of turbulent boundary conditions on RANS simulations of pollutant dispersion in mechanically ventilated enclosures with transitional slot Reynolds number , 2013 .

[26]  Z. Long,et al.  Experimental and theoretical study of a novel electrostatic enhanced air filter (EEAF) for fine particles , 2016 .

[27]  Jae Hong Park,et al.  Removal of PM2.5 entering through the ventilation duct in an automobile using a carbon fiber ionizer-assisted cabin air filter , 2010 .

[28]  Jungho Hwang,et al.  Filtration of submicron aerosol particles using a carbon fiber ionizer-assisted electret filter , 2011 .

[29]  Zhuangbo Feng,et al.  Study on the impacts of human walking on indoor particles dispersion using momentum theory method , 2017 .

[30]  Z. Long,et al.  Experimental study of a compact electrostatically assisted air coarse filter for efficient particle removal: Synergistic particle charging and filter polarizing , 2018 .

[31]  Xiaoling Cao,et al.  Experimental investigation on Influencing Factors of air curtain systems barrier efficiency for mine refuge chamber , 2016 .

[32]  Shi-Jie Cao,et al.  Challenges of using CFD simulation for the design and online control of ventilation systems , 2018, Indoor and Built Environment.

[33]  Behnam Pourdeyhimi,et al.  A macroscale model for simulating pressure drop and collection efficiency of pleated filters over time , 2012 .

[34]  L. Dascalescu,et al.  Factors that influence the surface potential decay on a thin film of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) , 2009 .

[35]  Sabah A. Abdul-Wahab,et al.  Evaluation of the impact of ground-level concentrations of SO2, NOx, CO, and PM10 emitted from a steel melting plant on Muscat, Oman , 2018 .

[36]  Hongwei Wu,et al.  Thermal performance analysis of an underground closed chamber with human body heat sources under natural convection , 2018, Applied Thermal Engineering.

[37]  C. Yu,et al.  Advanced electrospun filters to protect building environments from pollution , 2019, Indoor and Built Environment.

[38]  Bingbing Shi,et al.  Ionizer assisted air filtration for collection of submicron and ultrafine particles-evaluation of long-term performance and influencing factors. , 2015, Environmental science & technology.

[39]  Z. Long,et al.  Filtration characteristics of fibrous filter following an electrostatic precipitator , 2016 .

[40]  Bangwoo Han,et al.  Characteristics of an electrostatic precipitator for submicron particles using non-metallic electrodes and collection plates , 2010 .

[41]  Ian Colbeck,et al.  Deposition of Particles on a Single Cylinder by a Coulombic Force and Direct Interception , 1993 .

[42]  W. H. Engelmann,et al.  The National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS): a resource for assessing exposure to environmental pollutants , 2001, Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology.