1.

ABSTRACT

The experiment of Venturi Scrubber is one of a separation process that was carried out to study
the relationship between pressure drop across the throat (DPT02) and across the venturi
chamber (DPT01) with air flow rate. To run this experiment, firstly, water was filled in the tank
and free surrounding air was supplied to the system. Then, 4m/s of air velocity must be
converting to the differential air pressure (DPT03) first by using the derivation from a Bernoulli’s
equation. After that, the value of (DPT03) in inch H20 had been set on a control panel by
adjusting the speed regulator. Then, water was let to flow to the throat until it reaches 5 LPM as
shown at water flow meter (FT1). To analyse the result, data obtained from DPT01, DPT02,
DPT03 and blower speed was recorded. Next, repeat the steps by changing the air velocity to 6,
8, 10, 12, 14 m/s within 3 minutes time interval. After the experiment was done, venturi scrubber
was cleaned by using spray nozzle and related valves were opened for draining purpose. In
addition, the graph also was being plotted to see the relationship between pressure drop at
venturi chamber (DPT01) and pressure drop at throat (DPT02) with air flowrate. The result
shows the increasing in a pressure drop for both (DPT01) and (DPT02) which are 0.6, 1.3, 2.3,
4.0, 6.1, 8.5 inch H20 and 0.5, 0.9, 1.4, 2.2, 3.2 4.5 inch H20 respectively even the air velocity is
the same for both of them, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 respectively. The blower speed also shows the
increasing order like air flow rate when the data collected are 942, 1296, 1664, 2208, 2722 and
3249 rpm for each air velocity. After analyzing the data and observing the graph plotted, it is
proven that when air velocity change, it would also affect the pressure drop across the venturi
chamber and the throat due to the acceleration loss and breakdown of the water scrubbing
stream.

1
2. INTRODUCTION

Venturi scrubber is a device to control air pollution in industries such as coal power plant

by removing particle in the gaseous which already polluted and produce clean air.

Venturi scrubber is an example of wet scrubber. It also used widely for removing

particles from gases because of having many attractive features. For instance, it remove

submicron particle efficiently, it is also compact and simple to build. In directly, initial

investment costs are small compare to other types of particles collection devices. In

addition, it function well in problematic situations such as hot or corrosive atmosphere

and when sticky particles must be collected (Rudnlck, Koehler, Martln, Lelth, Cooper,

1986).

Venturi scrubbers are primarily used to control particulate matter (PM), including PM

less than or equal to 10 micrometers (μm) in aerodynamic diameter (PM10), and PM

less than or equal to 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5). Though capable of

some incidental control of volatile organic compounds (VOC), generally venturi scrubbers

are limited to control PM and high solubility gases (EPA, 1992; EPA, 1996).

Venturi scrubbers have been applied to control PM emissions from utility, industrial,

commercial, and institutional boilers fired with coal, oil, wood, and liquid waste. They have

also been applied to control emission sources in the chemical, mineral products, wood,

pulp and paper, rock products, and asphalt manufacturing industries such as lead,

aluminum, iron and steel, and gray iron production industries and to municipal solid

waste incinerators. Usually venture scrubbers are applied where it is necessary to obtain

high collection efficiencies for fine PM . Thus, they are applicable to control emission

sources with high concentrations of submicron PM (Corbitt, 1990; EPA, 1998).

2
3. OBJECTIVE

• To study the theoretical relationship between pressure drop across the throat

(DPT02) and pressure drop across the venture chamber (DPT01) with air flowrate.

4. THEORY

Gas inlet

Convergence section

Throat section

Divergence section

Water contains
particulate gas

Figure 1 : Venturi Scrubber

A venturi scrubber consists of a convergence section, a throat section which is the

narrowest part of the venture tube and a divergence section (diffuser). A venturi scrubber

accelerates the waste gas stream to atomize the scrubbing liquid and to improve gas-

liquid contact. In a venturi scrubber, a throat section is built into the duct that forces the gas

stream to accelerate as the duct narrows and then expands. As the gas enters the venturi

throat, both gas velocity and turbulence increase. Depending upon the scrubber design, the

scrubbing liquid is sprayed into the gas stream before the gas encounters the venturi

throat, or in the throat, or upwards against the gas flow in the throat. The scrubbing

liquid is then atomized into small droplets by the turbulence in the throat and droplet-

3
particle interaction is increased. Some designs use supplemental hydraulically or

pneumatically atomized sprays to augment droplet creation. After the throat section, the

mixture decelerates, and further impacts occur causing the droplets to agglomerate. Once

the particles have been captured by the liquid, the wetted PM and excess liquid droplets

are separated from the gas stream by an entrainment section which usually consists of a

cyclonic separator or separation chamber (Corbitt, 1990).

