Aerosol Science 37 (2006) 18261839

www.elsevier.com/locate/jaerosci
Prediction for particle removal efciency of a reverse jet scrubber
K.S. Lim

, S.H. Lee, H.S. Park

Energy Conversion Research Department, Korea Institute of Energy Research, 71-2 Jang-dong, Yusung-gu, Daejeon 305-343, Korea
Received 9 January 2006; received in revised form 21 June 2006; accepted 28 June 2006
Abstract
Numerical computation was conducted to predict the collection performance of a reverse jet scrubber for polydisperse particles.
The particle size distribution of polydisperse particles was represented by a lognormal function, and the continuous evolution of the
particle size distribution in a reverse jet scrubber is taken into account with the rst three moment equations. Numerical results were
compared with the analytic results using average relative velocity in all zones and experimental results.
In a reverse jet scrubber, the impaction is the main particle collection mechanism because of high relative velocity and short
collection time. The particle collection by impaction increases with an increase in particle size, and geometric mean diameter
and geometric standard deviation decrease as time goes on. High droplet velocity and gas velocity increase the particle collection
efciency, and the small droplet size also increases the collection efciency because smaller droplet size provides broader surface
area. The packing density is a factor affecting particle collection efciency in a scrubbing process. The dense packing density also
provides large surface area and leads to high collection efciency.
2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Reverse jet scrubber; Particle collection; Droplet size and velocity
1. Introduction
Wet scrubber is one of air pollution control devices that can be used to remove particle and gaseous pollutants from
industrial exhaust streams, simultaneously. In a wet scrubber, the dirty gas stream is brought into contact with the
scrubbing liquid, by forcing it through a pool of liquid, or by some other contact methods.
There are numerous congurations of scrubbers and scrubbing systems designed to provide a good contact between
the liquid and dirty gas stream for effective particle or gas capture, such as spray plate or packed bed towers, ejector
or jet scrubbers, cyclone or vortex type scrubbers, venturi scrubbers, and so on (Joseph & Beachler, 1998; Licht,
1988). In scrubbing systems, several parameters play an important role in capturing particles. Usually, the smaller the
droplet size and the larger the number of droplet, the better the ability to capture smaller-sized particles. Thus, the key
to effective particle capture in a wet scrubber is creating a mist of tiny and many droplets. A high relative velocity
between particles and liquid droplets also promotes particle capture. In process for producing liquid drops by injecting
liquid at high pressure through nozzles, the important consideration for relative motion is the direction of injecting
droplets. In co-current ow, the injected liquid drops are horizontal into horizontal gas stream, and in cross current
ow, liquid drops are injected vertically through horizontal gas stream. In counter current ow, or in reverse jet ow,

Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 42 860 3459; fax: +82 42 860 3134.
E-mail address: kslim@kier.re.kr (K.S. Lim).
0021-8502/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jaerosci.2006.06.010
K.S. Lim et al. / Aerosol Science 37 (2006) 18261839 1827
Fig. 1. Schematic of a reverse jet scrubber.
liquid drops is counter current to gas stream, as shown in Fig. 1. Especially, reverse jet ow is used to achieve the
large gasliquid interfacial area, long residence time, and high differential velocities required for efcient collection
for particles. Holmes, Meyer, and Degarmo (1983) described that for a given particulate cleanup requirement, the
gas-phase pressure drop through the reverse jet scrubber is typically on half that of conventional wet scrubbers.
This study primarily seeks to present the particle removing characteristics of a reverse jet scrubber by exploring
the effects of several variables numerically, such as liquid droplet diameter, relative velocity of liquid droplet and gas
stream, packing density, and particle diameter, and so on. Numerical solutions are derived employing interception and
inertial impaction as removal mechanisms, and the moment method is used for computing and predicting the particle
removal efciency and particle size distribution properties. The numerical results were compared with results of other
prediction models and experimental results.
2. Theoretical model development
2.1. Basic assumptions
The following major assumptions are made in developing the proposed model to study the prediction for performance
of a wet scrubber:
1. The spray droplet diameter (D) and concentration are assumed to be stable and constant in the complex reverse jet
scrubber, and there is no interaction between spray droplets.
2. Spray droplets fully cover the spray chamber as soon as injected.
3. No loading occurs on the spray droplet, and the particles adhere to the droplets surface upon contact.
2.2. Mass balance equation
The schematic diagram of a reverse jet scrubber is shown in Fig. 1. The particulate mass balance performed on a
differential zone of length, dz, is written as
Q
g
A
c
d(n
p
) =
6Q
l
D
3
A
c
p
total

