Water treatment with pulsed discharges generated inside bubbles

The parallel operation of pulsed discharges generated inside bubbles is successfully demonstrated by applying a fast rising voltage to a multielectrode system immersed in treated water. A 10 ppm solution of acetic acid, which cannot be decomposed by ozone, was used as a persistent material and the acetic acid decomposition efficiency was evaluated by measuring the total organic carbon (TOC) values of the solution. The electric conductivity of the solution affected decomposition efficiency because the solution resistance, which was inversely proportional to the conductivity, limited the magnitude of the discharge current flowing along the surface of the bubbles generated by the feeding of oxygen or argon gas. With a nine‐hole electrode system, the discharge power deposited in one discharge was lower, and the acetic acid decomposition efficiency was higher, than the values obtained with a single‐hole electrode system. Lower discharge power seemed to minimize the self‐quenching of OH radicals, and resulted in the efficient decomposition of acetic acid. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 170(1): 1–7, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20918     

沿面介质阻挡放电装置静电场影响因素研究

以螺环型沿面放电作为研究对象,利用有限元仿真软件对沿面介质阻挡放电装置进行静电场的仿真分析,研究激励电压、高压电极线径、高压电极间距(螺距)、介质厚度及介质相对介电常数等对沿面介质阻挡放电装置静电场的影响。仿真结果表明:在气隙的同一位置,场强随电压的升高而线性增大,随线径的减小而非线性减小,随介质厚度的增加而非线性减小,随相对介电常数的增大而非线性增大。选取电极线径较小、介质厚度薄、较大相对介电常数的介质,均可以降低放电起始电压。     

Effect of Discharge Electrode Parameters on the Flow Velocity Profile of the Wire?rod Type Electrohydrodynamic Gas Pump Exit

Experimental investigation has been conducted to study the effects of corona wire diameter, pipe length, and corona polarity on outlet flow velocity distribution profile of a wire-rod type electrohydrodynamic (EHD) gas pump. Upon applying negative or positive dc high voltage between a wire electrode (outer diameter (o.d.) 60 μm, 200 μm, or 300 μm) and a rod electrode (o.d. 3 mm) in atmospheric air, corona discharge occurs and EHD gas flow is generated in the direction from the wire electrode to the rod electrode through a cylindrical pipe (inner diameter (i.d.) 20 mm). For both polarities, the discharge current and average flow velocity increase monotonically on increasing the applied voltage before the onset of spark discharge. Using wire electrodes with a smaller diameter, stable corona discharge between corona onset and spark onset is generated in a wider voltage range, and the discharge current becomes larger, resulting in a higher flow velocity. The maximum average flow velocity of 2.0 m/s, corresponding to a flow rate of 38 l/min, was achieved with a wire of diameter 60 μm by applying a voltage of ?16 kV.     

Characteristics of creeping discharge along aerial insulated wire under impulse voltages with various wave front durations

When lightning occurs in the neighborhood of outdoor high‐voltage distribution lines, creeping discharges propagate along the wire surface from the binding wire tip just after insulator flashover. These discharges give rise to various faults on distribution lines, for instance, disconnection and melting of wire, punch‐through breakdown, and so on. We must clarify the creeping discharge characteristics associated with various inductive lightning surges from the viewpoint of safety in high‐voltage distribution systems. In our previous paper, it was reported that the lengths and aspects of the negative creeping discharges were influenced by the wave front durations of impulse voltages applied to the central line with a grounded binding wire. The present study was performed to obtain more information on such creeping discharges. This paper describes the distinctive characteristics of a creeping discharge along the insulated wire surface when impulse voltages with various wave front durations are applied to the binding wire. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 158(3): 29–37, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20430     

