MODELING OF THE ELECTROSTATIC CORONA DISCHARGE REACTOR

A model is presented for the electrostatic corona discharge reactor (ECDR) in a pin-plate configuration. The main objective is to describe the fundamental chemistry and physics governing the discharge behavior and to predict the ECDR performance under various operating conditions. The electric field strength is estimated assuming a space-charge-free field. A two-term spherical harmonic expansion is used to solve the Boltzmann equation for the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) and calculate the electron-molecule reaction rates using collision cross-section data. Species continuity equations are solved for the dry and wet air systems to predict ozone and NOx at various feed flow rates (1630, 4890, 14, 670 cm/s) and an applied voltage of 10 kV. Among the various results reported, it is noted that the calculations indicate the Maxwell EEDF cannot be used because it overpredicts the electron-molecule rate coefficients by several orders of magnitude.