WO2021255659A1

WO2021255659A1 - Ozone generating system

Info

Publication number: WO2021255659A1
Application number: PCT/IB2021/055302
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sophio Burjanadze; Jano Burjanadze; Giorgi Burjanadze; Giorgi Tsivtsivadze
Original assignee: Sophio Burjanadze; Jano Burjanadze; Giorgi Burjanadze; Giorgi Tsivtsivadze
Priority date: 2020-06-17
Filing date: 2021-06-16
Publication date: 2021-12-23
Also published as: GEP20217302B

Abstract

The system for producing ozone according to the present invention comprises: an ozone generating camera having gas inlet and outlet means; first and second electrodes disposed within the ozone generating camera in a consentric relationship with each other and spaced apart by a dielectric barrier, the barrier made as a tube made of a material transparent to the ultraviolet light; the tube having electric terminals at its ends and being filled with a gas for creating plasma within the tube upon applying electric voltage to said terminals; the first electrode being made as a wire wound around said dielectric barrier; and the second electrode being made as a plasma created within said tube upon applying electric voltage to said terminals at its ends of said tube; the plasma being capable of radiating ultraviolet light and creating white noise consisting of various frequencies. The system further comprises electric powering means for applying voltage to said first and second electrodes, the voltage having the chaotically modulated distorted sine waveform so as to have Fourier series of harmonic frequencies and to establish resonance with frequencies generated by said plasma created within said tube.

Description

OZONE GENERATING SYSTEM

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing ozone from a gas containing molecular oxygen, by means of an electrical discharge.

Background of the invention

Ozone has found application for a broad range of purposes, including sanitation and sterilization, purification of waste water, due to its outstanding antiseptic property. It is also worth of noting that alongside with its germicidal and bactericidal characteristics, ozone is environmentally safer than other sterilization agents and it can be handled easily without hazardous material handling requirements.

The above mentioned properties of ozone are attributed to its oxidizing effect enabling to destroy any bacteria or other organic matter present in a matter subjected to disinfection. Due to this advantageous properties, ozone is being used as well on a larger scale to purify the water in, e.g., swimming pools.

Ozone is also very effective when used in medicine, such as the so called ozone therapy. It enables to very successfully treat a variety of diseases since it is able to destroy or kill many microorganisms, spores, viruses and cysts.

Ozone is produced by means of ozone generators that are generally of two types. The first type is that utilizing ultraviolet radiation, and the second type is that using electric discharge between two electrodes. When utilizing the ultraviolet radiation, a flow of air is subjected to irradiation with ultraviolet light that brings about decomposition of oxygen molecules in air and eventually converting them into ozone molecules resulting in the production of an ozone enriched air flow. The main drawback of this approach is the low efficiency of ozone production which renders it unusable on a large scale applications.

The most widely used method of generating ozone is utilization of an electrical discharge. One type of an electrical discharge is a corona discharge by which a current flows from an electrode with a high potential into a neutral fluid, usually air, by ionizing that fluid so as to create a region of plasma around the electrode. When the electric field is large enough at a point in the fluid, the fluid at that point ionizes and it becomes conductive.

Second type of an electrical discharge is a dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD), i.e. the electrical discharge between two electrodes separated by an insulating dielectric barrier. It was originally called silent (inaudible) discharge and also known as ozone production discharge or partial discharge. DBD discharge typically occurs between two electrodes, one of which is covered with a dielectric barrier material typically from pure oxygen, and the gas containing molecular oxygen flows through the region between the electrodes, through which a high electrical discharge passes.However, in many cases, especially for non-medical applications, it is not reasonable to use pure oxygen due to the fact that obtention of pure oxygen requires use of cumbersome and energy consuming devices.

The two separate electrodes are connected to a high-voltage pulsed AC electrical field generator. An applied electrical field with sufficient voltage charges the dielectric material and exceeds the breakdown voltage of the adjacent gas channel to create an electrical discharge or high- temperature plasma through the gas. The discharge or high-temperature plasma causes dissociation of oxygen and breaks the 0-0 bond of molecular oxygen. The produced oxygen atoms can then either recombine or more often react with diatomic oxygen molecules (O) to form triatomic oxygen molecules (O) or ozone.

