Using a radially divergent e-beam accelerator to irradiate flue gases

A wide-aperture radially divergent e-beam accelerator is described in the paper. Also results of experiments on the use of the accelerator for removal of sulphur oxides from a gas mixture, modelling a flue gas composition, are presented. The electron accelerator uses a low-pressure-arc-discharge-formed plasma cathode. The Marx generator is applied for power supply of the accelerator. Radially divergent e-beam with an electron energy of 300 ke V, generated in the accelerating gap, is led out into the atmosphere through a 1.5 m - area thin foil. The irradiated gas volume is about 170 I. A possibility of SO2 oxidation chain plasma-chemical reaction realization is shown in the experiments on model mixtures with SO2 content up to 1%. Minimum energy losses to remove one SO2 molecule amounting to less than 1 e V /mol are achieved with an optimal e-beam current density of ∼ 10⁻³ A/cm². It is shown that energy losses are determined not only e-beam current density but also by the duration of its pulse.