A compact high-voltage pulse generator using a rotary airhole sparkgap

Abstract

A pulsed-corona-discharge nonthermal plasma technique offers the advantages of energy efficiency and capability for the simultaneous removal of coexisting pollutants. The key to success in a nonthermal plasma approach is to produce a corona discharge in which the bulk of the electrical energy goes into the production of energetic electrons, rather than into gas molecules heating. By driving the nonthermal plasma reactor with very short pulses of high-voltage, short-lived corona discharge plasmas are created that consist of energetic electrons, which in turn produce the radicals and ozone responsible for the decomposition of the toxic molecules. Because of the short lifetime of the pulsed corona discharge, little electrical power is dissipated in movement of heavy molecule ions in the processing region, thus avoiding heating the gas and providing good electrical energy efficiency. A high-voltage pulse generator with a rotary airhole sparkgap, instead of a conventional rotary ball sparkgap, has been proposed. Its rise and fall time characteristics to be used as a smart pulse generator for pulsed corona discharge-type nonthermal plasma reactor were investigated. Parametric studies showed that the proposed airhole sparkgap had a very fast rise time, very short fall time, very low-and-stable breakdown voltage, and reliable pulse repetition characteristics, compared with the conventional rotary ball sparkgap.