Research Topic

Magnetic effects in gas-particle separation technology

Filtering separators are used to separate solid or liquid particles from the gas phase as much as possible. Depending on their design, mode of operation and area of application, filtering separators are mainly divided into depth filters and surface filters. While depth filters are generally not regenerated, surface filters are usually regenerated by flow reversal (pressure surge) or backwashing, and in special cases also by mechanical shaking or rapping.

For applications that allow only a small pressure drop and no flow reversal, "magnetic" cleaning would be conceivable. A filter consisting of magnetizable filter fibers, which act as collectors for non-magnetic particles, could be set in motion by applying a magnetic field and thus, throw off the attached particles. Magnetic filters and filter systems are already used in solid-liquid separation in many industrial applications, for example in the purification of hydraulic oils, slurries and liquid pharmaceutical products. In most applications, ferromagnetic particles are separated from a liquid phase. Regarding the "magnetic" separation of inert particles from a gas phase, no fundamental investigations are known yet. Therefore, the aim of this research project is to establish a foundation for "magnetic" separation in gas-particle separation technology. Based on experiments on a magnetizable single fiber or a fiber array, particle detachment processes of the fibers will be investigated. In this connection, the magnetic influence of the fibers as well as the inertial and adhesive forces of the particles on the fibers play a decisive role.

Deflection of a ferromagnetic fiber in a Helmholtz coil