Corona discharge reactor and method of chemically activating constituents thereby

A reactor for chemically activating constituents of a gas stream by use of corona discharge comprising:

• a. an elongate conduit for passage of said gas stream therethrough;
• b. electrode means coupled to said conduit for forming therein a corona discharge cloud, said electrode means including at least one substantially planar discharge plate having a plurality of first through openings formed therein and a plurality of corona discharge electrodes electrically connected thereto, said discharge plate having opposing upper and lower surfaces, said corona discharge electrodes projecting from at least one of said upper and lower surfaces of said discharge plate, each of said plurality of first through openings having a respective four of said plurality of corona discharge electrodes positioned in a surrounding envelope about said first through opening for uniformly distributing said corona discharge cloud, each of said corona discharge electrodes defining a corona point for generating a corona discharge therefrom,
• said electrode means further including a substantially planar electrode plate coupled to said conduit and having a plurality of second through openings formed therein, said electrode plate being disposed in spaced relation to said discharge plate, said electrode plate having a pair of opposing outer surfaces, at least one of said outer surfaces opposing said corona points;
• and,
• c. means for generating a predetermined electric potential difference between said discharge plate and said electrode plate, said corona discharge cloud chemically activating constituents of said gas stream selected from the group consisting of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxygen compounds and mercury vapor during passage of said gas stream through said conduit to produce compounds that are more easily removed from said gas stream than said constituents.

A method for chemically activating constituents of a gas stream by use of corona discharge comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a gas stream having at least one constituent selected from the group consisting of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxygen compounds and mercury vapor;
• (b) establishing a flow path for passage of said gas stream therethrough;
• (c) providing a plurality of corona discharge electrodes coupled to a discharge plate within said flow path for respectively generating a plurality of corona discharges, said discharge plate having a plurality of through openings formed therein;
• (d) substantially simultaneously energizing said plurality of corona discharge electrodes to form a distributed corona discharge cloud adjacent said plurality of corona discharge electrodes;
• and,
• (e) contacting said corona discharge cloud with said at least one constituent to produce a compound thereof that is more easily removed from said gas stream than said at least one constituent.