Radiation Charging: A Novel Way to Charge Fine Particles Electrically

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe a scheme to electrically charge fine particles using electric and magnetic fields in conjunction with ionizing radiation. Once charged, particulate matter can be removed from the air stream by directly applying a transverse electric field. In addition, since electrostatic forces can assist filtration and wet collection systems, it may be possible to design new and improved filtration and wet scrubber systems using radiation charging. The objectives of this paper are: (1) to present expressions that predict the charge acquired by particles and (2) to present the results of preliminary experiments.