Study on Reduction of Energy Consumption in Pulsed Corona Discharge Process for NOx Removal

We investigated the reduction of electrical energy consumption in thepulsed corona discharge process for the removal of nitrogenoxides. Hydrocarbon chemical additives used in the laboratory-scaleexperiment are responsible for the enhancement of the NO conversionthrough the chain reactions of free radicals, such as, R, RCO, RO,and others. Electrical energy consumption per converted NO moleculehas a minimum value of 17 eV when pentanol is injected. When ethyleneand propylene are injected, 30 and 22 eV of electrical energy consumptionare required for the conversion of a NO molecule, respectively. The ratioof the pulse-forming capacitance (C_e) to the reactor capacitance (C_R)plays an important role in the energy transfer efficiency to thereactor. The maximum energy transfer efficiency of approximately 72%could be obtained by the pulse-forming capacitance, which is 3.4 timeslarger than the reactor capacitance; the maximum NO conversionefficiency was also observed with the same condition.