Many industrial, power generation and chemical processes produce unwanted fine particulate material as a consequence of their operation. Electrostatic precipitation is a highly efficient method of removing entrained particulate contaminants from exhaust gases and is extensively used in these industries to limit particulate emissions. New legislation aimed at improving the environment by further limiting these discharges has resulted in the technique undergoing considerable development over the past decade, to the point where it has become the method of choice, over a wide range of...