Plate Precipitator
The most basic precipitator contains a row of thin vertical wires, and followed by a stack of large flat metal plates oriented vertically, with the plates typically spaced about 1 cm to 18 cm apart, depending on the application. The air or gas stream flows horizontally through the spaces between the wires, and then passes through the stack of plates.
A negative voltage of several thousand volts is applied between wire and plate. If the applied voltage is high enough an electric (corona) discharge ionizes the gas around the electrodes. Negative ions flow to the plates and charge the gas-flow particles.
The ionized particles, following the negative electric field created by the power supply, move to the grounded plates.
Particles build up on the collection plates and form a layer. The layer does not collapse, thanks to electrostatic pressure (given from layer resistivity, electric field, and current flowing in the collected layer).
Read more about this topic: Electrostatic Precipitator
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