Electroprecipitator with suppression of rapping reentrainment

A method of removing particulate material from a gas stream comprising:

• providing an electrostatic precipitator comprising in series:
• at least one main electrical section comprising a plurality of positively charged main collection plates, said main collection plates being evenly spaced to define a plurality of gas flow lanes therebetween, and a linear array of main corona discharge wires within each of said main gas flow lanes;
• and
• a reentrainment suppressor comprising:
• a precharger, downstram of said main electrical section, having a single tubular anode aligned with each of said main collection plates and at least one precharger corona discharge wire aligned with each of said linear arrays of main corona discharge wires;
• and
• a reeintrainment collector downstream of said precharger and having a plurality of secondary collector plates, each of said secondary collector plates being aligned with one of said main collection plates, thereby extending said gas flow lanes, and being substantially shorter than said main collection plates in the direction of the gas flow and at least one collector corona discharge wire in each of said gas flow lanes between said secondary collector plates, wherein the diameter of each of said collector corona discharge wires is at least twice that of said main corona discharge wires and said precharger corona discharge wire;
• and
• passing said gas stream through said electrostatic precipitator and operating said secondary collector plates at a current density less than 75% of the current density of the main collector plates.

An electrostatc precipitator comprising, in series;

• at least one main electrical section comprising a plurality of positively charged main collection plates, said main collection plates being evenly spaced to define a plurality of gas flow lanes therebetween, and a linear array of main corona discharge wires within each of said main gas flow lanes;
• and
• a reentrainment suppressor comprising:
• a precharger, downstream of said main electrical section, having a single tubular anode aligned with each of said main collection plates and at least one precharger corona discharge wire aligned with each of said linear arrays of main corona discharge wires;
• and
• a reentrainment collector downstream of said precharger and having a plurality of secondary collector plates, each of said secondary collector plates being aligned with one of said main collection plates, thereby extending said gas flow lanes, and being substantially shorter than said main collection plates in the direction of the gas flow and at least one collector corona discharge wire in each of said gas flow lanes between said secondary collector plates.