STATUS AND FUTURE OF BAGHOUSES IN THE UTILITY INDUSTRY

The cumulative years of service of baghouses in the electric utility i ndustry have doubled since the last industry-wide review of their oper ating performance. We have gathered information from all 102 operating baghouses to develop an updated record of how this technology continu es to serve the electric utility industry. In general, baghouse perfor mance has met or exceeded the expectations for controlling emissions. There are, however, wide ranges of pressure drop and bag life performa nce. Most operators report a long-term trend of increasing pressure dr op. The life expectancy of filter bags averages 7.5 years, with more t han 20% of the population achieving more than 10 years of bag life. Fa ctors such as coal and ash properties certainly affect baghouse operat ion, but another reason for variations in bag life is the lack of an o ptimized protocol for controlling the long-term buildup of residual du stcake. We conclude that many baghouses could operate with lower press ure drop and longer bag life by optimizing the cleaning system. Dustca ke weight or drag are better indicators of performance than pressure d rop and should be used to develop an optimum baghouse operating protoc ol.