Electrostatically enhanced separator (EES)

An apparatus for separating particles from a gas stream comprising:

• a separation vessel including a cylindrical-walled separation chamber bound at opposing ends, a plurality of discrete inlet passages for admitting a particulate laden gas stream into said separation chamber and a plurality of discrete particle outlet passages for expelling a concentrated stream of particles disentrained from said gas stream, said inlet passages and particle outlet passages being evenly spaced along cylindrical walls of said separation chamber and defining a thin tangential flow path into and from said separation vessel which is substantially flush with the cylindrical wall thereof;
• two vortex finders suspended centrally within the separation vessel between the ends thereof and establishing an end-to-end clean flow path through the separation vessel;
• an elongated discharge electrode suspended centrally within the separation vessel between the ends thereof;
• and
• a power supply connected between the cylindrical walls of the separation chamber of the separation vessel and the discharge electrode for establishing an electric potential therebetween which serves to charge the particles entrained in said incoming gas stream and repel charged particles in said separation vessel toward the cylindrical walls of said separation chamber;
• wherein a gas stream flowing into said inlet passages, and out from said particle outlet passages creates a vortex in said separation chamber which imparts a centrifugal force on the entrained particles toward the wall of said chamber, and said centrifugal force is augmented by said electrostatic force to propel said particles against said wall and out through said particle outlet passages.

An apparatus for separating particles from a gas stream comprising:

• an electrostatic pre-charging vessel, including a cylindrical-walled chamber bound at opposing ends, an inlet passage for admitting a particle laden gas stream into said chamber and an outlet passage for expelling said particle laden gas stream, said inlet passage and particle outlet passage both further comprising a thin elongated slit opening tangentially to cylindrical walls of said chamber and providing a substantially flush incoming flow path dispersed lengthwise along said cylindrical walls, and a discharge electrode suspended centrally within the pre-charging vessel between the opposing ends thereof for imparting an electrostatic charge on the particles entrained in said outgoing gas stream;
• and
• a separation vessel in fluid communication with said pre-charging vessel downstream therefrom, said separation vessel further comprising,
• an inlet passage connected to the particle outlet passage of said pre-charging vessel for admitting the electrostatically charged particle laden gas stream into a separation chamber,
• a particle outlet passage for expelling a concentrated stream of particles disentrained from said gas stream, said inlet passage and particle outlet passage both further comprising a thin elongated slit opening tangentially to said cylindrical wall of said separation chamber and providing a substantially flush incoming flow path dispersed lengthwise along said wall,
• two vortex finders suspended centrally within the separation vessel between the ends thereof and establishing an end-to-end outgoing clean flow path through the separation vessel and out from the ends thereof,
• an elongated discharge electrode suspended centrally within the separation chamber of the separation vessel and between the ends thereof, and
• a power supply connected between the cylindrical walls of the separation chamber of the separation vessel and the discharge electrode for establishing an electric potential therebetween to repel charged particles in said separation vessel toward the wall of said separation chamber;
• wherein an electrostatically charged gas stream flowing into the inlet passage of said separation vessel from said precharging vessel creates a vortex in said separation chamber which imparts a centrifugal force on the entrained particles toward the wall of said separation chamber, and said centrifugal force is augmented by the existing electrostatic charge on said particles to propel said particles against said wall and out through said particle outlet passage.