Abstract
We have experimentally evaluated the application of a corona discharge reactor apparatus to reduce the concentrations of diesel soot particles and NO. in the exhaust gas of a conventional diesel engine. The exhaust gas is treated by passing through a corona discharge collector for diesel soot particles (CCDS) and a corona reactor for NO. removal (CRNR) in a high voltage electric field. The CCDS is designed to collect soot particles electrically on a central electrode and accumulated soot is removed by a regeneration technique. In a corona reactor CRNR, the NO is oxidized to NO2 and NO2 reacts with H2O contained in the gas, NO. decreases as a result of HNO3 formation. In this paper, the effects of corona voltage, current, and inlet temperature of the exhaust gas on the soot removal rate and the NO. removal rate are considered. In addition, a prototype reactor, which couples CCDS with CRNR for soot and NOx removal, is proposed in this study. We found that 1) the soot removal rate of 70-90% is obtained at a corona input power of 3W(15kV) to 8W(23kV). 2) the central electrode of the CCDS can be regenerated by controlled burning process. 3) NO. removal rate oS 95% was observed at an input power of 80W