A new type of rotating packed bed (RPB), counter airflow shear rotating packed bed (CAS-RPB), was proposed to solve the problem of increasingly serious air pollution. To meet the ultra-low emission (ULE) standard (the outlet particle concentration less than 5 mg Nm(-3)) in a cost-effective way, various operation conditions were conducted in the counter-rotating flow CAS-RPB and the co-rotating flow CAS-RPB, including high gravity factor (beta), gas velocity (v(g)), ratio of liquid to gas (L/G), liquid surface tension (sigma) and liquid viscosity (mu). Besides, empirical correlations for the outlet particle concentrations were also established both in the counter-rotating flow CAS-RPB and the co-rotating flow CAS-RPB. Moreover, the dust removal performance in CAS-RPB was also compared with other types of RPB at the similar operation conditions to further illustrate its superior performance. The promising results were indicated that the CAS-RPB, as a new technology for gas advanced purification, showed excellent performance in much lower outlet particle concentration. (C) 2019 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.