脉冲放电能量传输的实验研究

针对脉冲电压Up沿放电线传播发生流光电晕放电,脉冲能量注入反应器内产生活性自由基进行烟气脱硫脱硝过程中,沿线Up波形的变形及脉冲能量的衰减会影响活性自由基产生的问题,为给设计工业应用反应器的几何尺寸提供依据,研究了Up及脉冲能量沿放电线变形、衰减的特性,且研究了电压、脉冲成形电容Cp、线径d及线长l等因素对能量传输、衰减的影响。实验结果表明脉冲电压沿放电线传输时,电压波形发生衰减,随着传输距离的增大,电压波形变形严重;电压、Cp、d和l对能量衰减有一定的影响,增大电压、Cp和d,沿线脉冲能量的衰减速度增大;l越短,能量衰减越快。实验得出最佳l≤10 m。     

Energy Efficiency of Corona Discharge Reactor Driven by Inductive Energy Storage System Pulsed Power Generator

Characteristics of a pulse corona reactor driven by an inductive energy storage (IES) pulsed power generator are described in this paper with focusing on the influence of streamer-to-glow transition on NO removal efficiency. A pulsed high voltage with a short rise time of under 30 ns is employed to generate streamer discharges homogeneously in whole the discharge region. Fast recovery diodes are used as semiconductor opening switch (SOS) to shorten the rise time. The various resistors are employed as dummy load to clarify a suitable circuit parameter such as the capacitance of a primary energy storage capacitor and/or the inductance of a secondary energy storage inductor. The energy transfer efficiency of the pulsed power generator has a maximum value of 50% at 714 Omega dummy load resistance. A co-axial cylinder type discharge chamber was used as the corona discharge plasma reactor driven by the IES pulsed power generator. The pulsed power generator supplies 30 kV pulse with 300 pps repetition rate. The co-axial cylinder plasma reactor consists of 1 mm diameter tungsten wire and 19 mm i.d. copper tube with 30 cm length. NO removal from the simulated diesel engine exhaust gas (N₂:O₂=9:1, Initial NO concentration=200 ppm) increased with input energy into the reactor. The energy efficiency for NO removal was obtained to be 25 g/kWh at 30 % removal in gas flow rate of 2 L/min. However, the energy efficiency decreased to 5 g/kWh with increasing capacitance of the primary capacitor from several hundreds pF to several nF. This decrease was caused by a streamer-to-glow transition. The efficiency was affected by oxygen concentration in the gas mixture.     

Ozone generation in dry air using pulsed discharges with andwithout a solid dielectric layer

Energy efficient generation of ozone is very important because ozone is being used increasingly in a wide range of industrial applications. Ozonizers usually use dielectric barrier discharges and employ alternating current (ac) with consequent heat generation, which necessitates cooling. In the present study, very short duration pulsed voltage is employed resulting in reduced heating of the gas and discharge reactor. A comparison of ozone generation in dry air using a coaxial concentric electrode system with and without a solid dielectric layer is reported. Two types of dielectric layers were employed, ceramic and polyvinylchloride (pvc). The effects of peak pulsed voltage (12.5 to 62 kV), reactor length (0.1 to 1 m), pulse repetition rate (25 to 400 pulses per second, pps), gas flow rate (1.5 to 3.0 1/min) and variation of the pitch length of the spiral wire forming the central electrode (5 to 10 mm) on the concentration and production yield of ozone (g/kWh) are reported. A comparison is made between the performance of discharge reactors with (ceramic reactor Type IIC and pvc reactor Type IIP) and without (reactor Type I) a dielectric layer, using the same electrode gap separation (15 mm) and reactor lengths (0.157 and 1 m). High production yields of ozone in dry air of ~125 52 and 60 g/kWh were obtained when using, respectively ceramic, pvc, and no dielectric layer, for a fixed pulse rate of 100 pps, 15 1/min now rate and for a relatively short length of the reactor of 157 mm     

