630 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 45, NO.
2, MARCH/APRIL 2009
Effect of Pressure on Discharge Initiation and
Chemical Reaction in a Liquid-Phase
Electrical Discharge Reactor
Kai-Yuan Shih, Radu Burlica, Wright C. Finney, and Bruce R. Locke, Senior Member, IEEE
Abstract—The effect of pressure on liquid-phase electrical dis-
charges was investigated by using a stainless steel high-pressure
reactor combined with a high-voltage pulse forming network. The
initiation breakdown voltage was obtained under various pres-
sures up to 1380 kPa (200 lb/in2 ). The discharge characteristics
including current and voltage waveforms as well as power per
pulse were determined. The effect of pressure on streamer chem-
ical reactions was also investigated by measuring the formation
rate of hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) in the solution. Experimental
results showed that the initiation voltage is linearly dependent
on pressure. The initiation voltage and power were correlated to
the increase of heat requirement to vaporize liquid water with
increasing pressure. On the other hand, when the input voltage
exceeds the initiation voltage such that a stable discharge can be
formed, the discharge characteristics are not affected by pressure.
Hydrogen peroxide generation was also not affected by external
pressure for conditions with stable discharge. To explain the afore-
mentioned results, the bubble theory of liquid-phase breakdown
initiation is discussed.
Index Terms—Discharge in water, discharge initiation, hydro-
gen peroxide formation, pressure.
I. I NTRODUCTION
P ULSE CORONA discharges have been widely studied and
applied to several fields including chemistry, biochem-
istry, and electrochemistry [1]. Investigations on gas-phase dis-
charges have been well established. The Townsend breakdown
mechanism [2] of the gaseous ionization process, an ignition
of a self-sustained current in a gap controlled by secondary
Paper MSDAD-08-19, presented at the 2007 Industry Applications Society
Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, September 23–27, and approved for
publication in the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS by the
Electrostatic Processes Committee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society.
Manuscript submitted for review October 31, 2007 and released for publication
June 23, 2008. Current version published March 18, 2009. This work was
supported by Florida State University.
K.-Y. Shih and W. C. Finney are with the Department of Chemical and Bio-
medical Engineering, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University–Florida
State University College of Engineering, Florida State University, Tallahassee,
FL 32310 USA (e-mail: kshih@eng.fsu.edu; finney@eng.fsu.edu).
R. Burlica is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, “Gh. Asachi”
Technical University of Iasi, 700050 Iasi, Romania (e-mail: rburlica@
ee.tuiasi.ro).
B. R. Locke is with the Materials and Technology Research Center and
the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Florida Agricultural
and Mechanical University–Florida State University College of Engineer-
ing, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32310 USA (e-mail: locke@
eng.fsu.edu).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TIA.2009.2013570
0093-9994/$25.00 © 2009 IEEE
electron emission, provides a detailed explanation of the gas-
phase discharge. Free electrons formed near the cathode are ac-
celerated by the applied external electric field. These electrons
concurrently ionize the gas and generate electron avalanches
above a critical electric field. Paschen curves [3], a specific
critical breakdown condition which directly relates the neces-
sary applied voltage to the external pressure and gap distance,
have been established for many types of gases. Pressure has a
large effect on gas density and is one of the most important
factors of the gas-phase ionization process. Therefore, gas-
phase discharges are highly dependent on pressure.
Unlike gas-phase discharges, there is no consensus—well-
defined mechanism which can fully explain electrical break-
down in liquids. Two possible theories, the electric and bubble
mechanisms, have been developed. The electric theory [4]
describes discharge current initially formed in the liquid phase.
After reaching a critical value, the theory assumes that an
electron avalanche can directly occur in the surrounding liquid
phase. Because the density of the liquid phase is much higher
than that of a gas phase, direct ionization and electron avalanche
formation are not likely in the liquid phase. On the other
hand, the theory of bubble formation [5] assume that steam
bubbles, which pre-existed before the discharge, were formed
by the local heating of field emission current or by the volume
heating of ionic prebreakdown currents in salt solutions. A
discharge is then developed in these low-density gas bubbles
after the bubbles have either expanded to some critical size
or bridged the interelectrode gap. However, the pure hydrody-
namic expansion of the gas bubble is not fast enough to describe
the case of submicrosecond duration liquid-phase breakdown.
Both theories provide several useful aspects of liquid-phase
discharge for further studies.
This study seeks to determine the effect of pressure on
liquid-phase discharges. Liquid-density increases due to the
applied external pressures are small enough to neglect (the
incompressible assumption). However, the pressure has a large
impact on steam bubble formation as reflected by changes of
boiling point, vapor pressure, and the solubility of dissolved
gases. Kao and Higham [6] have investigated the effect of
pressure on the electric field strength of various organic liquids
with a microsecond pulse. Experiment results showed that the
electric field strength, near atmospheric pressure, increases with
increasing applied external pressure. In a later investigation,
Kao and McMath [7] showed that the pressure dependence
of two liquids, transformer oil and n-hexane of commercial
SHIH et al.: EFFECT OF PRESSURE ON DISCHARGE INITIATION AND CHEMICAL REACTION IN REACTOR 631

