Significant decrease of pressure drop and dust emission in novel downflow baghouse dust collector

• A downflow-type filter baghouse was proposed and implemented in a full-scale system. • Only the upper section of the baghouse was retrofitted to implement downward flow. • The 91.5% pressure drop cut reduced blower power use by 86.4%. • Dust emissions reduced by 54.8% compared to the original upward-flow configuration. • One-year monitoring confirmed stable performance and reliable long-term durability. A conventional filter baghouse introduces flue gas from the bottom, directing it upward through the filter bags, which can promote re-entrainment of dislodged dust during pulse-jet cleaning. This re-entrainment leads to a persistent increase in pressure drop, which reduces suction flow rate, increases power consumption, and can cause damage to the filter bags. To address this issue, a simple yet innovative structural modification was proposed, in which the internal flow direction was reversed from upward to downward, and this was implemented by retrofitting an existing filter baghouse in a full-scale system with a final capacity of 880 Am³/min. As a result, the pressure drop was significantly reduced from 2,857 ± 1,136 Pa to 241 ± 112 Pa, corresponding to an average decrease of 86.4 ± 50.7% in blower power consumption. Additionally, dust emissions decreased from 4.2 ± 1.3 mg/Sm³ to 1.9 ± 0.8 mg/Sm³. Due to its simplicity and suitability for partial retrofitting of existing systems, this approach offers practical benefits for industrial facilities facing challenges in baghouse maintenance. Moreover, it provides valuable insights into pressure drop mitigation strategies, potentially guiding future research and system optimization efforts.