On-line pulse-jet cleaning of pleated fabric cartridge filters for collecting pesticides

Abstract

The objective of this work was to study the performance of cleaning pleated fabric cartridge filters used for collecting pesticide particles and to determine the effect of cleaning on system operational process. A pleated fabric cartridge filter was used to collect pesticide particulate matters obtained from grinding and classification. On-line pulse-jet cleaning was used to dislodge the dust cake from the filter cartridge. It was found that the required detachment forces for dislodgement of pesticide powder from the pleated cartridge are bigger than those of other particulate matters. The pesticide particles are not dislodged from the filter cartridge when the average peak pressure over the height of the filter cartridge is 2473 Pa with the induced nozzle Φ16. The bottoms of the filter cartridges remain filled with pesticide particles when the average peak pressure over the height of the filter cartridge is 3455 Pa with the nozzle Φ20. The whole filter cartridges are cleaned when the average peak pressure over the height of the filter cartridge is 4627 Pa and the systematic pressure drops of the cartridge filter with nozzle Φ25 mm are maintained at 1400 Pa. The bigger the peak pressures on pleated filter cartridge, the quicker the pesticide particles are dislodged from the filter cartridge, decreasing re-attachment of re-suspended pesticide particles onto the filter cartridge. An increase in nozzle diameter can increase the peak static pressures on the filter cartridge, solving the problem of “patchy” cleaning of pleated fabric filter cartridges used for collecting pesticide particles. The surface static pressures on the filter cartridges can give guidance as to the cleaning effect on the system stable operation in industrial applications.