A Low-Cost Electrostatic Precipitator Featuring a Rotating Particle Collection Plate for Home Air Purification

In contrast to many popular HEPA and fiber- filter based air purifiers in the existing market for dealing with fine particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less (PM2.5) in the household, this paper illustrates a modified electrostatic precipitator (ESP) based air purification design for home-use. A rotating module is embedded to the particle collecting plate along with a proper brushing mechanism to remove the dust and other fine particles from the plate to the dust bin at the bottom. This modification potentially improves the efficiency of the ESP air purifier in the household by continuously removing the dust off the collecting plate. The design selects low-cost materials and simple electronics parts to save the cost of the prototyping and the eventual manufacturing cost. The electrodes consist of a horizontal panel of copper wires and a rotating cylindrical aluminum plates underneath at the operating voltage of 1,300 volts. A 12-Vdc cooling fan is used for increasing inlet-outlet air flow. Also, a 12-Vdc geared motor turning slowly at 5 rpm is driving the rotation module inside the cylindrical aluminum plate. A 220-Vac to 12-Vdc 2A switching power supply is the energy source for this prototype. The efficiency of device is examined and evaluated in the closed and confined volume against the generated incense smoke. The results have shown that the rotating module immediately improves the function of the collecting plate and hence, increases the filtration efficiency. It has also been found that air flow speed has positive effect on the modified ESP efficiency.