D
2
4
U n
p

dz
v
D
, (1)
where Q
g
is the gas ow rate, Q
l
the liquid ow rate, A
c
the cross sectional area, U the relative velocity between
particles and liquid droplets, n
p
the particle number concentration, p
total
the particle collection efciency of single
droplet, D the liquid droplet diameter, v
D
the liquid droplet velocity.
Eq. (2) is derived using Eq. (1), and can be integrated over the mean effective length of the spray in the duct, L, to
yield Eq. (3).
dn
p
dz
=
3
2
p
total
Q
l
Q
g
U
Dv
D
n
p
, (2)
1828 K.S. Lim et al. / Aerosol Science 37 (2006) 18261839
n
p
n
p0
=exp
_

3
2
p
total
U
v
D
Q
l
Q
g
L
D
_
. (3)
Cheng (1973) assumed that a liquid drop which collided with the wall would stick on the wall and no longer be
effective for removal of particles. He modied Eq. (3) to Eq. (4), introducing the effectiveness ratio of liquid ow, ,
as shown in Eq. (5).
n
p
n
p0
=exp
_

3
2
p
total
Q
l
Q
g
L
D
_
, (4)
=
3r 2 cot 0
2r
3
(1 cos 0)
, (5)
where r is the ratio of the projection distance of the spray (S) to the duct radius (R) and 0 is the spray angle.
Holmes et al. (1983) proposedthe fractional penetrationof particulate as the followingequationwithsome simplifying
assumptions:
n
p
n
p0
=exp
_

1
4
p
total
al
_
, (6)
where
a =
6
D
Q
l
Q
g
+Q
l
U
v
g
and l is the jet turnaround zone of length.
2.3. Particle collection efciency of single droplet
Single droplet collects particles by using one or more of several collection mechanisms, such as impaction, intercep-
tion, diffusion, electrostatic attraction, condensation, centrifugal force, and gravity. However, impaction, interception
and diffusion are the three primary ones.
2.3.1. Impaction
Impaction is the predominant collection mechanism for scrubbers having gas stream velocities greater than 0.3 m/s
(Perry, 1973) or for particles whose diameters are larger than 5.0 m (Kim, Jung, Oh, &Lee, 2001). The Stokes number,
Stk, is the dimensionless parameter indicating the impaction effect and is dened as
St k =
j
p
d
2
p
U
18jD
, (7)
where j
p
is the particle density, d
p
the particle diameter, j the viscosity of the gas.
For single droplet, Licht (1988) derived the impaction collection efciency of particles, p
imp
, in wet scrubber as
shown
p
imp
=
_
St k
St k +0.35
_
2
. (8)
The collection efciency equation for impaction can be roughly estimated by assuming proportionality to (St k)
i
to be
suitable for the moment equation. Kim et al. (2001) derived the approximate equations as following:
p
imp
=3.4(St k)
9/5
=3.4
_
j
p
U
18jD
_
9/5
d
18/5
p
for St k 0.5, (9a)
p
imp
=1 for St k >0.5. (9b)
However, the collection efciency calculated by Eqs. (9a) and (9b) was out of accordance with that by Eq. (8) for
larger Stokes number than 0.3, as shown in Fig. 2. Thus, Eqs. (9a) and (9b) are inappropriate for applying to a reverse
K.S. Lim et al. / Aerosol Science 37 (2006) 18261839 1829
Stokes' number (Stk)
C
o
l
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y

