The current pulses characteristics of the negative corona discharge in SF_(6)/CF_(4)mixtures

This paper presents the results of numerical investigation of the current pulses characteristics in SF_(6)/CF_(4)mixtures for the negative point-plane corona discharge.The pressure and the temperature of gas mixtures are 0.4 MPa and 300 K,respectively.The CF_(4)content varies from20%to 80%.The 2D axisymmetric geometry with point-plane electrodes is investigated,and the three drift-diffusion equations are solved to predict the characteristics of the negative corona discharge.In addition,Poisson’s equation is coupled with the above three continuity equations to calculate the electric field.In order to calculate the electron impact coefficients,including the Townsend ionization and attachment coefficients,as well as the mobilities and diffusion coefficients for electrons,the two-term Boltzmann equation is solved.The characteristics of three ionic species at five stages of the first current pulse in 60%SF_(6)-40%CF_(4)and20%SF_(6)-80%CF_(4)mixtures are selected to discuss the development mechanism of current pulses.Moreover,the reduced electric field strengths at the corresponding time instants are presented to help understand the discharge process.The current waveform and the total number of three species are compared in all the cases to analyze the effects of the CF_(4)content on the discharge.The reduced electric field strength is also helpful in understanding the effects of CF_(4)content.When the CF_(4)content increases to 80%,the discharge is more intensive and the pulse frequency also increases.

Simultaneous oxidation of NO,SO_2 and Hg^0 from flue gas by pulsed corona discharge

A process capable of simultaneously oxidizing NO, SO2, and Hg^0 was proposed, using a nigh-voltage and short-duration positive pulsed corona discharge. By focusing on NO, SO2, and Hg^0 oxidation efficiencies, the influences of pulse peak voltage, pulse frequency, initial concentration, electrode number, residence time and water vapor addition were investigated. The results indicate that NO, SO2 and Hg^0 oxidation efficiencies depend primarily on the radicals （OH, HO2, O） and the active species （O3, H2O2, etc.） produced by the pulsed corona discharge. The NO, SO2 and Hg^0 oxidation efficiencies could be improved as pulse peak voltage, pulse frequency, electrode number and residence time increased, but they were reduced with increasing initial concentrations. By adding water vapor, the SO2 oxidation efficiency was improved remarkably, while the NO oxidation efficiency decreased slightly. In our experiments, the simultaneous NO, SO2, and Hg^0 oxidation efficiencies reached to 40%, 98%, and 55% with the initial concentrations 479 mg/m^3, 1040 mg/m^3, and 15.0 μg/m^3, respectively.

Factors Influencing the Electron Yield of Needle-Ring Pulsed Corona Discharge Electron Source for Negative Ion Mobility Spectrometer

A simple negative ion mobility spectrometer （IMS） is designed and used to investi- gate the factors that influence the number and efficiency of electrons generated by the needle-ring pulsed corona discharge electron source. Simulation with Ansoft Maxwell 12 is carried out to analyze the electric field distribution within the IMS, and to offer the basis and foundation for analyzing the measurement results. The measurement results of the quantities of electrons show that when the drift electric field strength and the ring inner diameter rise, both the number of ef- fective electrons and the effective electron rate are increased. When the discharge voltage becomes stronger, the number of effective electrons goes up while the effective electron rate goes down. In light of the simulation results, mechanisms underlying the effects of drift electric field strength, ring inner diameter, and discharge voltage on the effective electron number and effective electron rate are discussed. These will make great sense for designing negative ion mode IMS using the needle-ring pulsed corona discharge as the electron source.

Research on Nanosecond Pulse Corona Discharge with Cross Magnetic Field Applied

An application of magnetic field to the nanosecond pulse corona discharge is investigated. A cylinder reactor with different corona electrodes is set up for experimental study. A magnetic field with its direction perpendicular to the corona discharge is applied. Different discharge images are taken under single nanosecond pulse with a high sensitive UV-visible light imagine recorder. Experimental results show that with a cross magnetic field the nanosecond corona discharge both generates paths and develops homogeneously in space more than that without the magnetic field. The results may lead to a possibility to apply a cross magnetic field on nanosecond pulse corona discharge for getting higher desulfurization efficiency.

Removal of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Mixture by Multi-Pin-Mesh Corona Discharge Combined with Pulsed High-Voltage

Removal of single component and binary mixtures of benzene and m-xylene using a multi-pin-mesh reactor was studied to find the decomposition characteristics, carbon balance and CO2 selectivity. The decomposition rate of benzene in mixture was approximately 16% lower than that of single component benzene. However, the decomposition rate of m-xylene in mixture was slightly higher than that of single component m-xylene. Carbon balance of the mixture decomposition process achieved a lower level than that of single component benzene/m-xylene. Increase in the specific input energy was helpful to improve CO2 selectivity in the single component decomposition process, while the specific input energy had a negligible effect on CO2 selectivity in the mixture decomposition process. By changing the oxygen content in background gas, we found that different types of radicals showed different reaction activities toward benzene and m-xylene. Benzene was more likely to react with nitrogen-containing radicals, while m-xylene was more likely to react with oxygen-containing radicals.

