New ESP additive controls particulates

Firing low-sulfur coal at a power plant designed for medium- or high-sulfur coal will impact the downstream particulate control device. Since the performance of an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) is a strong function of the sulfur content in the coal, switching to a low-sulfur coal will severely impact collection efficiency. Conditioning agent enhanced precipitator performance after plant switched to low-sulfur coal. Besides the conditioning produced decreased resistivity and increased power. FGC-23, an additive mixture substitute for SO sub(3) and NH sub(3), was first tested in the laboratory with fabric filters as a promising conditioning agent. The pilot demonstration was on a nominal 250 MW unit. Results from this test included a significant reduction in outlet opacity, which allowed for a simultaneous increase in generation.