o
f

s
i
n
g
l
e

d
r
o
p
l
e
t

(
p
t
o
t
a
l
)
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
This study
Licht (1988)
Kim et al. (2001)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Fig. 2. Collection efciency of single droplet by impaction.
jet scrubber with high relative velocity and large Stokes number. In this study, the collection efciency equation for
impaction is proposed as following:
p
imp
=0.6(St k) =0.6
_
j
p
U
18jD
_
d
p
for St k 1.0, (10a)
p
imp
=0.11(St k) +0.49 =0.11
_
j
p
U
18jD
_
d
p
+0.49d
0
p
for 1.0 <St k 3.0, (10b)
p
imp
=0.02(St k) +0.79 =0.02
_
j
p
U
18jD
_
d
p
+0.79d
0
p
for St k 10.0. (10c)
Particle collection efciency by impaction increases as the particle diameter increases and as the relative velocity
between the particle and droplets increases, as shown in Eqs. (10). Impaction also increases as the size of liquid droplet
decreases because the presence of more droplets within the vessel increases the likelihood that particles will impact on
the droplets.
2.3.2. Diffusion
Brownian motion and diffusive deposition of particle size is increased when the particle size is decreased. Thus,
diffusion is the primary collection mechanism for small particles. According to Jung and Lee (1998), the efciency due
to Brownian diffusion is dened as
p
diff
=0.7

3
_
1 :
J +oK
_
1/2
Pe
1/2
+2
_

3
4Pe
_
2/3_
(1 :)(3o +4)
J +oK
_
1/3

, (11)
where : is the packing density, o is the viscosity ratio of liquid to gas,
J =1
6
5
:
1/3
+
1
5
:
2
, K =1
9
5
:
1/3
+: +
1
5
:
2
,
and Pe is the Peclet number dened as
Pe =
DU
D
diff
, (12)
where D
diff
is the diffusion coefcient of particle dened as
D
diff
=
k
B
T C
c
3jd
p
, (13)
where k
B
is the Boltzmann constant, T is the absolute temperature, C
c
is the Cunningham slip correction factor.
1830 K.S. Lim et al. / Aerosol Science 37 (2006) 18261839
Using the Cunninghamcorrection factor approximated by Lee and Liu (1980), Kimet al. (2001) derived the following
equations for different particle size ranges, to be suitable for the moment method:
p
diff
=
2.8

3
_
1 :
J +oK
_
1/2
_
3jDU
2(1.664)k
B
T z
_
1/2
d
1
p
+1.4
_

3
4
_
2/3 _
(1 :)(3o +4)
J +oK
_

_
3jDU
2(1.664)k
B
T z
_
2/3
d
4/3
p
for d
p
<0.05 m, (14a)
p
diff
=
2.8

3
_
1 :
J +oK
_
1/2
_
3jDU
2.609k
B
T

2z
_
1/2
d
3/4
p
+1.4
_

3
4
_
2/3 _
(1 :)(3o +4)
J +oK
_

_
3jDU
2.609k
B
T

2z
_
2/3
d
1
p
for 0.05 <d
p
<1.0 m, (14b)
where z is the mean free path length of molecules.
2.3.3. Interception
Particle may still be collected when a particle follows a gas streamline that happens to come within one particle radius
of the surface of a liquid droplet because of its nite size. The dimensionless parameter describing the interception
effect is the interception parameter, R, dened as the ratio of particle diameter to liquid droplet diameter, as shown
R =
d
p
D
. (15)
Jung and Lee (1998) derived the single droplet efciency by interception as following equation, by assuming R>1
because the liquid droplet size is much larger than the particle size.
p
int
=
_
(1 :)
(J +oK)
1
D
_
d
p
+
_
(1 :)
(J +oK)
(3o +4)
2D
2
_
d
2
p
. (16)
Interception is relatively independent of ow velocity, but increases as liquid drop diameter decreases, as seen in
Eq. (16).
2.4. Relative velocity
The relative velocity between the gas and droplet continues to vary during their movement, and it is difcult to
estimate the relative velocity in the wet scrubbing chamber. Holmes et al. (1983) used an arithmetic average in all zones
of wet scrubbing chamber, as shown
U =0.5 (2v
g
+v
D,j
), (17)
where v
g
is the gas velocity and v
D,j
is the droplet velocity at the spray jet.
In this study, other arithmetic average is used to estimate the relative velocity in a differential zone of length, dz, as
seen
U =0.5 {(v
g
+v
D,z
) +(v
g
+v
D,z+dz
)}, (18)
where v
D,z
and v
D,z+dz
are the droplet velocities at moving distance of z and z +dz, respectively.
2.5. Projection distance of the spray
The projection distance of the spray (S) is a distance between the end of spray nozzle and point when the droplets
are decelerated to a zero velocity or when they collide and stick on a duct wall. The projection distance is dependent
on the gas velocity, droplet velocity at spray jet, droplet size, and so on. Considering an individual droplet, it will be
K.S. Lim et al. / Aerosol Science 37 (2006) 18261839 1831
accelerated or decelerated according to Newtons law, as shown by the following equation, by the drag force exerted
by the gas and gravitational force:
m
d v
D
dt
=C
DA
D
2
j
g
4
( v
g
v
D
)
2
+mg