Electrical Characteristics of Pulsed Corona Discharge Plasmas in Chitosan Solution

Pulsed discharge plasma has exhibited active potential to prepare low molecular weight chitosan. In the present study, the viscosity of ehitosan solution was decreased noticeably after treated with pulsed corona discharge plasma. An experimental investigation on electrical characteristics of pulsed corona discharge plasma in chitosan solution was conducted with a view toward getting insight into discharge process. Factors affecting I-V curve, single pulse injec- tion energy and pulse width were studied. Experimental results showed positive effect of pulsed peak voltage on discharge plasma in chitosan solution. Pulse-forming capacitor greatly influenced the discharge form, and 4 nF was observed as a suitable value for efficiently generating stable discharge plasmas. As the electrode distance was larger than 10 ram, it had slight impact on dis- charge plasma due to the excellent conductive-property of chitosan solution. The injection energy significantly increased with air flow rate, while the pulse width hardly changed as the air flow rate increased from 0.5 m^3/h to 1.0 m^3/h. This study is expected to provide reference for promoting the application of pulsed corona discharge plasma to ehitosan solution treatment.

The Experimental Investigations of Dielectric Barrier Discharge and Pulse Corona Discharge in Air Cleaning

The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) and pulse corona discharge(PCD) plasma generator was used to remove NH3, H2S, C7H8 etc. from atmosphere. The principle and characteristic of the two ways was discussed in the article. The test shows the result of PCD is better than that of DBD.

Conversion of Methane to Hydrogen via Pulsed Corona Discharge

Experiments are performed to develop a pulsed corona discharge system for the conversion of methane to hydrogen at atmospheric pressure (≈760 Torr) without using a catalyst. The corona discharge was energized by 10-12 μs wide voltage pulses (≤7 kV) at a repetition rate of about 1.0-1.5 kHz. The residual gases were characterized by mass spectrometry. The conversion of methane is as high as 50.8% producing the 70% yield of hydrogen. The influences of argon on the discharge of methane were studied. This result could be useful for the mass production of hydrogen in both academic and industrial point of view.

Treatment of Dyeing Wastewater by Using Positive Pulsed Corona Discharge to Water Surface

This study investigated the treatment of textile-dyeing wastewater by using an electrical discharge technique （positive pulsed corona discharge）. The high-voltage electrode was placed above the surface Of the wastewater while the ground electrode was submerged in the wastewater. The electrical discharge starting at the tip of the high voltage electrode propagated toward the surface of the wastewater, producing various oxidative radicals and ozone. Oxygen was used as the working gas instead of air to prevent nitrogen oxides from forming. The simulated wastewater was made up with amaranth, which is a kind of azo dye. The results obtained showed that the chromaticity of the wastewater was almost completely removed within an hour. The ultraviolet/visible spectra of the wastewater treated by the electrical discharge revealed that the total hydrocarbon level also decreased significantly.

The Study of Active Atoms in High-Voltage Pulsed Coronal Discharge by Optical Diagnostics

In this study, the emission spectra of active atoms O (3p5P → 3s5S20 777.4 nm), Hα (3P → 2S 656.3 nm) and N (3p4P → 3sαS0 742.3 nm, 744.2 nm, 746.8 nm) produced by the positive high-voltage pulsed corona discharge (HVPCD) of N2 and H2O mixture in a needle-plate reactor have successfully been recorded against a severe electromagnetic interference coming from the HVPCD at one atmosphere. The effects of the peak voltage, the repetition rate of pulsed discharge and the flow rate of oxygen on the production of those active atoms are investigated. It is found that when the peak voltage and the repetition rate of the pulsed discharge are increased, the emission intensities of those active atoms rise correspondingly. And the emission intensities of O (3p5P → 3s5S20 777.4 nm), Hα (3P → 2S 656.3 nm) and N (3p4P → 3s4S0 742.3 nm, 744.2 nm, 746.8 nm) increase with the flow rate of oxygen (from 0 to 25 ml/min) and achieve a maximum value at a flow rate of 25 ml/min. When the flow rate of oxygen is increased further, the emission intensities of those atoms visibly decrease correspondingly. The main physicochemical processes of interaction involved between electrons, neutrals and ions are also discussed.

