SIEMENS says it has developed a new mobile testing unit for electrostatic precipitators, helping plant operators optimise the performance of flue gas filters.
Electrostatic precipitators are heavy-duty filters which remove tonnes of dust from flue gas, and are mostly used in coal-fired power stations. The precipitators use high voltage to produce ions, which collect on the dust particles.
These charged dust particles then accumulate on the filter’s precipitation electrodes, and are cleaned off at specific intervals. The higher the applied voltage, the more ions are produced, and the more efficient the filters.
When retrofitted with modern power electronics, electrostatic precipitators become up to 30% more efficient due to a smoother direct current supply. Additionally, the new control systems can be restarted more quickly following a dielectric breakdown.
Traditionally, plant operators had to replace the plant’s electronics in order to explore the potential for optimisation. This resulted in days of downtime.
The new Siemens mobile testing unit for electrostatic precipitators eliminates this need, allowing cheaper and easier testing of modernisation potential.
According to Siemens, in a few days, the mobile installation can provide the information needed to decide if a new electronics system alone is sufficient to optimize the filter or if more extensive changes to the plant are needed.
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