Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) Enhanced Separation of Fine Liquid Droplets From Gas Flows

Experimental studies were undertaken to investigate separation of fine water particles from a stream of air-water droplet mixture using the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) effect. Air-water droplets mixture flows through a prototype consisting of 7 tubes arranged in a circular pattern which is enclosed in bigger tube. Wire electrodes placed in the center of each tube were charged with DC high-voltage. Corona discharge resulted from the application of high-voltage. Corona generated by the wires gave rise to the EHD effect, causing the water particles to move radially outwards towards the sides of the tube, where they were collected from specially designed beveled holes on the bottom. Near complete separation was achieved with 38W power input requirement for air-flows up to 303 CFM with 0.079 gpm water input. The pressure drop across the system was seen to be only 5.4 Pa.