According to the contact-power theory developed for scrubbers, collection efficiency for

well-designed wet collectors of all types is a function of the energy consumed in the air

to water contact process. The energy consumed is directly proportional to the pressure

drop, and comparable performance can be expected from all well-designed wet collectors

operating at or near pressure drop. Venturi scrubber can be expected more efficient

when applying the contact-power theory. The term pressure drop refers to the difference

in static pressure between the gas at the inlet to the venturi scrubber and the gas at

the discharge from the venturi scrubber .Generally, the collectors operating at very low

pressure drop will remove only medium to coarse size particles, while collectors

operating at high pressure drop which need more energy will be highly efficient to

remove fine particle. In addition, higher efficiency in collection of particle in the smaller

size range need more energy to expend in air-water contact and also need high

operating cost (Howard, Donald and Goerge, 1985) .

Theoretical calculation was conducted to determine the effect of pressure drop across the

throat and venturi chamber with air flow rate by using Bernoulli’s equation :

2ΔP
𝑉=√ 2 ……………………..equation 1
𝜌[(A1
A2) −1]

4
Rearrange equation 1

2
𝑉 2 𝜌[(A1 ) −1]
ΔP = A2
2 …………………..equation 2

Where, ΔP = Differential pressure between throat and venturi chamber

V = Velocity of air flow rate

A1 = Cross sectional area of venture chamber (0.001810m2)

A2 = Cross sectional area of throat (0.000452m2)

ρ = Density of air (1.2 kg/m3)

5
5. APPARATUS

Figure 2:Solteq Venturi Scrubber System (Model AP 02)

6
7
8
NO MAJOR COMPONENT DESCRIPTION

1 Control Panel Control the process of the unit.

2 Air Flow Meter A venture type flow meter with differential

pressure gauge.

3 Venturi Chamber A cylindrical shape made of durable clear

PVC.

4 Pump Centrifugal pump with 25LPM capacity.

5 DPT01 and DPT02 2 units of analog differential pressure gauges.

6 Venturi Meter Flow measurement instruments with

converging section to increase flow velocity.

7 Air Blower Comes with inverter with regulating blower

speed.

8 Water Tank Rectangular tank made of stainless steel filled

with level switch.

Table 1:Description for the major components in venturi scrubber unit

9
Figure 3: Process and Instrumentation Diagram(P&ID) of venturi scrubber

10
6. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

General Startup-Procedures

1. All valves were closed, except for valve V5 and V7.

2. The water tank was filled by clean water by connecting the hose to inlet valve of the tank,

V6.

3. Another hose was connected to a draining valve for draining purposes.

4. Air supply was connected onto air regulator.

5. Main power supply and control panel were switched on.

Experimental Procedure

1. The blower was switched on and the blower speed was adjusted to 4 m/s.

2. Valve V3 was opened.

3. The water pump was switched on. Gate valve V3 and by-pass valve V5 were adjusted

until the water flow meter FT1 shows 5 LPM.

4. The blower speed was adjusted again according to the raw data table in increasing

speed.

5. The reading of DPT01, DPT02, blower speed and DPT03 all were recorded.

6. Steps 4 to 6 were repeated by increasing air flow rate to 6,8,10,12 and 14 m/s.

General Shutdown-Procedures

1. The venturi scrubber and be cleaned by using the spray nozzle by using the spray nozzle

connector. Lower down the spray nozzle to desire level.

2. Valve V2, V5, V7, V4 and V11 were opened. The flow rate was adjusted to clean the

venturi scrubber.

3. The pump and blower were switched off.

4. The control panel and main power supply were switched off.

11
7. RESULTS

Results obtained from this experiment were shown in the table 2 and figure 3 as following:

Air Velocity, DPT03 DPT03 DPT01 DPT02 Blower

V (m/s) (Pa) (inch H2O) (inch H2O) (inch H2O) Speed (rpm)

4 144.34 0.6 0.6 0.5 942

6 324.77 1.3 1.3 0.9 1296

8 577.36 2.3 2.3 1.4 1664

10 902.13 3.6 4.0 2.2 2208

12 1299.06 5.2 6.1 3.2 2722

14 1768.17 7.1 8.5 4.5 3249

Table 2:Table of Air Velocity (m/s), DPT03 (Pa), DPT03 (inch H2O), DPT01 (inch H2O), DPT02
(inch H2O) and Blower Speed (rpm).

