Electric device for the treatment of a gaseous fluid

Claim 2

APPARATUS FOR DESTROYING MOLECULES SUCH AS SO2 H2S, NH3, CH4, OR OF THE TYPE CNHP, AND FOR INCREASING THE QUANTITY OF NEGATIVE IONS CONTAINED IN A GASEOUS FLUID, COMPRISING, A. ELECTRIC GENERATOR MEANS FOR GENERATING UNIDIRECTIONAL PULSATED CURRENT, SAID GENERATOR MEANS HAVING AT LAST ONE POSITIVE POLE AND A NEGATIVE POLE, AND B. AT LEAST ONE TREATMENT ELEMENT TO BE DISPOSED IN THE GASEOUS FLUID TO BE TREATED, THE TREATMENT ELEMENT INCLUDING (I) A BACK ELECTRODE CONNECTED TO SAID POSITIVE POLE TO RECEIVE SAID UNIDERECTIONAL PULSATED CURRENT, (II) AN INSULATING LAYER DISPOSED ON ONE SIDE ABOUT SAID BACK ELECTRODE TO INSULATE ELECTRICALLY AT LEAST ONE FACE OF SAID BACK ELECTRODE FROM SAID GASEOUS FLUID, AND ((III) A FRONT ELECTRODE GRID CONNECTED TO SAID NEGATIVE POLE AND CONERIN SAID INSULATING LAYER ON THE SIDE OPPOSITE SIDE ONE SIDE ABOUT SAID BACK ELECTRODE, SAID BACK ELECTRODE INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY PIN-POINT PROJECTING ZONES DISTRIBUTED UNIFORMLY OVER THE ENTIRE AREA OF AT LEAST A SIDE WHICH FACES TOWARDS SAID FRONT ELECTRODE WHEREIN EACH ZONE ACTS AS A POINT OF EMISSION OF POSITIVE POLARITY OF AN ELECTRIC INDUCATION FIELD WHEREIN SAID BACK ELECTRODE, SAID INSULATING LAYER AND SAID FRONT ELECTRODE GRID ARE IN CONTACT WITH EACH OTHER.

Claim 3

Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said insulating layer comprises a thermoplastics material.

Claim 4

Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said front electrode grid includes holes and wherein said insulating layer is in the form of an insulating plate having zones of small area which are such as to provide a greater capacitance per unit area between opposite faces of the plate than the capacitance per unit area between the faces of the remainder of said insulating plate, said zones being uniformly distributed over said insulating plate and coinciding with the holes in said front electrode grid.

Claim 5

Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said generator means comprises a step-up transformer having a primary winding coupled to a source of alternating voltage and a secondary winding coupled to a rectifier means which is coupled to said positive pole.

Claim 6

Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a discharge resistor connected between said back electrode and front electrode grid.

Claim 7

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said insulating layer is a plate.

Claim 8

An electric device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said back electrode comprises a continuous metal plate.

Claim 9

Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein said front electrode grid includes apertures and each projeCtion of said metal plate coincides with an aperture in said front electrode grid.

Claim 10

Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein said continuous metal plate is surrounded by a treatment space and is covered on both its faces by said insulating layer which is itself covered on both sides by a corresponding front electrode grid, said front electrode grids being connected electrically to one another.

Claim 11

Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, further comprising projecting zones projecting from both sides of said plate on either side of a median plane of said plate.

Claim 12

Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said front electrode grid is coupled to earth.

Claim 13

Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, further comprising an adjustable resistor connected between earth and the front electrode grid.

Claim 14

Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further having a plurality of juxtaposed treatment elements arranged in parallel with one another and delimiting between them a treatment space where the gaseous fluid to be treated circulates.

Claim 15

Apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein said generator means includes a transformer having two secondary windings wound in phase opposition and which have a common terminal connected to earth, a positive pole connected to each secondary winding and a diode having its anode connected to said positive pole of each secondary winding, and wherein a series of treatment elements is connected in parallel to the positive pole and common terminal of each secondary winding.

Claim 16

An electric device for the treatment of a gaseous fluid by setting up a zone with different electric potentials in a treatment space, comprising, in combination: a. generator means for generating unidirectional pulses of electric current, said generator means including a transformer having two secondary windings wound in phase opposition and which have a common terminal connected to earth, a live output terminal connected to each secondary winding and a diode having its anode connected to said live terminal of each secondary winding; and b. a plurality of juxtaposed treatment elements arranged in parallel with one another and delimiting between them a treatment space where gaseous fluid to be treated circulates, wherein a series of treatment elements is connected in parallel to said live and common terminals of each secondary winding, said treatment elements including (i) a first electrode connected to said live output terminal to receive said unidirectional pulses of electric current, (ii) a solid dielectric material so disposed about said first electrode as to insulate electrically at least one face of said first electrode from said gaseous fluid, and (iii) a second, grid-like electrode disposed so as to cover at least partially the dielectric material on the side exposed to the gaseous fluid to be treated.

Claim 17

An electric device for the treatment of a gaseous fluid by setting up a zone with different electric potentials in a treatment space, comprising, in combination: a. generator means for generating unidirectional pulses of electric current, said generator means including a transformer having two secondary windings wound in phase opposition and which have a common terminal connected to earth, a live output terminal connected to each secondary winding and a diode having its anode connected to said live terminal of each secondary winding; and b. a plurality of juxtaposed treatment elements arranged in parallel with one another and delimiting between them a treatment space where gaseous fluid to be treated circulates, wherein a series of treatment elements is connected in parallel to said live and common terminals of each secondary winding, said treatment elements including (i) a first electrode connected to said live output terminal to receive said unidirectional pulses of electric current, (ii) a solid dielectric material so disposed about said first electrode as to insulate electrically at least one face of said first electrode from said gaseous fluid, and (iii) a second, grid-like electrode disposed so as to cover at least partially the dielectric material on the side exposed to the gaseous fluid to be treated.