Development of a laser wavefront sensor for measurement of discharges in air

A laser wavefront sensor of the Shack‐Hartmann type capable of simultaneous measurement at two wavelengths was constructed. The sensor uses a single optical path, and is suited for applications such as high‐voltage discharges in air, in which large insulation distances are necessary. The sensor was used to detect optical path differences due to an impulse discharge in air across a needle–plane electrode gap of gap length 17 mm. Optical path differences were measured at laser wavelengths of 532 and 1064 nm at 1.6 µs after insulation breakdown across the gap. From the difference in optical path differences at the two wavelengths, a line‐integrated electron density distribution in the direction perpendicular to the gap was obtained near the high‐voltage electrode. The distribution had a peak value of 1.4 × 10²⁰m^?2 and a full width at half maximum of 4.4 mm. Because of the coverage of a large observation area including the entire gap, the spatial resolution was 1.4 mm, which was inadequate to obtain the precise form of the electron density distribution. However, the results show the possibility of applying laser wavefront sensing to electron density measurement. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 146(4): 10–17, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10247     

Ozone production using pulsed dielectric barrier discharge inoxygen

The production of ozone was investigated using a dielectric barrier discharge in oxygen, and employing short-duration pulsed power. The dependence of the ozone concentration (parts per million, ppm) and ozone production yield (g(O₃)/kWh) on the peak pulsed voltage (17.5 to 57.9 kV) and the pulse repetition rate (25 to 400 pulses/s, pps) were investigated. In the present study, the following parameters were kept constant: a pressure of 1.01×10⁵ Pa, a temperature of 26±4°C a gas flow rate of 3.0 1/min and a gaseous gap length of 11 mm. A concentric coaxial cylindrical reactor was used. A spiral copper wire (1 mm in diameter) was wound on a polyvinylchloride (PVC) cylindrical configuration (26 mm in diameter) and placed centrally in a concentric coaxial electrode system with 4 mm thick PVC dielectric layer adjacent to a copper outer electrode of 58 mm in internal diameter. HV and current pulses were provided by a magnetic pulse compressor power source     

Decomposition of Persistent Organic Compounds in Water Using Pulsed Discharge on Water

Acetic acid simulating a persistent organic compound in water was decomposed by a discharge on water using a thin blade electrode. The thin blade electrode facilitates the generation of wide‐ranging discharges on water. The effect of differences in the species of the supply gas and the discharge power on the decomposition of acetic acid was investigated. Compared with argon, when helium was used, a larger amount of acetic acid was decomposed. Experiments also confirmed that the decomposition rate of acetic acid rose with the discharge power. It was also found that the decomposition efficiency was improved when the discharge power was reduced. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 186(1): 1–10, 2014; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.22318     

DC corona discharge from a wire particle floated with a microgap in parallel plate electrodes

Conductive particles existing in a high-voltage system could deteriorate the system performance owing to an electric discharge via the particles. In case when the particles exist in a dc high-voltage electrode system, the location of the particle would inevitably affect the discharge aspect. A corona-onset and breakdown voltage from a metallic wire particle were measured in detail. The wire particle has a length ranging from 6 to 12 mm, and a diameter of 0.25 mm. It was fixed between a parallel plate electrode with a spacing of 20 or 30 mm. When the particle was close to the negative electrode, a corona discharge occurred stably, and the corona-onset voltage was increased as the gap length between the negative electrode, and the positive end of the particle increased up to 0.8 mm. In contrast, when the particle was close to the positive electrode, the breakdown always occurred without preceding the corona discharge. At the middle region between the electrodes, the corona onset occurred at almost constant voltage.     

Improvement of microwave power from a virtual cathode oscillator and its repetitive operation using a metal mesh anode

A virtual cathode oscillator with a stainless‐steel mesh anode of various transparencies and wire diameters was studied experimentally for the enhancement of microwave power and its repetitive operations. The maximum microwave power observed was about 20 MW at 12 GHz for a diode voltage of 250 kV and an electron beam current of 39 kA using an anode mesh with wire diameter of 0.22 mm and a transparency of 67%. The microwave emission was enhanced by decreasing the mean angle of beam scattering when a mesh of smaller wire diameters was used in the anode. The increased transparency of the fine mesh also contributed to the enhancement of the microwave emission. Use of the mesh anode afforded the operation in several repetitive shots. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 146(2): 1–10, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10259     

