Comparative Study On Particulate Matter Control Techniques: A Review

Abstract

Nowadays, air pollution is one of the major environmental issues. It is one of the main causes of global warming. Every year, Air pollution causes 7 million premature deaths worldwide. It causes several health effects such as cardiovascular, respiratory,Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease(COPD), depression, weakening of brain cells, memory loss and much more. In the environment, it creates greenhouses gases, acid rain, smog formation, etc. Particulate matter is the main problem in all types of air pollution. It is the main cause of several diseases such as premature deaths, Cancer, Asthma attacks, Diabetes, Cardiovascular diseases, chronic bronchitis, COPD, respiratory mortality, influenza, hypertension, and other adverse health effects. It is the main cause of formation of harmful smog in winters. It is because of the size of PM particles is so small that they can easily enter into our lungs and then to our blood streams and then become harmful to the human body. Particulates are in the size range of 0.01 µm to 100 µm and larger. They are mainly formed due to the unburned hydrocarbon in motor vehicles, industries, fires, and etc. There are several ways to control air pollution. First, is from the government could create some laws, programs, and policies to reduce the amount of air pollution in the ambient air and create some strategies for the prevention and control of air pollution. Secondly, is using some pollution control equipment\techniques at the source, i.e, at the chimneys of factories. Particulate Matter Control equipment\techniques are being developed from our past. Some techniques are gravitational settling, cyclone seperators, fabric filters, wet collectors and electrostatic precipitators. All these particulate control techniques have their own collection efficiency, applications, advantages, and disadvantages. Electrostatic Precipitators are based on the principle of Electrostatic forces. Based on the requirement in industries, design considerations, space availability in industries and various factors electrostatic precipitators are classified into: Plate-Wire type, Flat-Plate Type, Tubular, Two-stage, and wet electrostatic precipitators. All these precipitators have their own advantages and applications.