Lowering fine dust emissions by placing a soot filter

[verdonck]

I'am living in Belgium and 22 % of the houses use wood burning as primary heating source.
Wood burning is our primary source of sustainable energy ( better than windmills and fotovoltaic )

Flandres and Brussels go from time to time over the limit for fine particles.
Although wood burning is a success story, it's threads for our health and government will impose severe rules on wood burning that will curtail it's success.

As I understand from this forum, rocket stoves performs very well regarding air pollution,
I was wondering if you can even diminue fine dust emission further by incorporation of a soot filter.

I've found the following product: www.schamotte-shop.de/epages/GiessereitechnikWystrach.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/GiessereitechnikWystrach/Products/32005777

According the distributor, it should be placed in the hot flame. The idea behind is, the filter catches soot particles and the soot deposit is burned by the heat accumulated in the filter.
I did some further search and I have found a reference :   www.ieabcc.nl/workshops/task32_2015_Berlin/10%20Hans%20Hartmann.pdf of a performance investigation of foam ceramic elements in wood stoves.
Their conclusion was that performance was below expectation.

Reference www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:962703/FULLTEXT01.pdf analysis performerce of residential electrostatic precipators and their conclusion was
"The removal efficiencies with respect to mass of particles were about 87% at
efficient combustion".
The combination of that kind of products (electrostatic filters ) and rocket stoves seems to be "the way" to achieve clean wood combustion.

Should the electrostatic filter by placed on top of the chimney ( as it happens nowadays) or wouln't we better off the place it as a module in the flue channel of a batch rocket stove.
In that case the chimney  should only transport filtered gases and stay (almost) clean.

The collection efficiency of such a filter is 𝜂 = 1 − 𝑒
−𝑤𝐴
/q ( A collecting surface, q gas flow, w migration velocity).
So where we we can find low air speed and big collection surface together ? I suppose in a lower temperature bell or a flue channel of a batch rocket stove.

Or is there a safety issue regarding possible presence of unburned combustible gasses ?

Please let me know your comments,

Eric

[Jura]

verdonck Welcome to the board 

As I consider myself an environmentalist  I also wanted to explore the PM emissions issue of our Batchy contraptions .

In 2015 MHA-net.org conducted the PM emission test.
I was about to sent them a message with a few questions as to their measurements method.


(a moisture proof container with preweighed glass 2 micron filters) .


I wonder if  there were any similar test and trials taken up by anyone here in the Old Continent


BTW. Be happy that you live in such a clean part of EU .
Last winter we had 120  days with PM 2,5; 10; 50 level 700 % exceeded in here :-(.

I feel sorry  that 20 years ago  I decided to return to my country from the belovely Pijnacker near Delft.

( Nowadays we would be over-field neighbours with peterberg )

[Orange]

most of the stoves have bells which may collect the particles. Europe looks ok except for the Poland and north Italy. Jura, what % of air polution is created by industry and what % is coal burning?

[Jura]

Mar 24, 2018 6:07:12 GMT -8 Orange said:

most of the stoves have bells which may collect the particles

I hate to disappoint you but the Particle Matter (PM) especially the 2,5 and 10 um is highly unlikely to be deposited in our bells.
They are kinda dispersed in the fumes and rheology says they need the volume of the fluid they are dispersed in to have almost no speed and much, much longer retention times to precipitate.

Mar 24, 2018 6:07:12 GMT -8 Orange said:

Europe looks ok except for the Poland and north Italy.
Jura, what % of air pollution is created by industry and what % is coal burning?

In teh region I live in (Upper Silesia )it has been exactly investigated.

Industry here counts for a mere 24%, 26% comes from road transport the rest is so called low emission.. ie house heating.
Unfortunately less and less ppl can afford good quality coal and proper stoves (although its price at main EU ports is ~80$/Mg ) and what is most horrifying they burn all kind of trash.
We say that in Poland the waste is divided into two categories: those one can burn during the day and the that one to be burnt @ night :-(

[esbjornaneer]

Thank you for this thread Eric! I hope for more comments.

I am also interested in these aspects but less from a point of view of what we can add to get the Batch rockets cleaner and more to first find out how clean they actually are.
There is new regulation that will be brought into the UK that is called 'Ecodesign'. As I understand it is based in EU/Europe wide regulations that will be brought in over the next few years. Sorry I can't give a good link to what it means, I have not found it yet. I am reading various 'SIA Ecodesign' google search results to get my head around it, and to be able to compare it with the data that people like peterberg , @yasintoda & matthewwalker publish.
Esbjorn