Cold Side

Cold-side ESPs (Figure 1-13) have been used for over 50 years with industrial and utility boilers, where the flue gas temperature is relatively low (less than 204°C or 400°F). Cold-side ESPs generally use plates to collect charged particles. Because these ESPs are operated at lower temperatures than hot-side ESPs, the volume of flue gas that is handled is less. Therefore, the overall size of the unit is smaller, making it less costly. Cold-side ESPs can be used to remove fly ash from boilers that burn high sulfur coal. As explained in later lessons, cold-side ESPs can effectively remove fly ash from boilers burning low-sulfur coal with the addition of conditioning agents.