Environment & Inlet system Type
Roermond is located in the Netherlands at the confluence of the rivers Maas and Roer and has a moderate maritime climate influenced by the North Sea and the warm Gulf Stream. Precipitations are high, with a yearly average of 768 mm, but are quite evenly spread, and temperatures average 10 °C. The average PM10 concentration is 23 µg/m3 and 15 µg/m3 for PM2.5, thus not a high dust area but the gas turbines had still been supplied with pulse filter systems. Even after the dust cake built up, the sticky nature of the dust rendered the pulse system ineffective.
In extremely dusty environments, a pulse filter system is the right choice. This kind of self-cleaning system allows full continuous operation at a low stable pressure drop. In areas such as Roermond, the low levels of coarse dust can lead to a low system efficiency as there is no dust cake formation. Traditional two dimensional surface loading pulse filters, when tested for filter efficiency, start at a low level and increase efficiency as the filter is loaded with dust. In the field, if the filter doesn’t load quickly, it may run at its lowest efficiency for a long period of time.
As a solution, Camfil has introduced the GTC media, a three dimensional media with depth loading properties and a constant high efficiency. The synthetic fibers offer more strength and better performance even under high humidity conditions.
Site Data
| Total run time |
16 000 hours |
| Median relative humidity (RH) |
78.5% |
| Median temperature |
10 ºC (50 °F) |
Filtration Data
| |
GT2. HemiPleatTM Synthetic GTC |
GT4. HemiPleatTM Blended Media |
GT1. Competitor Filter |
GT3. Competitor Filter |
| dP Increase over test (2 years) |
30 Pa |
30 Pa |
220 Pa |
370 Pa |
| Filter Life |
3 years expected |
3 years expected |
Changed after 2 years |
changed after 2 years |
| Efficiency at 0.4 µg after 2 years |
85% |
50% |
50% |
50% |
| Filter classification per EN779:2012 (Efficiency requirement at 0.4 µm) |
F9
Minimum: 70%
Average: ≥95%
|
F7
Minimum: 35%
Average: ≥80%
|
F7
Minimum: 35%
Average: ≥80%
|
F7
Minimum: 35%
Average: ≥80%
|
The Results
Both Camfil filters with the HemiPleatTM open pleating technology offered constant low pressure drop. Both have consistent flat pressure drop curves over time while the competitive filters showed sharper increase over time. The site typically got 2 years of filter life, but the trend shows they can expect at least 3 years from Camfil HemiPleatTM filters.
In addition, the GTC media offered constant high filtration efficiency (F9 per EN779:2012), thus better protection without any pressure drop or life penalty.
Benefits
- Longer filter life means less shutdowns for filter changes
- Consistent lower pressure drop means a consistent higher power output
- Consistent high efficiency means less fouling, more power output and lower fuel consumption
- Consistent high efficiency and less fouling also means less stops for water washings are needed
Efficiency trends illustrate the difference between the GTC 3D2 media that keeps a stable high efficiency and a typical surface loading media3 in a low dust environment. After losing its initial electrostatic charge, it takes several months before the filter starts to regain its efficiency.
1 PM2.5 dust concentration measures the mass of all particles 2.5 microns of diameter and smaller per init area. PM10 refers to 10 microns and smaller. Source: European Environment Agency database from World Health Organization. Data based on Heerlen, NL.
2 F9 per EN779:2012
3 F7 per EN779:2012
Ireland