Where,

DPT01 is at the venturi chamber

DPT02 is at the throat

DPT03 is at the blower

V is the velocity of the air flowrate

12
 14

12
Pressure Drop (inch H20)

10

8
DPT02 (inch H20)
6 DPT01 (inch H20)

0
4 6 8 10 12 14 Air Velocity (m/s)

Figure 4: Graph of Pressure Drop across a Venturi Chamber & across a Throat (inch H20)
versus Air Velocity (m/s)

13
8. SAMPLE CALCULATIONS

Since the value of air velocity cannot be directly setting up in the control panel, therefore the

pressure drop at the blower (DPT03 inch H2O) can be used by only adjusting the speed

regulator in the control panel to represent the air velocity (m/s). To calculate differential air

pressure or called as pressure drop, derivation must be done from the Bernoulli’s equation as

following:

Derivation

2∆𝑃
𝑉 =√ 𝐴1 2
𝜌[( ) −1]
𝐴2

(Bernoulli’s Equation)

2∆𝑃
𝑉2 = 𝐴1 2
𝜌[( ) −1]
𝐴2

𝐴1 2
2∆𝑃 = 𝑉 2 𝜌 [(𝐴2) − 1]

𝐴1 2
𝑉 2 𝜌 [( ) −1]
𝐴2
∆𝑃 = 2

14
Sample calculation

Data provided:

A1 = 0.001810 m2

A2 = 0.000452 m2

ρ =1.2 kg⁄m3

at V = 4 m/s,

𝑚 2 𝑘𝑔 0.001810 𝑚 2
(4 ) 1.2 [( ) −1]
𝑠 𝑚3 0.000452 𝑚
∆𝑃 =
2

∆𝑃 = 144.3400 𝑘𝑔⁄𝑚. 𝑠 2

∆𝑃 = 144.3400 𝑃𝑎

*𝑘𝑔⁄𝑚. 𝑠 2 = 𝑃𝑎

The unit of Pa in pressure drop must be converting to the (inch H20) to easily setting up the

value of pressure drop (inch H20) in the control panel

*1 𝑃𝑎 = 0.004015 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ 𝐻2 0

0.004015 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ 𝐻2 0
∆𝑃 = 144.3400 𝑃𝑎 × 1 𝑃𝑎

∆𝑃 = 0.6 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ 𝐻2 0

The entire step shown in the above sample calculation must be followed one by one to convert

the other value of air velocity (m/s) to differential of air pressure (DPT03).

15
9. DISCUSSION

Venturi Scrubber is a part of the group of air pollution controllers collectively referred to as

“wet scrubbers (Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, 2015).” Wet scrubbers rely on a liquid

spray to remove dust particles from a gas stream. They are primarily used to remove gaseous

emissions, with particulate control a secondary function (WORLD BANK GROUP, 1998). Venturi

scrubbers are primarily used to control particulate matter (PM), including PM less than or equal

to 10 micrometers (PM10), and PM less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5). Generally,

venturi scrubbers are limited to control PM and high solubility gases. Venturi scrubbers PM

collection efficiencies range from 70 to greater than 99 percent, depending upon the application.

Increasing the venturi scrubber efficiency requires increasing the pressure drop which in turn,

increases the energy consumption (Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, 2015). Regarding to

this experiment, the source of the particulate is the surrounding air free exists in the chemical

engineering laboratory since it was a location this experiment had been carried out.

For basic principle, when a venturi meter is placed in a pipe carrying the fluid whose flow

rate is to be measured, a pressure drop occurs between the entrance and throat of the venturi

meter. This pressure drop is measured using a differential pressure sensor and when calibrated

this pressure drop becomes a measure of flow rate. Firstly, the fluid whose flow rate is to be

measured enters the entry section of the venturi meter with a pressure P1. As the fluid from the

entry section of venturi meter flows into the converging section, its pressure keeps on reducing

and attains a minimum value P2 when it enters the throat. That is, in the throat, the fluid

pressure P2 will be minimum. The differential pressure sensor attached between the entry and

throat section of the venturi meter records the pressure difference (P1-P2) which becomes an

indication of the flow rate of the fluid through the pipe when calibrated. The diverging section has

been provided to enable the fluid to regain its pressure and hence its kinetic energy. Lesser the

angle of the diverging section, greater is the recovery (R.Mishra, 2012).

