Power plants – Internal combustion engine with treatment or handling of... – By electrolysis – electrical discharge – electrical field – or...
Patent
1996-11-08
1998-05-05
Argenbright, Tony M.
Power plants
Internal combustion engine with treatment or handling of...
By electrolysis, electrical discharge, electrical field, or...
60282, 204164, 42218604, B01D 5332, B01D 5394, F01N 302, B01J 1908
Patent
active
057460515
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention concerns a device for detoxifying exhaust fumes from mobile equipment, wherein the exhaust fumes pass through a plasma reactor operating by the principle of dielectrically inhibited discharge, which consists of an arrangement of flat plates with alternating metallic and dielectric layers, whereby a plurality of adjacent discharge paths arranged in parallel in the flow direction are formed.
Dielectrically inhibited discharges are also referred to as "silent discharges." Such silent discharges are produced between electrodes immersed in a gas, between which there is at least one dielectric layer or a dielectric object so that no direct, i.e., metal-to-metal, discharge is possible.
Prior art devices are known for producing silent discharges. Such devices are often used for ozonization and they normally have a coaxial design. Other prior art devices for obtaining silent discharges have plane-parallel arrangements of electrodes and are used, for example, for generating UV radiation. German Offenlegungsschrift 3,708,508 discloses a device for reducing harmful substances in combustion exhaust fumes, wherein at least one reaction area consisting of parallel metal plates or concentric tubes is provided in the exhaust channel, with at least one plate or one tube of the reaction area being coated with an electrically insulating dielectric material. Furthermore, WO-A-92/19361 discloses such a device, where an exhaust gas is conducted in an annular space between an outer metal cylinder and an inner cylinder made of ceramic material.
The main concern of the above prior art is to clarify the operating principle of the process for detoxifying exhaust fumes by the principle of dielectrically inhibited discharge. They mention both power plants and automobiles without exactly specifying the design of the devices.
Furthermore, in European Patent A-0,366,876, a process with the corresponding alternative devices are described, wherein specifically a glow discharge plasma is used. The corresponding devices can contain alternatively coaxial cylinder arrangements or also plate arrangements using a plurality of porous electrodes in the reactor. Finally, WO-A-91/02581 discloses a device for gas purification specifically consisting of a round housing with a plurality of electrode groups, the first of which serves as a destabilizer, the second as a de-ionizer, and the third group for applying a high-frequency field. The devices described in both documents have a relatively complex design, so that the requirement for compactness cannot be met; the principle of silent discharge is not used in either case.
In particular, for use in mobile equipment, a compact and space-saving design of the plasma reactor is essential. At the same time, however, a large effective electrode surface, specifically a considerable length, must be provided within the reaction area.
Based on the aforementioned prior art and a known plasma reactor with a plurality of adjacent discharge paths, the object of the invention is to provide a great effective length and/or a maximum effective cross section combined with a compact design.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This object is achieved according to the invention by filling the spaces between the plate-shaped electrodes with gas-permeable insulating material with successive electrodes always having alternating polarities and supplying electric power from different sides.
The plasma reactor of the invention for producing the silent discharge is arranged in a housing with a predefined cross section, in particular with a rectangular cross section. The plasma reactor is made of a discharge vessel delimited by plates made of insulating material, in particular, of ceramic material or of plates coated with insulating material, which form a parallelepiped in the housing. In particular, the area between the housing and the discharge vessel is filled with a filling material. The filling material preferably consists of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 fibers.
A predefined number of flat rectangular elec
REFERENCES:
patent: 3979193 (1976-09-01), Sikich
patent: 4159425 (1979-06-01), Lowther
"Patent Abstracts of Japan", vol. 18, No. 357 (C-1221), Jul. 6, 1994, Abstract of JP-6-91138.
Kieser Jorg
Klein Markus
Lins Gunter
Romheld Michael
Seebock Robert
Argenbright Tony M.
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
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