Development of a positive creeping discharge along an aerial insulated wire

In high‐voltage aerial distribution systems, the insulated cables are supported by the binding wire with the post insulator at the utility pole. When a lightning strike occurs in the neighborhood of the insulated cable in an aerial power distribution system, inductive lightning surges invade the central line of the cable. Then, creeping discharges develop along the cable surface from the binding wire tip at the same time as flashover of the post insulator at a supporting point of the cable. If the cable insulator has weak points such as pinholes, a malfunction near the cable supporting point may occur, with melting of the wire due to punch‐through breakdown. To prevent such accidents, it is important to clarify the mechanism of the creeping discharge along the insulated cable caused by the lightning strike. The polarity of creeping discharges depends on the polarity of the inductive lightning surges, and the extension length and aspect of the discharge differ greatly depending on the discharge polarity. The development of these creeping discharges is attributed to complicated behavior of the positive and negative electric charges. In the present study, we examined in detail the development of a positive creeping discharge along a wire surface by using a high‐speed image converter camera. This paper describes the mechanism of development of a positive creeping discharge based on the experimental results. 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 173(3): 20–29, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20997     

结构及供电电源对沿面介质阻挡放电装置放电特性及臭氧生成的影响

沿面介质阻挡放电(SDBD)等离子体能够高效生成反应活性物质,在生物医学、环保等应用领域得到广泛研究。SDBD装置的结构和供电电源参数是影响其放电特性及反应活性物质生成的主要因素,为此,以具有螺环线形高压电极的管状沿面放电装置为对象,研究了装置结构及供电电源对其放电特性及臭氧生成的影响。结果表明:在相同的供电电压下,螺环线形高压电极的螺距、介质厚度影响电极间的电场强度和分布、放电功率和臭氧生成量,但螺环线形高压电极的线径对放电功率和臭氧生成量几乎没有影响;螺环线形高压电极的螺距存在一个优化值,在螺距低于25mm时,放电功率和臭氧产生量随着螺距的增加而增加,当螺距大于25mm时,放电功率和臭氧产生量基本不再变化;当绝缘介质管厚度由3mm减小到1.6mm时,放电功率提高约2倍,臭氧产生量提高约3倍。同采用50Hz交流电源供电相比,SDBD装置采用9.6k Hz高频电源供电时,在较低的电压下即可获得较大的放电功率及臭氧产量,且臭氧生成的能量效率提高约25%。     

介质阻挡电晕放电特性的测量与仿真

通过实验和分析Lissajous图形,研究了线管结构的介质阻挡电晕放电,给出了放电功率及等效电容值,采用PSPICE软件对放电等效电路仿真,分析并比较了实测电流和仿真波形。研究表明,随外施电压上升,放电分别出现电晕放电以及稳定阻挡放电,放电功率密度可达数百mW/cm3。     

Influence of voltage rise time on oxidation treatment of NO in simulated exhaust gas by polarity‐reversed pulse discharge

This paper describes an experimental study of NO removal from a simulated exhaust gas by repetitive surface discharge on a glass barrier subjected to polarity‐reversed voltage pulses. The very fast polarity‐reversal with a rise time of 20 ns is caused by direct grounding of a charged coaxial cable 10 m in length. The influence of the voltage rise time on energy efficiency for NO removal is studied. The results of NO removal using a barrier‐type plasma reactor with a screw‐plane electrode system indicate that the energy efficiency of very fast polarity reversal caused by direct grounding is higher than that of slower polarity reversal caused by grounding through an inductor at the cable end. The energy efficiency of direct grounding is approximately 80 g/kWh for a 50% NO removal ratio and approximately 60 g/kWh for a 100% NO removal ratio. Very intense discharge light is observed at an initial time of 10 ns for fast polarity reversal, whereas the intensity of the initial discharge light for slower polarity reversal is relatively small. To confirm the effectiveness of the polarity‐reversed pulse application, a comparison of the energy efficiency of polarity‐reversed voltage pulses and an AC 60‐Hz voltage is presented. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 178(4): 32–38, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21215     