16
 For this experiment, venturi scrubber accelerates the waste gas stream to atomize the

scrubbing liquid and to improve gas-liquid contact. In a venturi scrubber, a “throat” section is built

into the duct that forces the gas stream to accelerate as the duct narrows and then expands

which known as converging and diverging part respectively. As the gas enters the venturi throat,

both gas velocity and turbulence is the greatest because the area of the throat is smaller than

area of venturi chamber (Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, 2015). The designed area of

venturi chamber and throat are 0.001810 m2 and 0.000452 m2 respectively. In the throat, the

waste gas shears the scrubbing liquid into a high density distribution of fine droplets. These

droplets collect PM primarily through impaction. The waste gas and scrubbing liquid then pass

into the diverging section where the velocity decreases, causing more impaction and liquid

agglomeration. Some of the energy imparted to the liquid-gas system is recovered in the

diverging section as gas pressure. However, the overall energy of the system decreases due to

friction and other mechanical losses. This loss is measured as the decrease in pressure across

the venturi converging-diverging section, referred to as the pressure drop, ΔP (Paula, 2002).

. After passing through the throat section, the mixture decelerates, and further impacts occur

causing the droplets to agglomerate and settling down. A portion of the droplets settle via gravity

to the bottom of the chamber (Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, 2015). In a settler, the

particulate will float upwards due to the characteristics of particulate which is less dense than

water. As a result, it will form two different layers where the particulate would be on the top while

the water remains at the bottom. Once the particles have been captured by the liquid, the wetted

PM and excess liquid droplets are separated from the gas stream by an entrainment section

which usually consists of a cyclonic separator that ultimately would release a clean gas on the

top of the separation chamber while the liquid will flow downward to an outlet which located at

the bottom of the separation chamber to drain the liquid-PM waste from the chamber for draining

purpose. Cyclone designs enhance the removal of liquid and PM from the waste gas stream

using impaction as well as gravity (Paula, 2002).

17
 Before running the experiment, differential pressure at the blower (DPT03) should be

calculated first by using the derivation from Bernoulli’s equation. This is because to represent the

air velocity since that is the only way that can be manipulated. Differential pressure work on the

principle of partially obstructing the flow in a pipe. This creates a difference in the static pressure

between the upstream and downstream side of the device. This difference in the static pressure

referred to as the differential pressure, is measured and used to determine the flowrate (National

Measurement System, 2014). The unit value of differential pressure must be in a unit inch 𝐻2𝑂,

following the venturi’s system. The manipulated variable in this experiment would be (DPT03)

since it required studying the relationship between pressure drop across the venturi chamber

(DPT01) and pressure drop across the throat (DPT02) with air flow rate. The Bernoulli principle

states that a region of fast flowing fluid exerts lower pressure on its surroundings than a region

of slow flowing fluid (Agrawal, 2013). Based on the result obtained, high velocity causes a high

pressure drop. After regulating (DPT03), the water pump and the gate valve V3 and by-pass

valve V5 are adjusting to maintain water flow rate of 5 LPM.

Then, the reading of pressure drops across the venturi chamber (DPT01) and pressure

drop across the throat (DPT02) and blower speed had been recorded. The data obtained from

the experiment for (DPT01) inch H20 are 0.6, 1.3, 2.3, 4.0, 6.1 and 8.5. Meanwhile, for (DPT02)

inch H20, the data recorded are 0.5, 0.9, 1.4, 2.2, 3.2 and 4.5. Both data shows an increases

pressure drop for air velocity 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 m/s respectively. This is because of the

higher the velocity of air then the pressure drop also would be higher at both across the venturi

chamber and across the throat. However, the graph in figure 1 had clearly reveal that there is a

slightly decrease in pressure drop for (DPT02) even though at the same air velocity (m/s).

Different in pressure drop for both were influenced by different area designed across the venturi

chamber and across the throat where the area at across the venture chamber are larger than

across the throat. Designed area did have become one of a factor in the difference of pressure

drop. Smaller areas contribute to cause the fluid to flow in high velocity than the larger one.

18
Furthermore, the data that had been collected from Blower speed (rpm) are 942, 1296, 1664,

2208, 2722 and 3249 respectively. Thus, the speed of blower had shown increases due to the

raising value of air velocity.

19
10. CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, from the results obtained from this experiment, the relationship between

pressure drop across the venturi chamber (DPT01) and pressure drop across the throat (DPT02)

with air flow rate are fully analyzed. In a simple word, when the air velocity changes, it would

also affects the pressure drop across the venturi chamber and the throat due to the acceleration

loss and breakdown of the water scrubbing stream. Besides that, the blower speed, the pressure

drop across the venturi chamber (DPT01) and pressure drop across the throat (DPT02) were

recorded. While, (DPT01) and (DPT02) versus air flow rate also were plotted to study the

relationship between of them. Therefore, from the data recorded and graph observed, it clearly

shows that the pressure drop across the venturi chamber and throat increase when air velocity

increases. Thus, this shows that the operating parameter of pressure drop is directly proportional

to the velocity of air flow rate. So, it is ultimately proving that the operating parameter would

affect the efficiency of venturi scrubber.