Regardless of the method by which it is produced, the ozone generators with the electrical discharge create microscopic pits or ablation on metallic electrode surfaces due to high instantaneous temperatures caused by the current released during each electric discharge. This process can cause electrode material to sputter from the electrode surface allowing trace amounts of metal atoms or metal oxides to mix with the ozone. The amount of metal contamination can increase with increasing discharge current and with subsequent increasing electrode temperature.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for an ozone generator having simple design that creates high purity ozone having no contaminants. There is also a need in the art for ozone generators that are reliable, relatively inexpensive and efficient. Summary of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an ozone generating system that can be operated for a long time in a reliable manner without damaging an electrode due to the current released during the electric discharge.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an ozone generating system that is capable of being operated with reduced voltage of power supply.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an ozone generating system that can be operated in an efficient way with consumption of relatively less energy.

To achieve the above objectives, the apparatus for producing ozone according to the present invention comprises: an ozone generating camera having gas inlet and outlet means; first and second electrodes disposed within the ozone generating camera in a consentric relationship with each other and spaced apart by a dielectric barrier, the barrier made as a tube made of a material transparent to the ultraviolet light; the tube having electric terminals at its ends and being filled with a gas for creating plasma within the tube upon applying electric voltage to said terminals; the first electrode being made as a wire wound around said dielectric barrier; and the second electrode being made as a plasma created within said tube upon applying electric voltage to said terminals at its ends of said tube; the plasma being capable of radiating ultraviolet light and creating white noise consisting of various frequencies.

The apparatus further comprising electric powering means for applying voltage to said first and second electrodes, the voltage having the chaotically modulated distorted sine waveform so as to have Fourier series of harmonic frequencies and to establish resonance with frequencies generated by said plasma created within said tube.

The present invention will be explained with more detail using the appended drawings, wherein Fig. 1 depicts a schematic diagram of the ozone generating camera of the system according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 depicts a schematic diagram of the electrical supply source of the ozone generating system according to the present invention; Figures 3 to 5 depict the voltage waveforms produced by the electrical supply source shown in fig. 2.

Detailed description

Referring to the fig. 1, a schematic diagram of the ozone generating camera according to the present invention is shown. It comprises a first electrode depicted by the reference numeral 1 that is made as a spiral of a wire, preferably of aluminum, that is wound around a concentric dielectric tube 3. The second electrode 2 is made as plasma confined within the tube 3. The air flow within the ozone generating chamber is shown by the reference numeral 4. The unit is fed by the high voltage energy supply means through the terminals 5 and 6.

The dielectric tube 3 is preferably made of a quartz that is transparent to the ultraviolet radiation.

As has been noted above, as a one of the two electrodes, particularly as the inner one, plasma is used. This type of an electrode is a gas comprising evenly distributed ions and electrons constituting the plasma confined in a dielectric glass tube 3 so as to not escape. It has high electrical conductivity and an electric current does not enter the inside of plasma.

It is apparent that the plasma itself is an efficient source of ultraviolet radiation. It has been observed that due to the effect of the ultraviolet radiation, the dielectric material, such as the quartz tube, changes its properties, namely its electrical conductivity, which establishes more favorable conditions for gas discharge within the ozone generating device according to the present invention. This eventually minimizes the voltage at which the ozone generator operates. Minimizing the voltage at which an ozone generator operates is of very great importance, for this not only minimizes the high-voltage stress on all components for longer life, but is also safer, minimizes arcing and external corona, and decreases the cost of the electrical power source. Ideally the discharge occurs at the voltage as low as possible at which the discharge is stable and homogeneous, and the average output power and therefore the amount of ozone generated is controlled by adjusting the voltage rather than the frequency.

It is well known that the wavelength of the ultraviolet radiation depends on the gas used for creating the discharge. For this purpose, the present invention utilizeshydrargyrum (mercury) gas for generating plasma within the quartz tube 3. The ozone producing wavelength of the ultraviolet radiation is within the range of from about 100 nm to about 128 nm. The ultraviolet light produced in this way further increases the ozone generating efficiency within the chamber.

Thus the present invention enables the use of smaller, less expensive electrical supply source due to the favorable characteristics of the dielectric barrier between the electrodes obtained upon exposure to the ultraviolet irradiation from the plasma, i.e. the inner electrode.

