Numerical study of the effect of temperature and H2O concentration on the electrostatic precipitator characteristics at high temperatures

In this study, a numerical model of an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) suitable for high-temperature flue gas was established using COMSOL Multiphysics, and the effects of temperature and H2O concentration on the high -temperature ESP performance were studied. The results showed that, at the same voltage, increasing the tem-perature increased the negative ion density, thereby improving the particle charge and collection efficiency. However, increasing the temperature led to a decrease in the maximum operating voltage of the ESP, which reduced the negative ion density and electric field intensity at the maximum operating voltage and weakened the diffusion and field charges of the particles, leading to a further decrease in the maximum collection efficiency. Increasing the H2O concentration in the flue gas increased the negative ion density and, thus, enhanced the diffusion charge of the particles, which helped improve the collection efficiency.