Pulsed corona for breaking up air bubbles in water

The injection of gas into water, through a hollow needle, gives a stream of bubbles. These bubbles can be effectively broken up by application of HV pulses. Our experimental work shows that this mechanism works in demineralized water and even in conducting tap water if the pulses have a short rise time. Bubble diameters are as low as 50 /spl mu/m. Our pulse source uses either a HV tetrode or a spark gap as switching element. Extremely small bubbles are produced at a high rate and a low power input. Applications for this method can be found in chemical process technology.<
>