Emissions of PM2.5 from residential fuel wood heating appliances are a major source of winter air pollution in many parts of North America and northern Europe. This pollution has been linked to respiratory health problems. One possible method of reducing these emissions is via an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) installed at the top of the flue pipe of the appliance. This study investigated the hypothesis that such a device can operate efficiently and contribute to a significant reduction in PM2.5 emissions from fuel wood combustion. A 2-D axisymmetric numerical model of an ESP was created and simulated using commercial computational fluid dynamics software. The model and simulation procedure included several enhancements over similar studies found in the literature such as: the use of a polydisperse particle distribution, the use of a partially developed gas flow velocity profile and the use of a sum-of-charges particle charging model that includes diffusion and field charging mechanisms. The simulation technique was validated using experimental data and provided collection efficiency values within 5% of the experimental values. A reference model based on the dimensions of a standard flue pipe (diameter of 0,15 m) was simulated and found to have an overall collection efficiency of 75%. Based on these results, the emissions of PM2.5 from residential fuel wood combustion in Quebec province could be reduced by 64% in one scenario. Several safety and operational issues need to be resolved before such a device can be launched commercially.
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