Abstract:
In this work, the process of charging and discharging of aerosol particles on the surface of a low-potential electrode and their behaviour depending on the charge that they have are investigated under bipolar corona conditions. A general expression to characterize the kinetics of charging of these particles is developed so that this expression yields many of the special equations that have been reported in the literature and are valid under certain conditions. It is found that the intensity of the corona discharging field affects both the amount of stable charge on the particle and its charging time; in general, the time constant for discharging and the coefficient of bipolarity determine the amount of stable charge. The obtained results indicate that, under suitable conditions, use of a bipolar corona field can be an alternative technique for cleaning and refining impure aerosol mixtures for desired purposes.