Research on Nanosecond Pulse Corona Discharge Attenuation

A line-to-plate reactor was set-up in the experimental study on the application of nanosecond pulsed corona discharge plasma technology in environmental pollution control. Investigation on the attenuation and distortion of the amplitude of the pulse wave front and the discharge image as well as the waveform along the corona wire was conducted. The results show that the wave front decreases sharply during the corona discharge along the corona wire. The higher the amplitude of the applied pulse is, the more the amplitude of the wave front decreased. The wave attenuation responds in a lower corona discharge inversely. To get a higher efficiency of the line-to-plate reactor a sharp attenuation of the corona has to be considered in practical design.

Investigations on removal of SO_2 from flue gas by aerosol formation in pulsed corona discharge process

The removal of SO 2 from flue gas by pulsed corona discharge in presence of ammonia was experimentally investigated. The results showed that the SO 2 removal mainly depends on thermal reaction of SO 2 with NH 3 and enhancements of 0%—25% by pulsed corona discharge in the range of the specific energy 0—5 Wh/Nm 3. The aerosol mass concentration, mainly composed of ammonium sulfate, increased with specific energy dissipated into the reactor. With an initial concentration of 2000—2100 ppmv SO 2 and energy consumption of 3 Wh/Nm 3, when a stoichiometric amount of ammonia is injected, the removal efficiency of SO 2 and percentage of ammonium sulfates in reaction products are all ≥80%. The collection efficiency of the reactor for aerosol is about 74% at a flue gas temperature of 60 to 65℃ and a water vapor content of 9% to 11% volume.

Generation of reactive atomic species of positive pulsed corona discharges in wetted atmospheric flows of nitrogen and oxygen

The emission spectra of excited radicals（OH（A^2E）,O（3p^3 P）,Hα（3P）） and emissive species（N2^＋（B^2∑u^＋）,N2（C3Πu）） produced by positive pulsed high-voltage needle-plane corona discharges in atmospheric N2 and O2 flows wetted with 10%H2O at 80 ℃ are used to investigate the relative concentrations of the produced radicals.The results indicate that the tendencies of the concentrations of radicals with discharge conditions are similar to each other due to their similar excitation processes by electron collision.The influence of oxygen flow mixed with the nitrogen flow on the emission intensities of O（3p^5P → 3s^5S2^0.）,Hα（3P → 2S）,N2＋（B^2∑u^＋ → X^2∑g＋0-0）,and N2（C^3Πu → B^3Πg 1-0） is presented.When the flow rate of oxygen addition is varied from 0-30 ml min^-1,the emission intensities of O（3p^5P → 3s^5S2^0.）,Hα（3P → 2s）,and N2^＋（B^2∑u^＋ →X^2∑g 0-0） increase and reach a maximum.Then,if the oxygen flow rate increases further,the emission intensities tend to decrease.However,the intensity of N2（C^3Πu → B^3Πg1-0） decreases monotonously with the increasing oxygen flow,which indicates that the electron density decreases with the increasing oxygen flow.By the tendencies of the relative intensities to N2（C^3Πu → B^3Πg 1-0）,the concentrations of the total produced O,H,and N2^＋ are shown to increase with the oxygen flow.Based on the reactions for the production of H and O without and with the addition of O2,the analytic solutions for H and O production are derived in accordance with the experimental results.

Burst pulses for positive corona discharges in atmospheric air:the collective movement of charged species

Positive corona burst pulses are an unstable pulse mode.They appear in a small range of the onset stage,and their current pulses result from the collective movement of charged species.This paper focused on the connections between these pulses and the collective movement of charged species.The movement of species is divided into four parts with respect to time:the(1)initial growth of species,(2)formation and development of the streamer region and negative ion sheath,(3)dead time(the time interval between the pulses),and(4)rapid re-growth of species.The movement of the species in the four parts and the correspondence with the current pulse were analyzed.The numerical results indicated the following:the rapid rising of the species matched the rising edge of the pulses,the streamer region,and negative ion sheath appeared in the falling edge of the primary pulse,and the rapid re-growth of species matched the re-ignition of the pulses.The results were in qualitative agreement with deductions and experimental observations in the literature.

Experimental Investigation of Effects of Electric Operating Parameters on Pulsed Corona Discharges in Humid Air at Atmospheric Pressure

