Corona electrode for electrically charging aerosol particles

摘要

Electrode apparatus for increasing the charge state of aerosol particulates entrained in a flowing gas, such as smoke particles in effluent emitted from a power plant, so as to improve the collection efficiency of conventional electrostatic precipitation apparatus. A corona-generating high voltage electrode is located immediately downstream in the gas flow from a region of mechanically constricted high velocity gas flow, and generates molecular gas ions, some of which attach to and charge aerosol particulates near the corona-generating electrode, and the remainder of which are swept up by the gas as they attempt to move upstream from the electrode into a region of rapidly decreasing field strength and increasing gas flow velocity. Moving downstream from the corona-generating electrode, the molecular ions contribute to further charging of the aerosol particulates through space charge effects, including field effect and diffusion charging. The apparatus includes an improved main electrode support, offering superior means to maintain the corona-generating electrode in a mechanically and electrically stable configuration.