It is my honor and privilege to write this letter to you as the President of the International Society of Electrostatic Precipitation, ISESP.  We have had some difficulties in getting the ISESP web site functioning properly and so we have lost contact with some of our members. As I write this letter, I am hopeful that we can get the web site fully functional and regain contact with all our members and prospective members. We have many new ideas for enhancing the web site and they will be implemented over the next few months. This will make ourselves better known and also to encourage people to be active and communicate ideas and opinions about us and our branch of technology.

The Society is a non-profit organization working in the field of pollution control by means of Electrostatic Precipitation. Members/sponsors are found among Users, Universities, Institutes, Consultants and Equipment Suppliers. Each two to three years an International Conference on Electrostatic Precipitation is arranged. The last Conference was held in 2006 in Cairns , Australia . The next Conference will be in Hangzhou , China near Shanghai in October 2007. Announcement of this event will soon be published and details will be available on the web site.

The Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP) is a product that has been used for almost 100 years for particulate collection from process gases. It is still under development - new features such as improved energization, wider spacing, compact design etc have made it possible to reduce the size as well as the guaranteed emissions for many applications. Guarantees down to or below 10 mg/Nm3 are not unusual for a dry ESP. For wet ESPs the emission guarantee can be in the order of 1 mg/Nm3. The basic concept of an ESP is clear but there are astonishingly many parameters that can only be qualitatively assessed. Modeling of the ESP with modern computer technology is done to overcome these hurdles and this is very often done in co-operation between manufactures, users and researchers. The complex nature of this product means that new features must often be tested under realistic conditions in order to be finally evaluated from an efficiency viewpoint. New ideas are continuously appearing and many of these undergo practical field tests. It is my sincere belief that we will still see a lot of improvements for commercial ESPs.

There are a number of alternate technologies where the Electrostatic Forces are being used for collection of impurities. Research and development of new products for dry collection of SO2 and NOx is ongoing in many places. The combination of Fabric Filters and ESPs has seen a renewed interest in the last few years and several commercial plants are now in operation.

There exists a vast amount of knowledge about ESPs and related technologies, all requiring practical experience to apply. I feel that the number of engineers and researchers acquiring this experience is decreasing, however. It is the ambition of ISESP to preserve this knowledge for future generations. The need for experienced people will be very high in the future and for those who choose to work in this field there are many opportunities for interesting and rewarding challenges.

You will find a list of the Board Members of ISESP. I encourage you to send us your suggestions on how to develop our Society for the benefit of a technology that helps us preserve our environment. Please remember that almost all Board Members have other commitments in their daily work that may make it difficult for anyone of us to respond very quickly. You are welcome to suggest new Board Members and to apply for arranging the next Conference after China . New Officers and Board Members will be elected at the ICESP XI in China in October 2008.

It is my hope that we shall be able to bring more members into the Society - either as individual Members or as Corporate Members. I hope to see many of you in Hangzhou China .

            Bob Crynack

            President