G, (19)
where m is the droplet mass, v
D
the droplet velocity, v
g
the gas velocity, C
DA
the drag coefcient, j
g
the gas density,
g the acceleration of gravity,

G the unit vector of the force of gravity.
For a reverse jet spray in vertical direction of the gravity, if Eq. (19) is integrated from v
D
=v
D,z
to v
D
=v
D,z+dz
in
a differential zone of length, dz, the moving time can be yielded as
t
dz
=
1
A
S
_
1
(v
D,z+dz
+v
g
)

1
(v
D,z
+v
g
)
_
, (20)
where
A
S
=
3
4
C
DA
1
D
j
g
j
D
.
The projection distance can be calculated by multiplying the moving time (t
dz
) with the droplet velocity, as shown
S =
n

i=1
_
t
dz,i

v
D,i1
+v
D,i
2
_
, (21)
where t
dz,i
is the ith moving time of differential zone of length, dz, when the droplet is decelerated from (i 1)th
velocity, v
D,i1
to i velocity, v
D,i
. In Eq. (21), v
D,0
is v
D,j
, the initial droplet velocity at spray jet, and v
D,n
is 0, the
droplet velocity at turnaround point, or v
D,n
is v
D,w
, the droplet velocity at duct wall just before the collision.
2.6. Moment method
The use of moments has the advantage of simplicity in evaluating the continuous evolution of polydisperse particle.
The kth moment of a particle size distribution is dened as
M
k
=
_

0
d
k
p
n(d
p
, t ) dd
p
. (22)
While the size distribution function, n(d
p
, t ), for lognormally distributed particles is dened as
n(d
p
, t ) =
1
d
p
N(t )

2 ln o
g
(t )
exp
_

ln
2
{d
p
/d
g
(t )}
2 ln
2
o
g
(t )
_
, (23)
where N(t ) is the total number concentration of particles, d
g
(t ) is the geometric number mean particle diameter, and
o
g
(t ) is the geometric standard deviation of particle diameter. Values of d
g
and o
g
can be expressed in terms of the rst
three moments of the distribution as
d
g
=M
3/2
0
M
2
1
M
1/2
2
, (24)
ln
2
o
g
=ln
_
M
0
M
2
M
2
1
_
. (25)
The kth moment of the distribution can be in terms of M
0
, d
g
and o
g
as
M
k
=M
0
d
k
g
exp
_
k
2
2
ln
2
o
g
_
. (26)
1832 K.S. Lim et al. / Aerosol Science 37 (2006) 18261839
2.6.1. Diffusion-dominant size regime (d
p
<0.05m)
In case of very small particles of which diameters are smaller than about 0.05 m, the overall collection efciency
can be approximately expressed as shown (Kim et al., 2001).
p
total
=p
diff
=
1
d
1
p
+
2
d
4/3
p
, (27)
where

1
=
2.8

3
_
1 :
J +oK
_
1/2
_
3jDU
2(1.664)k
B
T z
_
1/2
,

2
=1.4
_

3
4
_
2/3 _
(1 :)(3o +4)
J +oK
_

_
3jDU
2(1.664)k
B
T z
_
2/3
.
Substituting Eq. (27) into Eq. (2), multiplying both sides by d
k
p
and integrating over the entire particle size range, the
continuous evolution of the rst three moments of the distribution along the wet scrubber are given by
dM
0
dz
=A
_

