Speaking from the US market, several of our competitors, Alstom, B&W, Dustex and Hamon, have 9m and 10m long bags in operation for several years so these bag lengths have already become accepted by some clients. We have heard but unconfirmed that even longer bags are in service in Australia and that at least one of our competitors is testing 12m long bags. If we are to set guidelines for a research study it needs to be more than just a confirmation of what others have in-service, that is 10m long bags, but needs to be a true “study” of a new design say 12m long bags. The study also needs to be set up that more than one bag is pulsed. We need data from an actual pulse pipe arrangement of up to 16 bags per pulse pipe or more.
One item that will be more difficult to evaluate in a study is the impact to bag life of various pulsing systems. Based on the test comparison by KCKR, the Coanda injector had the best results on a pulse reaching the bottom of the bag. This should not be the only test acceptance criteria. We need a longer term pulse test to determine if any pulse system compromises bag life. We are being asked to warrant bags for 3 years. We need to know if we are at risk with such a bag life warranty for a given pulse system.
Regarding Simatec, as noted above, our competitors already have experience with 10m long bags. Whatever system we market, it needs to be extremely competitive on an installed and operating basis. I certainly don’t know all the details of the Simatec system, but it does not appear to be as simple as a traditional pulse jet filter.
Something we can do immediately:
I’d like to get information from our in-service units of what the actual, tested outlet particulate emissions were along with the bag material and if a membrane was used. In the US, we are being asked for outlet particulate emission guarantees of 5 and 10mg/NM3. Do we have any data that shows that these emission levels were attained without membrane?
Wayne Navickas