The present work is devoted to electrical and optical study of a point-plane atmospheric pressure corona discharge reactor in humid air powered by pulsed high voltage supply. The corona current and the injected energy are analyzed as a function of several parameters such as applied voltage and humidity rate. Then, investigations based on emission spectroscopy analysis were used in UV range (from 200 nm to about 400 nm). The main observed excited species were the second positive (SPS), the first negative (FNS) systems and OH(A-X) rotational bands. The latter band was used to simulate the rotational temperature (Tr), whereas the N2+ (FNS) band was used to determine the vibrational temperature (Tv). The electron temperature (Te ) is determined from the ratio of line intensities of the spectral bands of both N2+ FNS at 391.4 nm and N2SPS at 394.4 nm. The rotational, vibrational and electronic temperatures are analyzed as a function of above parameters (applied voltage, frequency and hygrometry rate) near the anodic tip. As well we study the axial variation of electronic temperature for a fixed applied voltage at 6.4 kV, frequency at 10 kHz and 100% of humidity. It is found that the rotational, vibrational and electronic temperatures increased with increasing applied voltage, frequency and humidity rate. The increase of rate hygrometry for an inter-electrode distance fixed at 10 mm causes an increase in both the amplitude of the corona current discharge and the energy injected in corona discharge. This is indicative of more intense reactive plasma while increasing hygrometry rate.

Study on the discharge mechanism and EM radiation characteristics of Trichel pulse discharge in air

The Trichel pulse stage is an unstable stage of negative corona discharge that can also involve electromagnetic(EM)radiation signals.In this paper,the discharge mechanism and radiation characteristics of the Trichel pulse are studied in the needle-plate electrode configuration.The Trichel pulse currenl and its EM radiation signals are measured at different applied voltages.The results show that Trichel pulse discharge changes from the nindom pulse stage to the continuous pulse stage as the applied voltage increases.During these different stages,the normalized shape of the Trichel pulses remains unchanged,while the frequency of the EM radiation generated by the discharge remains unchanged.The discharge mechanism and EM radiation characteristics of the Trichel pulse are theoretically analyzed in the different stages.Both the positive ion sheath and the negative ion cloud play key roles in the formation of the Trichel pulse.The EM radiati on signal is generated by the rapidly changing Trichel pulse current,and the Trichel pulse current waveform determines the characteristics of the EM radiation signal.

Transition of Streamer, Corona and Glow Discharges in Needle-to-plane Dielectric Barrier Discharge at Atmospheric Pressure Air

To discuss the modes of dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) between needle-to-plane electrodes in air,DBD is generated and observed on a needle-to-plane device at atmospheric pressure air.Fast images of the DBD are taken by using a charge couple device(CCD) cinema with a macro lens,while the electrical and photo-electricity waveforms of the DBD are recorded.The current waveforms show that under an applied voltage of 3 kV,there are numerous short current pulses in both positive and negative half-periods of discharges.However,under 6 kV,there are still the numerous short current pulses in the positive half-periods,but only one wide current pulse in each negative half-period.This difference is also found in the photoelectric signals.The streamer,corona and glow discharges are observed from the images of the discharges at different applied voltages.The structure of glow discharge in the negative period is exactly the same as that of the low pressure glow discharge.However,in the positive period of discharge there is always a streamer.In the negative period of discharge,while the applied voltage increases,the transition from corona to glow discharge is observed.The progress of a transition between streamer and glow discharge at 6 kV during one period is analyzed.The glow discharge appearance is determined by two factors: the discharge current is limited to a certain extent by the dielectric layer; the charges deposited on the dielectric layer during the last half period enhance the intensity of the electric field.At an insufficient applied voltage,the cathode drop leads to no glow discharge,but Trichel pulses.

Wastewater Decontamination from Microorganisms by Electrospraying Corona Discharge

A novel water treatment technique, based on a combination of electrospraying and pulsed corona discharge, has been used for bio-decontamination of wastewater. The electrospraying process has been found to increase the surface area of the treated wastewater, and hence increases the efficiency of the corona treatment process. The phase diagram of the discharge, which characterizes the discharge regimes, has been identified experimentally. The survival ratio of the microorganisms has been investigated experimentally as a function of the applied voltage and the numbers of treatment runs using air and oxygen as working gases. Microorganism surface has been examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM), which enabled in understanding the decontamination mechanisms of the treated microorganism. A complete decontamination has been achieved after only one run for an applied voltage higher than 16 kV when the discharge system was operated in oxygen gas. Optical emission spectrum of the electrosprayed water confirmed the existence of OH-radicals responsible for decontamination process.

Two-Phase Flow Regimes and Discharge Characteristics of a Plasma Electrohydrodynamic Atomization

Experimental investigation was conducted to study the flow regimes and discharge characteristics of plasma electrohydrodynamic atomization （EHDA） for decane （CloH22） under pulsed applied negative voltage. The experimental parameters were set as the flow rate of decane from 0 mL/min to 10 mL/min and the DC charging voltage from DC 0 V to 12 V with a pulse repetition rates of 200 Hz. The flow regime of decane was observed and the volume-to-electrical charge ratio was measured. Unlike a conventional EHDA system, the results show that a corona discharge was initiated at the edge of the hollow electrode at a specific corona on-set voltage of -17 kV or -20 kV in the case with or without decane flow, respectively. This phenomenon was defined as plasma EHDA.