1
M
3
0
M
3
1
M
1
2
+
2
M
35/9
0
M
40/9
1
M
14/9
2
_
, (28)
dM
1
dz
=A
_

1
M
1
0
+
2
M
14/9
0
M
7/9
1
M
2/9
2
_
, (29)
dM
2
dz
=A
_

1
M
1
1
+
2
M
2/9
0
M
8/9
1
M
1/9
2
_
. (30)
2.6.2. Intermediate size range (0.05 <d
p
<1.0m)
For the intermediate size range, all of diffusion, interception and inertial impaction have to be considered. Thus, the
overall collection efciency can be written as
p
total
=p
diff
+p
int
+p
imp
=
3
d
3/4
p
+
4
d
1
p
+
5
d
p
+
6
d
2
p
+
7
d
2
p
for St k 1.0, (31a)
p
total
=
3
d
3/4
p
+
4
d
1
p
+
5
d
p
+
6
d
2
p
+
8
d
2
p
+
9
d
0
p
for 1.0 <St k 3.0, (31b)
p
total
=
3
d
3/4
p
+
4
d
1
p
+
5
d
p
+
6
d
2
p
+
10
d
2
p
+
11
d
0
p
for St k 10.0, (31c)
where

3
=
2.8

3
_
1 :
J +oK
_
1/2
_
3jDU
2.609k
B
T

2z
_
1/2
,

4
=1.4
_

3
4
_
2/3 _
(1 :)(3o +4)
J +oK
_

_
3jDU
2.609k
B
T

2z
_
2/3
,

5
=
_
(1 :)
J +oK
1
D
_
,

6
=
_
(1 :)
J +oK
(3o +4)
2D
2
_
,

7
=0.6
_
j
p
U
18jD
_
,
K.S. Lim et al. / Aerosol Science 37 (2006) 18261839 1833

8
=0.11
_
j
p
U
18jD
_
,

9
=0.49,

10
=0.02
_
j
p
U
18jD
_
,

11
=0.79.
Applying similar procedure to those used in diffusion-dominant regimes, the following equations are obtained for
St k 1.0:
dM
0
dz
=A
_

3
M
77/32
0
M
66/32
1
M
21/32
2
+
4
M
3
0
M
3
1
M
1
2
+
5
M
1
1
+
6
M
1
2
+
7
M
1
2
_
, (32)
dM
1
dz
=A
_

3
M
21/32
0
M
14/32
1
M
3/32
2
+
4
M
1
0
+
5
M
1
2
+
6
M
1
0
M
3
1
M
3
2
+
7
M
1
0
M
3
1
M
3
2
_
, (33)
dM
2
dz
=A
_

3
M
3/32
0
M
30/32
1
M
5/32
2
+
4
M
1
1
+
5
M
1
0
M
3
1
M
3
2
+
6
M
3
0
M
8
1
M
6
2
+
7
M
3
0
M
8
1
M
6
2
_
. (34)
The rst three moments of the distributionare alsoobtainedbythe same procedure for 1.0 <St k 3.0andfor St k 10.0.
2.6.3. Inertial impaction-dominant size range (d
p
>1.0m)
In the inertial impaction-dominant size range, the effect of diffusion and interception can be neglected, as shown
p
total
=p
imp
=
7
d
p
for St k 1.0, (35a)
p
total
=p
imp
=
8
d
p
+
9
d
0
p
for 1.0 <St k 3.0, (35b)
p
total
=p
imp
=
10
d
p
+
11
d
0
p
for St k 10.0. (35c)
By substituting Eq. (35a) into Eq. (2), the following equations are obtained:
dM
0
dz
=A(
7
M
1
2
), (36)
dM
1
dz
=A(
8
M
1
0
M
3
1
M
3
2
), (37)
dM
2
dz
=A(
7
M
3
0
M
8
1
M
6
2
). (38)
The rst three moments of the distributionare alsoobtainedbythe same procedure for 1.0 <St k 3.0andfor St k 10.0.
Eqs. (28)(30), Eqs. (32)(34), or Eqs. (36)(38), along with the initial conditions, constitute a set of coupled
ordinary differential equations that describe the continuous evolution of the rst three moments of the distribution.
These equations can be solved by fourth-order RungeKutta method.
3. Results and discussion
In a reverse jet scrubber, spray droplets injected at a nozzle are decelerated to zero velocity due to countercurrent gas
stream, or collide on the duct wall before the zero velocity. The projection distance is the moving distance of droplets
fromspray nozzle to the duct wall which droplets collide and stick on. Fig. 3 shows the projection distance and time. As
the droplet diameter increases, the projection distance increase because of larger inertial force. The high spray droplet
velocity also leads to longer projection distance, as shown in Fig. 3. The projection time increases as droplet size and
velocity increases. However, the projection time decreases in the droplet size range of more than 400 m, because of
the fast settling and sticking on the duct wall by the gravity.
1834 K.S. Lim et al. / Aerosol Science 37 (2006) 18261839
Droplet diameter (m)
0 500 1000 1500 2000
D
r
o
p
l
e
t

