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Innovative scrubber technology model for domestic boiler application

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Abstract

Many treatment technologies exist for particulate matter capture from the flue gas. Heat recovery from flue gases is a significant advantage of scrubber technology, which promotes energy efficiency increase of the combustion unit. The amount of recovered heat depends on heat and mass transfer in the scrubber. This paper presents the investigation of innovative small-scale flue gas treatment technology—fog unit. Households produce significant share of particulate matter in Europe. Therefore, there is a need to provide flue gas treatment technologies for domestic boilers in agreement with EU directive 2009/125/EC. Experimental research was done to identify the performance of proposed technology depending on inlet water flow rate, gas flow rate, water temperature, droplets diameter and water–gas flow ratio. The regression equations were developed based on performed data analysis. Equations can be used to predict the capacity of fog unit, outlet water temperature and outlet gas temperature.

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Abbreviations

α :

Convective heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 K)

β p :

Mass transfer coefficient (k mol/Ns)

ω 1, ω 2 :

Inlet and outlet moisture content (kg/kg dry gas)

c pv :

Specific heat capacity of vapor (J/kg K)

d d :

Diameter of droplet (m)

d d0 :

Initial diameter of droplet (m)

d d1 :

Manufacturer-defined nozzle diameter (μm)

d d2 :

Droplets diameter during the experiment (μm)

F d :

Droplet surface area (m2)

G w :

Water volumetric flow rate (water volumetric flow rate, l/h)

g :

Water volumetric flow rate (l/s)

M v :

Molecular weight of vapor (kg/k mol)

n d :

Number of drops (s−1)

Q ht :

Convective heat (W)

Q cg :

Gas mass transfer heat (W)

Q cw :

Water mass transfer heat (W)

Q fu :

Fog unit capacity (kW)

p 1 :

Manufacturer-defined pressure in front of the nozzle (bar)

p 2 :

Pressure in front of the nozzle during the experiment (bar)

p b :

Partial pressure of vapor in gas bulk (Pa)

p sat :

Partial pressure at the drop surface (Pa)

r :

Water phase transfer heat (J/kg)

t g :

Gas temperature (°C)

t g1, t g2 :

Inlet and outlet gas temperature (°C)

t w :

Water temperature (°C)

t w1, t w2 :

Inlet and outlet water temperature (°C)

t s :

Vapor condensation temperature on the surface of droplets (°C)

V g :

Gas volumetric flow rate (m3/s)

V w :

Water volumetric flow rate (m3/s)

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Acknowledgement

The work has been supported by European Regional Development Fund project “Individual Heating with Integrated Fog Unit System (IFUS)” 1.1.1.1/16/A/015.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Energy Systems and Environment, Riga Technical University, Azenes iela 12/1, Riga, 1048, Latvia

    Dagnija Blumberga, Vivita Priedniece, Elvis Kalniņš, Vladimirs Kirsanovs & Ivars Veidenbergs

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  1. Dagnija Blumberga
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  2. Vivita Priedniece
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  3. Elvis Kalniņš
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  4. Vladimirs Kirsanovs
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  5. Ivars Veidenbergs
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Correspondence to Vladimirs Kirsanovs.

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Blumberga, D., Priedniece, V., Kalniņš, E. et al. Innovative scrubber technology model for domestic boiler application. Int J Energy Environ Eng 12, 11–21 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40095-020-00347-z

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