Ionizing Wet Scrubbers – IWS™
IWS uses electrostatics to separate out particulates from a contaminated gas or vent stream. Fine particulates and aerosols in the gas are rapidly ionized and charged in an “ionization zone” and are subsequently electrostatically collected onto the surface of neutral charged mass transfer packings that are positioned in a “collection zone” that is physically isolated downstream from the “ionization zone”. The packings are continuously washed by recirculating scrubber water over the packings. The solids levels of the particulates in the sump of the “collection zone” eventually build up and are controlled by automatically “blowing down” a portion of the sump and making up the volume by introducing fresh make-up water. A special feature of IWS is the inherent “non-plugging / non-fouling” nature of the IWS device. Since the collected particulates are continually washed, there is no fouling of the collection surfaces. Thus, this feature is of great benefit especially when the particulates are “sticky”. IWS can also enable the removal of contaminated gases from the vent stream by functioning as a packed bed scrubber. Mass transfer of gaseous contaminants from the vapor phase into the liquid phase occurs in the collection zone. Dosing chemicals into the sump enables the liquid phase contaminants to be treated.
IWS Wet Srubbers for simultaneous removal of fine sub-micron sized particulate and acid gas in an LCD plant.