p
r
o
j
e
c
t
i
o
n

t
i
m
e

(
s
e
c
)
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
v
D, j
= 1000 cm/s
v
D, j
= 3000 cm/s
v
D, j
= 5000 cm/s
v
D, j
= 1000 cm/s
v
D, j
= 3000 cm/s
v
D, j
= 5000 cm/s
(a) Droplet diameter (m)
0 500 1000 1500 2000
D
r
o
p
l
e
t

p
r
o
j
e
c
t
i
o
n

l
e
n
g
t
h

(
c
m
)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
(b)
Fig. 3. Projection time and length at different droplet velocities: (a) Projection time; (b) Projection distance.
C
o
l
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y
Theoretical result(this study)
Theoretical result (Holms et al., 1983)
Theoretical result(Cheng, 1973)
Experimental result (Tomb et al., 1972)
(a) (b)
Particle diameter, m Particle diameter, m
Particle diameter, m Particle diameter, m
(c) (d)
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
C
o
l
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
C
o
l
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
C
o
l
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Fig. 4. Comparison of theoretical and experimental results: (a) 60 psi; (b) 100 psi; (c) 150 psi; (d) 200 psi.
The predicted collection efciencies are compared with the experimental collection efciencies reported by Tomb,
Emmerling, and Kellner (1972), as shown in Fig. 4. The experimental data was obtained in a horizontal duct of solid-cone
nozzle at different feed liquid pressure, liquid ow rate and spray angle, as seen in Table 1. Fig. 4 shows the predicted
K.S. Lim et al. / Aerosol Science 37 (2006) 18261839 1835
Table 1
Conditions of solid-cone spray (Cheng, 1973)
Feed liquid pressure (psi) Liquid ow rate, Q
l
(cm
3
/s) Droplet diameter, D (m) Droplet velocity, v
D
(cm/s)
60 31 600 2580
100 40 470 3340
150 49 450 4100
200 57 440 4730
Orice diameter = 0.118 cm, duct diameter =45.72 cm, airow rate =83 500 cm
3
/s.
Particle diameter (m)
0.01 0.1 1 10 100
n
(
d
p
)
d
p
/
N
0
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
0 sec.
0.1 sec.
0.247 sec.
5.0 m
1.0 m
0.1 m
Fig. 5. Evolution particle size distribution obtained by computing the grade efciency of each size (D=500 m, v
D,j
=3000 cm/s, v
g
=100 cm/s,
: =0.005, o
g0
=1.5).
Time (sec)
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25
P
e
n
e
t
r
a
t
i
o
n
,

