SCAVENGING OF SUBMICRON PARTICLES BY COARSE PARTICLES UNDER THE EFFECTS OF ELECTROSTATIC-FIELD AND PARTICLE VIBRATION

The technique of electrostatic coagulation aided by the hydrodynamic effect of a vibrating particle is proposed for the scavenging of submicron particles: a highly charged particle of a few micrometers in diameter is vibrated to induce a secondary steady flow around the particle. The flow blows the submicron particles into a region close to the charged particle, where the electrostatic gradient force becomes strong enough to adsorb the submicron partilces on to the charged particle. The experimental results show that the scavenging rate is greatly enhanced by the complementary use of the electrostatic and hydrodynamic effects.