Exploring the key factors in dusty gas filtration: experimental and modeling studies

Airborne particulate matter is causing increasingly serious air pollution and threatening public health. To understand the filtration mechanisms of the membrane filter, the steady and unsteady processes of the fluid in the membrane were calculated. A new pressure drop prediction model considering the membrane microstructure properties, dust properties, and operational conditions was established. The effects of various factors on the pressure drop are in the order of gas viscosity ≈ velocity = membrane thickness > membrane pore size in the steady process. These results provide a guideline for the selection of membrane parameters in membrane preparation and operational conditions in gas filtration. In the unsteady gas filtration process, membrane pore blocking and caking layer formation were analyzed, and a model of the dusty gas filtration process was developed. The predicted values fit well with the experimental results. The membrane thickness is the most important factor in membrane development, and gas velocity is the most important operational parameter in dusty gas filtration. This study provides significant insights into both selecting optimal parameters in membrane design and optimizing the operational conditions in gas filtration.