Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting – deodorizing – preser – Chemical reactor – With means applying electromagnetic wave energy or...
Reexamination Certificate
1997-11-19
2001-07-24
Gorgos, Kathyrn (Department: 1741)
Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting, deodorizing, preser
Chemical reactor
With means applying electromagnetic wave energy or...
C422S186040, C422S186280
Reexamination Certificate
active
06264898
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pulsed corona discharge apparatus to remediate a contaminated fluent material. More particularly, the fluent material is passed through a reactor vessel having a plurality of electrically interconnected wire electrodes each circumscribed by a second electrode. A high voltage pulse to the wire electrodes generates a streamer corona discharge that breaks down the contaminants in the fluent material to more innocuous constituents.
2. Background of the Invention
Fluent materials, typically gases, but also including liquids, are frequently contaminated with hazardous or odiferous materials, such as volatile organic compounds. Before discharging the fluent material to the environment, it is desirable, and may be legally mandated, that the hazardous compounds be remediated by removal or destruction. Methods to remediate hazardous compounds suspended within a fluent material include high temperature thermal incineration, catalytic incineration and absorption utilizing materials such as activated carbon. These methods tend to be expensive and have a low through-put.
Another approach is to break down the hazardous compounds into innocuous materials, such as water and carbon dioxide, by reacting the hazardous compounds with a stream of high energy electrons generated by a partial electrical breakdown of the fluent material. This method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,672 to Nunez et al. and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,973 to Grothaus et al. Both the Nunez et al. and the Grothaus et al. patents are incorporated by reference in their entireties herein.
The Grothaus et al. patent discloses a reactor having a wire electrode that extends along a longitudinal axis of a tubular electrode circumscribing the wire electrode. Insulators at the entrance and exit of the tubular electrodes center the wire electrode along the axis of the tubular electrode, provide tension to the wire electrode to prevent sagging, electrically isolate the wire electrode from the tubular electrode, and provide a gas seal to prevent the flow of gas to parts of the reactor other than the tubular electrode. The insulators are baffled to allow for the ingress and egress of the fluent material and gases are introduced into each reactor tube separately. As a result, complicated gas seals are required, the through-put is low and the number of machine parts required is high.
In addition, the Grothaus et al. patent discloses a method of control of the high voltage power supply that does not detect improper high voltage discharges and so may lead to a failure to remediate the hazardous gas and to possible destruction of the reactor itself.
There remains a need for a pulsed corona discharge apparatus suitable to remediate a contaminated fluent material that does not have the disadvantages of the prior art discussed hereinabove.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a reactor for remediating a contaminated fluent material with a pulsed corona discharge. Among the features of the invention are that there is a single common header plate electrically interconnected to a plurality of first electrodes and a common reactor plate electrically interconnected to a plurality of second electrodes with a second electrode concentrically disposed about each first electrode. Another feature of the invention is that the second electrodes are tubular and provide a plurality of channels to receive the contaminated fluent. A single inlet effectively communicates the contaminated fluent to all tubular electrodes and a single outlet effectively removes the remediated fluent. Still another feature of the invention is that intermittent high voltage pulses are applied to the header plate by a power supply and distributed to the plurality of first electrodes.
Among the advantages of the invention are that the reactor has a simplified design requiring a limited number of machine parts. A further advantage is that the power supply is readily separated from the reactor to facilitate part replacement and cleaning of the reactor. Another advantage of the invention is that electrical power is controlled in such a way that improper high voltage discharges will be detected and corrected. Yet another advantage of the invention is that the pulsed corona discharge effectively remediates contaminated fluent material.
In accordance with the invention, there is provided a system for remediating a contaminated fluent. The system includes a power supply capable of providing intermittent pulses of high voltage to an electrically conductive header plate. A plurality of first electrodes are electrically interconnected to that header plate. A plurality of second electrodes, each of which is concentrically disposed about one of the first electrodes defines a plurality of channels to contain the contaminated fluent. An electrically grounded reactor plate is electrically interconnected to each of the plurality of second electrodes and electrically isolated from both the header plate and the plurality of first electrodes. An inlet introduces the contaminated fluent to each of the channels and an outlet recovers the remediated fluent.
The above stated objects, features and advantages will become more apparent from the specification and drawings that follow:
REFERENCES:
patent: 3677931 (1972-07-01), O'Hare
patent: 4339783 (1982-07-01), Kinashi et al.
patent: 4872959 (1989-10-01), Herbst et al.
patent: 4886645 (1989-12-01), Fischer et al.
patent: 4960569 (1990-10-01), Fovell et al.
patent: 5236672 (1993-08-01), Nunez et al.
patent: 5490973 (1996-02-01), Grothaus
patent: 5545380 (1996-08-01), Gray
patent: 0744802 (1996-11-01), None
patent: 408091808 (1996-04-01), None
I.D. Chambers, L. Zanella, S.J. MacGregor and J.A. Wray “Ozone Generation by Pulsed Corona Discharge in a Wire Cylinder Arrangement” appearing in (1994) The Institution of Electrical Engineers, printed and published by the IEE, Savoy Place, London, WC28. U.K. No Month Avail.
Japanese Patent abstract of JP408091808A, Apr. 9, 1996.
DeStefanis Jody Lynn
Gorgos Kathyrn
Nicolas Wesley A.
Rosenblatt Gregory S.
The Titan Corporation
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