Ra. Korzekwa et al., DESTRUCTION OF HAZARDOUS AIR-POLLUTANTS USING A FAST RISE-TIME PULSEDCORONA REACTOR, Review of scientific instruments, 69(4), 1998, pp. 1886-1892
Increasingly stringent environmental regulation imposed on both the mi
litary and civilian sectors has created a growing demand for alternati
ve abatement methods for a variety of hazardous compounds. One alterna
tive, the nonthermal plasma, shows promise of providing an efficient m
eans for the destruction of dilute concentrations of hazardous air pol
lutants. The Dahlgren Laboratory of the Naval Surface Warfare Center h
as extensively investigated one type of nonthermal plasma discharge, t
he pulsed corona reactor, for the destruction of volatile organic comp
ounds and chemical warfare agents. In this reactor, a fast rise time (
similar to 10 ns), short duration (<100 ns), high-voltage pulse is rep
etitively delivered to a wire-cylinder electrode geometry, thereby pro
ducing a multitude of streamer discharges along its length. The result
ing nonthermal plasma contains highly reactive chemical radicals which
can interact with and destroy the hazardous molecules entrained in th
e ambient atmosphere flowing through the reactor volume. Increased ele
ctrical efficiency was obtained using a combination of high efficiency
constant-current capacitor-charging high repetition-rate spark gap sw
itching, and resonant energy transfer to the reactor. Promising result
s have been obtained for toluene, methylene chloride, and dichlorodifl
uoromethane in air at concentrations of a few hundred parts per millio
n. The device has been operated at voltages up to 30 kV, pulse repetit
ion rates up to 1.4 kHz, and flow rates up to 60 l/min. Detailed elect
rical measurements have been made to properly characterize the electri
cal properties of the pulsed corona reactor and to validate subsequent
improvements in the reactor energy efficiency. (C) 1998 American Inst
itute of Physics.