Non-thermal discharge processing of gaseous pollutants

摘要

The electrical discharge techniques, called non-thermal, utilize high voltage breakdown of gases using short pulses of one to a few hundred nanoseconds. These short pulses between metal electrodes generate energetic electrons without appreciable thermal heating of the gas. The energetic electrons collide with gas molecules to form radicals. The radicals then react with pollutants to form harmless compounds. Our experimental device uses a wire in a pipe geometry. The wire is driven by a 40 kilovolt pulse 100 nanoseconds long. Gas is circulated in a loop through the pipe geometry in a closed system. This system permits the introduction of various gas combinations prior to testing. The recirculated gas can be heated to determine the effect on the electrical discharge, and chemical reactions. The efficiency of pollutant removal is the key to applications. We have been able to significantly improve the efficiency of NO removal by the addition of hydrocarbons. Nitric oxide has been removed with an energy cost of 15 ev per NO molecule. We believe the hydrocarbon additive serves by recycling the hydroxyl radicals during the oxidation and reduction of NO. The implementation of this process will depend largely on how much additives, electrical power consumption, and final NO(sub x) concentration are acceptable for a particular application.