Heterogeneous condensation of magnetized water vapor on fine SiO₂ particles

The emission of fine particles from coal-fired power plants is one of the major healthy and environmental concerns. The enlargement of particles seems to be a promising pretreatment technology due to the low removal efficiency of traditional dusting devices. The study of particle amplification by heterogeneous condensation of magnetized water vapor was carried out based on the growth tube. And, the major component of particles from coal combustion SiO₂ was tested. The experimental results indicate that the particle growth is more favored by the magnetized water compared with non-magnetized water. And the particle growth is closely related to the magnetic field strength. Additionally, the surface tension of magnetized water is reduced and the wettability of particle surface is improved to some extent. Meanwhile, the particle concentration has stronger effect on the particle growth with magnetized water at lower level of supersaturation. Numerical calculation results demonstrate that the critical supersaturation is lower and nucleation rate is elevated when the water magnetized. This work reveals the facilitating process of particle growth by magnetized water that is the physical method of ameliorating particle surface performance.