N
/
N
0
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
dp = 0.01 m
dp = 1 m
dp = 2.5 m
dp = 5 m
Fig. 6. Predicted penetration of particles in different geometric mean diameter (D=500 m, v
D,j
=3000 cm/s, v
g
=100 cm/s, :=0.005, o
g0
=1.5).
results of this study are in a good accordance with the experimental results at all operation conditions. The theoretical
collection efciencies calculated by Eq. (9) (Holmes et al., 1983) are much larger than experimental efciencies in all
particle size range, although the results by Cheng (1973) shows a good agreement with experimental results.
The conservation of the lognormal particle size distribution in a reverse jet scrubber was investigated. Fig. 5 shows
the evolution of the particle size distribution showing the decrease in the total number of aerosol in particle size, 0.1,
1.0 and 5.0 m. In this gure, the distribution shifts continuously to the ner particle as the elapsed time increases.
1836 K.S. Lim et al. / Aerosol Science 37 (2006) 18261839
time (sec)
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25
d
p
g
/
d
p
g
0
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.1
0.01 m
1.0 m
2.5 m
5.0 m
Fig. 7. Predicted geometric mean diameter as a function of time (D =500 m, v
D,j
=3000 cm/s, v
g
=100 cm/s, : =0.005, o
g0
=1.5).
time (sec)
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25

g
/

g
0
0.70
0.75
0.80
0.85
0.90
0.95
1.00
1.05
0.01 m
1.0 m
2.5 m
5.0 m
Fig. 8. Predicted geometric standard deviation as a function of time (D =500 m, v
D,j
=3000 cm/s, v
g
=100 cm/s, : =0.005, o
g0
=1.5).
The elapsed time of 0.247 s means the projection time for the droplet size of 500 m, as shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 shows
the predicted penetration of particles with four different sizes, as a function of time. As the particle size increases, the
particle penetration decreases fast. This is because the impaction is dominant in these sizes and the effect of impaction
increases with an increase in the relative velocity between droplet and gas. However, it is difcult to expect the diffusion
effect on the particle collection because the particle collection in a reverse jet scrubber is made within very short time.
Figs. 7 and 8 show the evolution of the geometric mean diameter and geometric standard deviation as a function of
time with different initial particle size. Both the geometric mean diameter and geometric standard deviation decrease
as particles enter into a reverse jet scrubber. Usually for a scrubbing system, in a diffusion-dominant regime, the
geometric mean diameter increases and the geometric standard deviation decreases, with an elapse of time, and in an
impaction-dominant regime, both the geometric mean diameter and geometric standard deviation decrease (Kim et al.,
2001; Jung, Kim, & Lee, 2002). The geometric mean diameter and geometric standard deviation in the particle size of
2.5 or 5.0 m has different shapes of decrease line in process of time, as seen in Figs. 7 and 8. This is because they are
calculated by different collection efciency equations with a change of relative velocity and Stokes number, as time
goes on.
The particle collection efciency in a scrubbing system was affected by various parameters, such as gas velocity,
droplet velocity, droplet size, packing density and so on. Fig. 9 shows the predicted results on particle collection
K.S. Lim et al. / Aerosol Science 37 (2006) 18261839 1837
v
D, j
= 1000 cm/s
v
D, j
= 3000 cm/s
v
D, j
= 5000 cm/s
Particle diameter, m
0 10
O
v
e
r
a
l
l

c
o
l
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
2 4 6 8
Fig. 9. Predicted overall collection efciency at different droplet velocities (D =500 m, v
g
=100 cm/s, : =0.001, o
g0
=1.5).
Particle diameter, m
0 10
O
v
e
r
a
l
l

c
o
l
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
2 4 6 8
v
g
= 50 cm/s
v
g
= 100 cm/s
v
g
= 200 cm/s
Fig. 10. Predicted overall collection efciency at different gas velocities (D =500 m, v
D,j
=3000 cm/s, : =0.001, o
g0
=1.5).
efciency at different droplet velocities injected from the nozzle. The particle collection efciency increases as the
droplet velocity increases because the relative velocity between droplet and gas increases, as already mentioned.
However, the predicted collection efciency in large particle size range is a little lower as the droplet velocity increases.
This is because the high droplet velocity leads to long projection distance and large effectiveness ratio of liquid ow
(), as introduced in Eq. (5). As large effectiveness ratio increases, the collection efciency decreases, as shown in
Eq. (4). Fig. 10 shows the predicted overall collection efciencies as a function of particle diameter with different gas
velocities. As the gas velocity increases, the capture efciency increases. The relative velocity between the droplet and
gas increases with an increase in gas velocity.
The droplet size plays an important role in determining performance of a wet scrubber. Usually, as the droplets
have smaller size and more monodisperse size distribution, the capture efciency increases, as shown in Fig. 11. This
is because the surface area for collecting particles increases with a decrease in droplet size. However, there may be
problem on removing the small droplet from the emission stream.
Other important consideration for collecting both particle and gaseous pollutants is the amount of liquid injected into
the scrubber per given volume of gas ow (liquid-to-gas-ratio). High liquid-to-gas ratio and dense packing density lead
to effective particle and gas capture, as shown in Fig. 12. It is found easily in this gure that the collection efciency
1838 K.S. Lim et al. / Aerosol Science 37 (2006) 18261839
Particle diameter, m
0 10
O
v
e
r
a
l
l

