Gaseous emissions treatment structures with electrohydrodynamic heat and mass transfer
First Claim
1. A gaseous emissions treatment system comprising a honeycomb substrate body having a plurality of cells therein for the passage of gaseous emissions from an input end of the substrate body to an output end of the substrate body, an emitter electrode located at the input end of the substrate body for emitting electrons into gaseous emissions flowing into the substrate body and a collector electrode located at the output end of the substrate body for collecting electrons from the gaseous emissions flowing out of the substrate body, and an energizing and control circuit to generate electrons at the emitter electrode and to receive electrons at the collector electrode without exceeding the electrical breakdown voltage of the flowing gaseous emissions.
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Abstract
A gaseous emissions treatment system has a ceramic substrate body with a plurality of cells for passage therethrough of exhaust gases. An emitter electrode for emitting free electrodes is mounted adjacent one end of the substrate body for intercepting the flowing exhaust gas. A collector electrode for collecting electrons is mounted adjacent the other end of the substrate body for intercepting the flowing exhaust gas. An energizing and control circuit is used to apply a high voltage between the emitter and collector to stimulate the generation of free electrons while avoiding electrical breakdown of the flowing exhaust gas. Molecules and particles in the flowing exhaust gas are ionized and are subjected to electrohyrdrodynamically (EHD) induced forces. The result of the EHD forces is to increase turbulence within the flowing gas which, in turn, increases mass and heat flow in the exhaust gas, thereby to increase reactivity of the gas and to increase heat transfer from the exhaust gas to walls of the ceramic substrate cells.
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Citations
18 Claims
- 1. A gaseous emissions treatment system comprising a honeycomb substrate body having a plurality of cells therein for the passage of gaseous emissions from an input end of the substrate body to an output end of the substrate body, an emitter electrode located at the input end of the substrate body for emitting electrons into gaseous emissions flowing into the substrate body and a collector electrode located at the output end of the substrate body for collecting electrons from the gaseous emissions flowing out of the substrate body, and an energizing and control circuit to generate electrons at the emitter electrode and to receive electrons at the collector electrode without exceeding the electrical breakdown voltage of the flowing gaseous emissions.
- 17. A process for treating gaseous emissions at a substrate body having a plurality of cells therein for the passage of gaseous emissions from an input end of the substrate body to an output end of the substrate body, the process comprising flowing gaseous emissions along the cells from said input end to said output end, applying a potential difference between an emitter electrode located at the input end of the substrate body and a collector electrode located at the output end of the substrate body so as to emit electrons into the flowing gaseous emissions at the emitter electrode and to collect electrons from the flowing gaseous emissions at the collector electrode, the presence of such electrons in the flowing gaseous emissions being such as to introduce or increase turbulence in the flowing gaseous emissions, and controlling the potential difference generally to avoid electrical breakdown of the flowing gaseous emissions.
Specification