Parallel streamer discharges between wire and plane electrodes in water

Streamer discharges in tap water and distilled water have been generated by applying a voltage pulse from 120 to 175 kV and 500 ns duration to a wire-to-electrode configuration. Electrical and optical diagnostics were used to explore the temporal development of the streamers in tap and distilled water, at various applied voltages and both polarities. With the wire serving as anode, multiple, parallel streamer discharges were generated. The number density of these streamers along the wire decreases with decreasing electric field on the surface of the wire. The dependence of the streamer density on electric field indicates the role of field enhancement at inhomogeneous microstructures along the wire as streamer initiation mechanism. The appearance of the discharge was different for tap and distilled water. However, the measured average streamer propagation velocity from the positive wire to the grounded plane electrode, of 32 mm//spl mu/s, was independent of the water conductivity and the applied voltage. This suggests the existence of a self-sustained electric field at the streamer head. With the wire serving as cathode, only a weak light emission from the area close to the wire was observed, and streamers did not appear for the same voltage amplitude as with the positive polarity. This suggests that an ionic current flowing in the water is not dominant in the streamer propagation process.     

Characteristics of Nonequilibrium Plasma Flow and Its Sterilization Efficacy in a Tube at Atmospheric Pressure

A nonequilibrium plasma flow produced uniformly in a tube was developed in this paper. The plasma was generated in polyvinyl chloride tube, 3 mm in inner diameter and 100 mm in length, between a wire electrode, 0.2 mm in diameter, and a grounded flat electrode located at the bottom of the tube. We investigated the spectrum, temperature, and ozone concentration of this plasma flow and its sterilization efficacy against Geobacillus stearothermophilus. The temperature in the tube showed uniformity along the wire electrode and increases as applied voltage was increased. With a wire electrode temperature of 337 K at a peak-to-peak applied voltage of 10 kV_pp in the sine wave and a frequency of 6 kHz, sterilization of 10⁵ cells was obtained. This result suggests the potential of the application of plasma flow rather than ethylene oxide for sterilization of the inner wall of tubes, such as catheters and artificial blood vessels.     

The influence of wave front duration of impulse voltage on creeping discharges along aerial insulated wire

In high‐voltage aerial distribution systems, creeping discharges progress along the cable surface from the free end of the binding wire when overvoltages caused by a lightning surge have invaded the central line of an insulated cable. Consequently, various accidents such as punch‐through breakdown, melting, or snapping of a cable, often occur at these systems. In our previous studies, it has been clarified that the lengths and aspects of creeping discharges under a 1.2/50 µ s impulse voltage condition can be markedly affected by changes in the electric field strength on the cable surface. However, lightning impulse surges which may invade the central line of a cable have various wave front durations. This will further complicate creeping discharge phenomena due to lightning. In this paper, we report the influence of the wave front duration on both the lengths and the aspects of the creeping discharges which progress on the cable on application of lightning impulse voltages. It has been shown that the behavior of negative creeping discharges reveals pronounced changes in response to the duration of the wave front of the applied voltage. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 147(2): 30–38, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10263     

非平衡等离子体技术处理甲苯的实验研究

为了进行平衡等离子技术处理挥发性有机物(VOCs)的实验研究,采用电晕放电与介质阻挡放电相结合的放电形式处理甲苯(C7H8)废气,以此探讨电压、内电极直径及不同电介质条件对C7H8去除效率η的影响,并对放电过程的放电参量进行了测量。结果表明,电压的提高有利于C7H8的去除,电压较低时细电极反应器对C7H8的η要比粗电极高,但随着电压的上升,粗电极效率比细电极要高;陶瓷反应器对C7H8的去除效果要优于有机玻璃反应器;在反应器内填充电介质有利于C7H8的去除,填有陶瓷拉西环填料的反应器对C7H8的去除效果要优于无电介质的空管反应器;利用电压—电荷利萨如图形法测得的反应过程放电功率表明:等离子法处理VOCs能耗低,放电功率的提高对C7H8的去除有利。