Removal of particulate matter from pork belly grilling gas using an orifice wet scrubber

Abstract

Grilling restaurants are a major contributor to airborne particulate matter (PM) in metropolitan areas. In this study, the removal of PM during the grilling of pork belly using an orifice scrubber, which is a form of gas-induced spray scrubber, was assessed. During grilling, the particle mass concentration was the highest for 1.0 < PM <= 2.5 mu m (55.5% of total PM emissions), followed by 0.5 < PM <= 1.0 (27.1%), PM <= 0.5 (10.7%), and PM > 2.5 mu m (7.0%). The PM removal efficiency of the orifice scrubber at a gas flow of 4.5 m(3)min(-1)was > 99.7% for PM >= 2.5 mu m, 89.4% for 1.0 < PM <= 2.5 mu m, 62.1% for 0.5 < PM <= 1.0, and 36.5% for PM <= 0.5 mu m. Although further research is necessary to optimize its use, the orifice scrubber offers a user-friendly technology for the control of PM in small grilling restaurants because of its simple design, uncomplicated operation, and satisfactory PM removal performance.