Eliminating Frequent Failed Filter Bags in Coal-Fired Power Plant’s Baghouse

The Challenge

A 650 MW power plant in the south-central USA was operating a 14-compartment baghouse filtering flue gas from a boiler burning powder river basin coal. The client had been experiencing frequent failed bags, typically with the failure mode being in the middle of the bag, just above the top of the inlet baffle.

The frequent bag failures meant increased maintenance expenses, plant operation at a reduced baghouse capacity, and an ongoing risk of being out of compliance with emissions requirements.

The power plant turned to the Micronics Engineered Filtration Group for a baghouse solution that would address the set of issues eroding the middle of the existing 28-foot-long PPS filter bags with a 2-piece cage design.

The Micronics Solution

After a thorough evaluation was performed by the Micronics team, we determined that a solution was needed that would clear the exposure of the filter media to the dust-laden gas stream blasting horizontally over the top of the inlet baffle. StarBags^TM were selected as the engineered filtration solution, providing an improved filtration area which also helped to lower the baghouse air-to-cloth ratio.

The StarBag™ is designed to offer up to 2.4 times the traditional filter surface area with the same inner dimension, meaningfully reducing the air-to-cloth ratio.

After an initial successful trial in 3 of the 14 compartments, the plant leadership was convinced that the use of StarBags^TM was the appropriate option for addressing the inherent issues with their baghouse system and proceeded with full baghouse deployment.

The StarBag™ solution was configured with a 13-foot-long PPS oleophobic felt and a one-piece epoxy-coated cage that provided a 15-foot drop-out zone that allowed a considerable reduction in grain loading. Grain loading refers to the amount of particulate (by weight) that is suspended in a gas stream at the baghouse inlet.

StarBag Implementation and Cage Conversion: A Quantifiable Success

Micronics’ filter media selection resulted in only a 12-month ROI and numerous quantifiable improvements for the power plant baghouse:

• 99% baghouse demand availability
• Reduction in maintenance expenses from weekly expenditures to an annual inspection
• 30% reduction in differential pressure drop for the StarBags ^TM vs. traditional bags
• 35% reduction in future baghouse changeout expenses since the StarBags^TM utilized a single, 1-piece cage design vs. the prior 2-piece cage design
• Eliminated the ongoing threat of emissions excursions & associated penalties due to failed filter bags

You can rely on the Micronics Engineered Filtration Group and its trusted brands – NFM, Filterfab, SFM, CPE, and UPC – to be your proven single source for solving complex baghouse challenges.

Contact Us to learn more about this solution as well as our full range of Baghouse Filtration Solutions including filter media, parts, baghouse services, and equipment, including retrofits.