20
11. RECOMMENDATIONS

Here, there are some recommendations that had been listed as below to improve the efficiency

of this experiment to ensure the data is obtained accurately and to avoid an error occur during

the experiment were been carried out as could as possible:

1. Make sure that all tubing connection is connected properly during the start-up

experiment. This precaution is very important to make sure that there is no leaking and

the entire residue can be collected inside of the tank after the experiment was done.

2. In start-up procedure, connect the hose to inlet valve of water tank partition with water

level switch (V6) when to fill it with clean water and connect another hose to drain valve

water tank partition without level switch for draining purpose. By doing that, it will help

maximizing the efficiency of the venturi scrubber equipment in separation process.

3. During the adjustment of the blower speed (V1), make sure that the speed regulator is

stable and maintained at the desired blower speed within 5 minutes interval so that the

data reading is precise and accurate.

4. In order to maintain the flow meter (FT101), switch on the water pump by adjusting gate

valve (V3) and bypass valve (V5) until the flow meter (FT101) shows 5 LPM. The flow

meter must be kept in a constant value to avoid the existence of an error due to the

changes value in the flow meter.

5. Venturi scrubber can be run with the minimum value 4 m/s of air velocity and the

maximum value is 14 m/s air velocity because only on this range data can be collected. If

it had been set lower than 4 m/s air velocity, the blower cannot do suction on the

surrounding air because the pressure drop is too low. While if it been set more than 14

m/s of air velocity, the pressure regulator can only be adjusted to the value lower than

the range limit.

21
6. Last but not least, check the systematic error of the meter reading of pressure drop

system (DPT) before run the experiment in order to minimize the error of the collected

data.

22
12. REFERENCES

Corbitt, 1990. Standard Handbook of Environmental Engineering, edited by Robert A. Corbitt,

McGraw-Hill, New York.

EPA, 1996. U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, “OAQPS Control Cost

Manual,” Fifth Edition, EPA 453/B-96-001, Research Triangle Park.

EPA, 1998. U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, “Stationary Source Control

Techniques Document for Fine Particulate Matter,” EPA-452/R-97-001, Research Triangle Park.

EPA, 1992. U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, “Control Technologies for

Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Stationary Sources,” EPA 453/R-92-018, Research

Triangle Park.

Howard S. Peavy, Donald R. Rowe and George Tchobanoglous (1985), Environmental

Engineering. Singapore : McGraw-Hill.

Agrawal, K. S. (2013). Performance of Venturi Scrubber. International Journal of Engineering

Research and Development, 53-69. Retrieved on 21st March 2018 from

http://www.ijerd.com/paper/vol7-issue11/G07115369.pdf

Environmental Protection Agency, EPA. (2015). Air Pollution Control Technology Fact Sheet.

United State: EPA-CICA Fact Sheet. Retrieved on 21st March 2018 from

https://www3.epa.gov/ttnchie1/mkb/documents/fventuri.pdf

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National Measurement System. (2014). Introductory guide to differential-pressure flow meters.

NEL (TECHNOLOGY FOR LIFE). Retrieved on 21st March 2018 from

http://www.tuvnel.com/_x90lbm/An_Introduction_to_DifferentialPressure_Flow_Meter s.pdf

Paula, M. D. (2002). Wet Scrubbers for Particulate Matter. In Particulate Matter Control. EPA,

Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved on 21st March 2018 from

https://www3.epa.gov/ttncatc1/dir1/cs6ch2.pdf

R.Mishra. (2012, JULY 21). Venturi Meter: Theory, Operations & Working. Retrieved on 21st

March 2018 from https://learnprotocols.wordpress.com/2012/07/21/venturi-meter-theory-

operations-working/

WORLD BANK GROUP. (1998). Airborne Particulate Matter: Pollution Prevention and Control.

In P. G. TECHNOLOGIES, Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook (pp. 235-239).

Retrieved on 21st March 2018 from

https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/ab848080488557a8bd44ff6a6515bb18/HandbookAirborne

ParticulateMatterPollutionPreventionAndControl.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

Sanders, D. (2016, December 9). Processing Solution for the Process Industries. Retrieved from

Venturi Scrubbers, Physics & Bigbang Theory: http://www.processingmagazine.com/venturi-

scrubbers-big-bang-theory/

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12. APPENDICES

25