Electrostatic precipitation of submicron particles using a DBD in axisymmetric and planar configurations

The aim of the present work has been to quantify the efficiency of Dielectric Barrier Discharges (DBDs) for the collection of submicron particles. The experiments were performed with incense smoke particles having a mean size of about 0.3 mum. An aerosol spectrometer was employed for characterizing the size distribution of these particles at the outlet of Wire-to-Cylinder (WC) and Plate-to-Plate (PP) DBD reactors. The collection efficiency was estimated for various applied voltages (6 - 26 kV, 1 - 2000 Hz), and airflow rates of 1.6 - 24 L/min. The discharge mode was diffuse, in the case of the axisymmetric configuration, and filamentary, in the case of the planar configuration. When flow rate increases, the discharge current and the electric power decrease in both cases. This effect is less pronounced with the planar configuration. Results obtained with the aerosol spectrometer show that the particle collection efficiency of both reactors is higher at high applied voltage and low flow rate; it decreases at high frequency because of particle oscillations, and at low frequency due to the intermittent nature of the discharge. The frequency range for which the collection efficiency is higher than 90% is wider in the case of WC reactor.