A new air-washing method to clean fabric filters clogged with submicron fume particles: A pilot-scale study

[Display omitted] •A new filter cleaning method via air-washing is tested for fume particle control.•Performance of the new method is compared against conventional pulse-jet cleaning.•Air-washing cleaning facilitates efficient filter regeneration clogged with fume particles.•The new method is superior at reducing outlet particle emissions. This study investigates a new air-washing cleaning system that directly injects compressed air on the filter surface for filter regeneration in a fabric filter (FF) dust collector. A pilot-scale FF is designed to test the new system and to compare it with the conventional pulse-jet cleaning system with regard to filter clogging by fume particles. A pleated filter with a filtration area of 2.4 m2 is installed in the FF and a thermal steel spraying gun is used to supply the fume particles. Pressure drop and particle emission concentration are monitored to examine the effect of the new system on filter regeneration and collection efficiency. The results show that the air-washing cleaning is effective for filter regeneration, as it allows the FF to operate stably for a long time, whereas the pulse-jet cleaning fails to achieve filter regeneration, resulting in a continuously increasing pressure drop. In addition, air-washing cleaning shows better performance on collection efficiency than the pulse-jet cleaning method, as it reduces the outlet particulate matter concentration to less than half that of the pulse-jet cleaning.