Evaluation of dust-removal performance for different particle-size diameters in industrial gravitational wet venturi scrubbers

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Moein Roohbakhsh 1
Ali Reza Tahavvor 2
Mohammad Mehdi Tavakol 1
1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shi.C., Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran.
2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shi.C., Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran
10.22075/ijnaa.2026.42241.5772
Abstract
This study investigates the particle-removal performance of an industrial wet Venturi scrubber using CFD simulations. The main objective was to evaluate the effect of liquid injection through spray nozzles on flow hydrodynamics, pressure drop, and particle collection efficiency under identical operating conditions. The gas phase was modelled using the Realizable $k-\varepsilon$ turbulence model, while the nozzle-equipped configuration was simulated using the Volume of Fluid (VOF) model to resolve the transient gas-liquid flow. The Discrete Phase Model (DPM) was employed to track suspended pellet and direct reduced iron (DRI) particles with a polydisperse Rosin-Rammler size distribution in the range of $5-40 \mu \mathrm{m}$. Two configurations, with and without liquid-injection nozzles, were numerically compared. The results showed that the particle collection efficiency increased from 88.6\% for the configuration without nozzles to 95.1% with liquid injection, while the pressure drop increased from 903.6 Pa to 1135.6 Pa. Despite the increase in pressure drop, the nozzle-equipped configuration achieved a higher particle collection efficiency and a lower fan-specific energy consumption per unit mass of removed particles. The findings demonstrate that liquid injection can substantially improve the particle-removal performance of the investigated Venturi scrubber, indicating its potential for suspended- particle removal applications in various industries.
Keywords
Wet Venturi Scrubber
Nozzle
Dust Removal
Particle-Size Distribution
CFD
Collection Efficiency
Subjects
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International Journal of Nonlinear Analysis and Applications

Articles in Press, Corrected Proof
Available Online from 22 September 2026

  • Receive Date 06 August 2026
  • Revise Date 30 August 2026
  • Accept Date 03 September 2026