Influence of a Circuit Parameter for Plasma Water Treatment by an Inductive Energy Storage Circuit Using Semiconductor Opening Switch

In this paper, we investigate a water treatment method that sprays waste water droplets into a pulsed discharge space. For this method, it is important to apply pulsed voltages with a short pulse width and a fast rise to the electrode to realize high energy efficiency. An inductive energy storage (IES) circuit using a semiconductor opening switch (SOS) outputs pulsed voltages similar to the above-mentioned voltage. We report the characteristics of the water treatment using the IES circuit. The capacitance and inductance in the IES circuit are varied. An increase in the inductance in the secondary circuit of the pulse transformer, results in the formation of pulsed voltages with a longer pulse width; thus, the ratio of the thermal loss to the discharge energy becomes high. However, the energy transfer efficiency improves. Additionally, we vary the maximum current of the SOS, keeping the pulse width constant, by adjusting the capacitance and the inductance. As a result, when the current in the SOS increased, pulsed voltages with a higher peak and a shaper rise are obtained. Further, the pulse width of the voltage and the energy transfer efficiency are not affected by the current in the SOS. Hence, the energy density of the discharge is higher. The increase in the secondary inductance and the forward current increased the energy efficiency of the water treatment system owing to the increase in the energy transfer efficiency and the discharge energy density.