Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM
Reduction of harmful fine and ultrafine dusts
As local, carbon-neutral raw materials, wood and biomass play an important role in climate protection. However, burning biomass emits large quantities of fine dust, including particles of less than 1 μm in size, which are particularly damaging to health. That is why countries like Germany are imposing increasingly strict limits on how much particulate matter can be emitted. As of 2024, some environmental certificates (e.g. the »Blue Angel«) will also require compliance with limits based on the number of particles – this is already standard for combustion engines today. Therefore, besides effective methods of combustion control, new technologies are needed to reduce the emission of harmful fine dust from combustion plants.
Active instead of passive – Separating instead of filtering
Passive fine dust filters made of ceramic or metal clean the exhaust gases mechanically and chemically. At first glance, they are less expensive than active particle separators. However, they clog up with the filtered particles during operation and must be regularly maintained and replaced.
Fraunhofer IPM therefore relies on active electrical particle separation for its cleaning systems. As standard, we use commercially available electrostatic separators as the core element of our separator solutions. They electrically charge the fine dust particles contained in the exhaust gas stream and subsequently deposit them on the inner walls of the flue pipe. With over 90 percent of the particle count, they provide a very high level of separation efficiency – even for particles down to the nanometer range.
Our particle separator systems are equipped with specially designed self-cleaning devices, which autonomously remove deposits of separated particles from the system. They can be retrofitted into existing installations, or can be integrated into a new installation from the start.