c
o
l
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
2 4 6 8
D = 100 m
D = 500 m
D = 1000 m
Fig. 11. Predicted overall collection efciency at different droplet diameters (v
D,j
=3000 cm/s, v
g
=100 cm/s, : =0.001, o
g0
=1.5).
Particle diameter, m
0 10
O
v
e
r
a
l
l

c
o
l
l
e
c
t
i
o
n

e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
c
y
,

%
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
= 0.0001
= 0.001
= 0.01
2 4 6 8
Fig. 12. Predicted overall collection efciency at different droplet diameters (D =500 m, v
D,j
=3000 cm/s, v
g
=100 cm/s, o
g0
=1.5).
increases remarkably as the packing density increases. However, the liquid-to-gas ratio must be controlled for removing
entrained mists, or droplets, from the cleaned exhaust gas stream. In addition, the ratio must be optimized because the
liquid droplets to remove particles or gas pollutants can be the secondary contaminants.
4. Summary
In this study, the characterization of time-dependent size distribution and collection efciency of particles in a
reverse jet scrubber were investigated, varying several operation conditions such as gas and droplet velocity, droplet
size, packing density, and so on. The theoretical results were compared with the results of other models and experimental
results. The results drawn from this study can be summarized as following:
1. The predicted collection efciencies of this study are in a good accordance with the experimental efciencies
reported by Tomb et al. (1972) in all operation conditions. In addition, the results also show the good agreement
with the results by Cheng (1973).
2. The geometric mean diameter and geometric standard deviation decrease, as particles pass through the reverse jet
scrubber. Thus, the size distributions shift continuously to the ner particle as time goes on.
K.S. Lim et al. / Aerosol Science 37 (2006) 18261839 1839
3. The impaction of particle collection mechanisms is dominant in reverse jet scrubber because of the high relative
velocity between droplet and gas, and short collection time. As the droplet velocity or the gas velocity increases,
the collection efciency for the reverse jet scrubber increases.
4. Droplet size, droplet size distribution and liquid-to-gas ratio play an important role in determining the particle
collection efciency of wet scrubbers. The smaller the droplet size and the larger the number of droplet, the larger
the surface area. Thus, as droplet size decreases and liquid-to-gas ratio increases, the collection efciency increases.
However, the decrease in droplet size and increase in liquid-to-gas ratio lead to the difculty in removing a number
of tiny droplets from the cleaned exhaust gas stream.
References
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Holmes, T. L., Meyer, C. F., & Degarmo, J. L. (1983). Reversejet scrubber for control of ne particles. Chemical Engineering Progress, 79, 6066.
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North Carolina State University.
Jung, C. H., Kim, Y. P., & Lee, K. W. (2002). Analytic solution for polydispersed aerosol dynamics by a wet removal process. Journal of Aerosol
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Jung, C. H., & Lee, K. W. (1998). Filtration of ne particles by multiple liquid droplet and gas bubble systems. Aerosol Science & Technology, 29,
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Licht, W. (1988). Air pollution control engineering: Basic calculations for particulate collection (2nd ed.). NewYork: Marcel Dekker.
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Tomb, T. E., Emmerling, J. E., & Kellner, R. H. (1972). Experimental investigation on the collection of airborne coal dust by water spray in a
horizontal dust. Proceedings of American Industrial Hygiene Conference, San Francisco, California, pp. 11.