Removal of NOx and SO2 in flue gas by corona discharge reactor with water film

Recently, SO₂ and NO_x have become serious air pollutants in the form of photochemical smog and acid rain. In spite of attempts to reduce the amount of SO₂ and NO_x emitted, the density of SO₂ and NO_x in the atmosphere has remained on a stable level, or even become worse. Here, we designed a novel type of needle-water electrode corona discharge experiment model. In this paper, we emphasized the influence of water on removal rates of NO and SO₂ using this model. The experimental results show that the corona wind forming between a high-voltage electrode and water film by corona discharge enhances the cleaning efficiency of the flue gas because of the existence of the water film, and the cleaning efficiency will increase with the increase of dc applied voltage within a definite range. It not only improves the removal efficiency of SO₂ by up to 98%, but also by about 85% for NO_x removal under suitable conditions. This project is very significant for the prevention of acid rain and the treatment of dust of flue gas and an improvement on the traditional electrical dust precipitator.