The Venturi scrubber is a device which uses liquid in the form of droplets to efficiently remove fine particulate matter from gaseous streams. Droplet size is of fundamental importance for the scrubber performance. In the present experimental study, a laser diffraction technique was used in order to measure droplet size in situ in a Venturi scrubber with a rectangular cross section. Droplet size distribution was measured as a function of gas velocity (58.3 to 74.9 m/s), liquid-to-gas ratio (0.07 to 0.27 l/m³), and distance from liquid injection point (64 to 173 mm). It was found that all these variables significantly affect droplet size. The results were compared with the predictions from correlations found in the literature.

A deriva nas aplicações de agrotóxicos é considerada um dos maiores problemas da agricultura. Entre os fatores que a influenciam, o tamanho das gotas pulverizadas tem-se mostrado primordial. Dessa forma, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo a avaliação dos efeitos da adição de óleo vegetal emulsionável à calda de pulverização e do uso de pontas antideriva sobre o espectro de gotas e sobre o potencial de deriva de bicos de pulverização hidráulicos de jato plano. Em ambiente controlado, avaliou-se a população de gotas, por meio de um analisador de gotas por difração de raio laser, em tempo real, pulverizadas utilizando-se bicos standard, com e sem a adição de adjuvante, e bicos antideriva, na faixa de pressão de 200 a 400 kPa. Como complementação, avaliou-se também a deriva em campo, utilizando-se alvos artificiais fora da área de aplicação, procedendo-se à contagem de gotas em diferentes distâncias. Observou-se que a adição de óleo vegetal à calda de pulverização e o uso de bicos de pulverização antideriva, dotados de pré-orifício, alteraram o espectro de gotas pulverizadas, aumentando o diâmetro das gotas e diminuindo a percentagem de gotas propensas à ação dos ventos, constituindo-se, portanto, em fator auxiliar para redução da deriva.

Pesticide spray drift is a major problem in agriculture today. Among the factors influencing drift, droplet size is of paramount importance. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the effects of adding emulsifying vegetable oil to the pesticide emulsion and using low drift nozzles on droplet spectrum formation and, consequently, on the drift potential of fan spray nozzles. Droplet distribution was measured under controlled atmosphere, using a real time laser particle size analyzer. The droplets were generated with standard nozzles, with and without the addition of adjuvants, and with low drift nozzles, with the operating pressure ranging from 200 to 400 kPa. Also, drift was evaluated in the field, using artificial targets placed outside the application area, where droplet counting was accomplished. The results showed that both the addition of vegetable oil to the pesticide emulsion and the use of low drift nozzles altered droplet size spectra, increasing the diameter of the drops and reducing the percentage of drops subject to wind action being, thus, effective factors in drift reduction.

The present work is a continuation of a study of the influence of geometric characteristics on the performance of reverse-flow cylindrical-conical cyclones. After studying the behavior of the pressure drop in previous work (Arnosti et al., 1998), here performance in terms of collection efficiency in the removal of particulate material is addressed. The independent variables considered in this study were inlet gas velocity (three velocities) and the following dimensions of the cyclone: the cylindrical section (three heights) and internal height of the gas exit duct (three heights). The tests were performed using an 3³ experimental design. Analysis of the results for overall efficiency was carried out using response surfaces and the statistical parameters were estimated from linear regression.

This work presents an analysis based on experimental measurement of the influence of gas velocity, applied potential, diameter of the active electrode and distance between two consecutive active electrodes in the performance of a wire-plate electrostatic precipitator. The dimensions of the experimental equipment were as follows: length = 0.5 m, height = 0.3 m, width = 0.3 m, number of ducts = 3, distance between the collection electrodes = 0.1 m and collection area = 0.9 m². The particulate material used in the tests was a phosphatic concentrate with a density of 3.0 x 10³ kg/m³ and a mean particle size of 8.0 mum. The performance of the precipitator was evaluated by measuring its overall collection efficiency, obtained by isokinetic sampling at the entrance and exit of the experimental system. The results were compared to predictions obtained using the classic Deutsch-Anderson equation as well as the one from Zhao et al. (1996). A correction factor is proposed.

The design and construction of a equipment capable of measuring the electrostatic charges in aerosols, named the electrostatic charge classifier, were carried out. They were based on the concept of particle electromobility and the charge classifier was intended to classify the nature and the distribution of electrostatic charges as a function of particle size. The resulting piece of equipment is easy to dismount, which facilitates its cleaning and transport, and easy to operate. Early results indicate that the values of electrostatic charge measured on test particles are inside the range reported in the literature, indicating the adequacy of the technique utilized.

The drag coefficient, CD, was experimentally determined during sedimentation of aerosol particles in air flowing horizontally in a conduit of rectangular cross section, and its relation to the Reynolds numbers for the particle, Rep, and the conduit, Rec, was found. The method used to obtain the frictional force on the particles is based on observation of the trajectories of the particles being deposited on the bottom wall of the conduit. The diameter (dp) and point of deposition of the particles were determined by examining small glass slides distributed along the floor of the apparatus at given positions. The diameter of particles adhering to these laminae can be observed by microscope, but a factor must then be applied to convert these values to the diameters in suspension (dp), since the particles are liquid and undergo flattening as they collect on the glass. Results were compared with the aerodynamic diameter of the particle, obtained independently, and the discrepancies that appeared will need to be investigated further. The velocity profiles of the air inside the apparatus were also recorded. A correlation of the form CD = f(Rep, Rec) is proposed.