Use of plasma as an electrode is advantageous also in that ablation on metallic electrode surfaces due to high instantaneous temperatures caused by the current released during electric discharge which occurs in conventional ozone generating devices is avoided.Thereby, the purity of the ozone generated is higher and the entire device can operate more reliably for a longer time.

Referring to the fig. 2, an electrical supply means is shown. In this particular embodiment, the electrical supply means comprises an convertor 1, a timing relay 2 for controlling the mode of operation; voltage adjustment means 3, and an electric fan or compressor 4, depending on a type of the ozone generator.

The present invention contemplates the use of a special method of an energy supply to the electrodes. The voltage of the energy supply means varies between 1 and 20 kilovolts, of which frequency is within the range of from 4 kilohertz to 20 kilohertz. The voltage is characterized with chaotically modulated sine waveform shown in figures 3 to 5.

The type of the convertor should be chosen depending on the ozone generator efficiency.

The strong beneficial effect occurring in the device according to the present invention is establishment of resonance between the frequencies of electric power supply and the electromagnetic frequencies inherent to the plasma. In fact, the Intense electromagnetic radiation of random noise character is observed at the frequency of plasma oscillation. The plasma noise spectrum is of a complex nature. In practice, it can be compared to the so called “white noise” which enables to add a certain amount of noise in an excitable system of the ozone generating device structure. Eventually, the plasma generated noise induces oscillations that bring about the resonance with the electrical power supply voltage frequencies. In order for the above described resonance to be established, the sine wave of the electric power supply voltage must have the Fourier series of harmonic frequencies. For this purpose, the signal must have chaotic modulated sine waveform and it must be distorted as is shown in the figure 4.

Thus the convertor is designed in a manner as to render an effective combination of non-linear frequencies that gives the “white noise” oscillating plasma generated by the barrier (as well as corona) discharge to find its own frequency at higher harmonics of the Fourier frequencies and establish resonance.

Unlike the resonance that occurs in conventional ozone generating devices, the resonance established in the system according to the present invention does not entail significant power losses due to the reactive electrical energy.

Due to the resonance established, the ozone is produced more efficiently. It enables to establish a barrier discharge together with corona discharge within the ozone generating chamber, thereby allowing ozone to be produced from air, and not from the pure oxygen only, which is the case with conventional devices with a barrier discharge. Thus the apparatus in accordance with the present invention is functionally more flexible than those known in the art ozone generators operating with a barrier discharge only. The timing relay 2 enables to modulate in an intermittent manner the voltage fed to the ozone generator and thereby to protect the device from overheating.

Thus the present invention takes the advantage of three effects - generation of ozone by barrier discharge together with corona discharge, generation of ozone by ultraviolet light irradiation and establishment of resonance between the frequencies of electrical supply voltage and the frequencies excited from plasma.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the ozone generating unit is disposed within a container and is fed by air flow, either by a fan or an adjustable compressor means. Depending on the operation conditions of the apparatus, a water vapor drier means may also be utilized. Thereby, the ozone production regulation and cooling of the ozone generating device is performed both with an air flow and the electric mode of operation.

Claims

We Claim:

1. A system for producing ozone comprising: an ozone generating camera having gas inlet and outlet means; first and second electrodes disposed within the ozone generating camera in a consentric relationship with each other and spaced apart by a dielectric barrier, the barrier made as a tube made of a material transparent to the ultraviolet light; the tube having electric terminals at its ends and being filled with a gas for creating plasma within the tube upon applying electric voltage to said terminals; the first electrode being made as a wire wound around said dielectric barrier; and the second electrode being made as a plasma created within said tube upon applying electric voltage to said terminals at its ends of said tube; the plasma being capable of radiating ultraviolet light and creating white noise consisting of various frequencies; the system further comprising electric powering means for applying voltage to said first and second electrodes, the voltage having the chaotically modulated distorted sine waveform so as to have Fourier series of harmonic frequencies and to establish resonance with frequencies generated by said plasma created within said tube.

2. A system in accordance to claim 1, wherein said tube is made of quartz and is filled with mercury gas to produce ultraviolet radiation within the range of from about 100 nm to about 128 nm.

3. A system in accordance to claim 1, wherein the voltage of electric powering means is capable of being varied within the range of from 1 kilovolt to 20 kilovolt, of which frequency is capable of being varied within the range of from 4 kilohertz to 20 kilohertz.