An alternative solution to fibrous media for nanoparticles collection

The most effective and widely used dust separation techniques to separate ultrafine particles of a carrier fluid are fibrous media. The main problem is the clogging of the filter that induces a pressure drop increase over time and thus requires a regular cleaning of the media (or its replacement). In this context, the idea is to test bubble columns, which operate at a constant pressure drop, as an alternative to fibrous filters. This study proposes to investigate the influence of different operating conditions such as the liquid level, the air flow rate, the bubble size and the presence of beads, on the collection of ultrafine particles. Despite collection efficiencies lower than those of fibrous filters, experimental results show that bubble columns present high collection efficiency when the liquid level is high and bubbling orifices have low diameters. Besides, if gas velocity does not show an important influence on the collection efficiency, the presence of beads in the liquid increases the residence time of the bubbles in the column and thus the collection efficiency.