purity, disappears when the linearly rising voltages were within

the nanosecond range. Direct experimental evidence has shown
that the bubble mechanism does not have time to be oper-
ative within the nanosecond range. The previous results of
pressure dependence can be explained by the effect on bubble
formation. Akiyama [8] used photographs of a wire-to-plane
pulse streamer to show the pressure dependence of the streamer
physical properties. Again, the influence of pressure decreased
as the pulsed duration is reduced to submicroseconds. Jones and
Kunhardt [9] considered the effects of pressure and solution
conductivity on breakdown in water. The results showed that
the time lag increased with increasing pressure. They developed
a model based on the thermal bubble theory.
Several other groups studied discharge behavior under high
pressure and temperature. Ito et al. [10], [11] evaluated the
microdischarge initiation voltage in carbon dioxide up to the
supercritical condition. Lock et al. [12] used a wire cylinder
corona discharge in supercritical carbon dioxide and compared
results with Paschen’s law. Sawada et al. [13] tested the break-
down voltage of microdischarge in H2 O and Xe from ambient
conditions up to the supercritical condition and compared these
results with the previous CO2 results.
However, none of the aforementioned published models can
fully explain all the results on liquid-phase corona discharge.
Furthermore, no work has been previously reported on the Fig. 1. High-temperature high-pressure reactor. 1—Mixer motor.
2—Magnetic drive. 3—Grounded wire connection. 4—Cooling water
effects of temperature and pressure on liquid-phase corona connection. 5—Gas compressed connection. 6—Split ring safety cap.
discharge chemical processes. This study seeks to determine 7—Upper reactor cap. 8—Floor stand shelf. 9—Reactor body. 10—Mixer
the effect of pressure on liquid-phase discharge, and a follow- impeller. 11—Cooling water coil. 12—Stainless steel mesh ground electrode.
13—Feedthrough electrode unit (see Fig. 2 for details). 14—Liquid sample
ing study will describe temperature effects. A liquid-phase- outlet. 15—Connected to high voltage input.
discharge reactor which can be used under high pressure was
designed. The relationship between pressure and liquid-phase- design plot in Fig. 2, and photo in Fig. 3). For experimental
discharge characteristics, such as initiation voltage, power, cur- purposes, the reactor was also designed to connect with cooling,
rent, and chemical reactions (formation of hydrogen peroxide) mixing, and pressurizing system, as shown in Fig. 1.
are examined. 2) Feedthrough Electrode: The feedthrough electrode, a
high-voltage ceramic protected electrode product (CeramTec
Inc., Laurens, SC), was modified with a custom-made thread
II. E XPERIMENTAL M ETHODS
in order to attach to the bottom of the high-pressure high-
To achieve the goal of analyzing the effect of pressure on temperature reactor body. The electrode was capable of re-
liquid-phase discharges, a new discharge reactor which can sisting high voltage (up to 100 kV) and high pressure (up
resist high pressure was designed. Experimental procedures to 3000 kPa). Further modifications were needed to achieve
consisted of the measurement of the pressure effect on initia- the desired needle-to-plane discharge geometry. First, a nickel
tion voltage, discharge characteristics, and chemical reactions chromium (NiCr) wire (small parts Inc., Miami Lake, FL)
(formation of hydrogen peroxide). with a diameter of 0.079 mm that served as needle electrode
was fixed on top of the feedthrough electrode by screw and
graphite ferrule sets. The purposes of using a screw and ferrule
A. Reactor Design
design allowed for ease in changing the needle electrode after
The reactor system included a high-pressure high- each experiment and also to ensure that the needle electrode
temperature reactor, a feedthrough electrode, and a power properly contacts with the high-voltage input without the influ-
supply system. ence of a discharge shockwave. Creating an effective insulation
1) High-Pressure High-Temperature Reactor: The reactor cap was another important issue in this design. In order to
used is modified from a Parr Instrument Series 4572 commer- produce electron avalanches to initiate discharge, the electric
cial high-pressure high-temperature stainless steel reactor (Parr field must be concentrated on the tip of the needle electrode
Instrument Inc., Moline, IL). The dimensions of the main reac- when using a needle-to-plane electrode geometry. A 3.81-cm
tor body are 9 cm in diameter, 33 cm in height, 3-cm thickness (1.5 in)-diameter Teflon rod (Small Parts Inc., Miami Lake,
in stainless steel wall, and 1.5 L in volume. In order to set FL) with a proper design to fit the breakthrough electrode
up a high-voltage discharge system, a 2.54-cm NPT threaded was used as an insulation layer to cover the exposed metal
hole was drilled on the bottom of the reactor in order to attach part of the feedthrough electrode. The only metal part that
the ceramic protected feedthrough electrode (part 13 in Fig. 1, will protrude and be exposed within the liquid solution was
632 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 45, NO. 2, MARCH/APRIL 2009

Fig. 3. Picture of feedthrough electrode unit with insulation cap.

Fig. 2. Detailed parts of feedthrough electrode (13 of Fig. 1).

Fig. 4. Overall reactor system [17]. 1—Resistor, 333 kΩ. 2—Transformer
rectifier, 60 kV and 12 A max. 3—Capacitors of 2.0 nF. 4—Rotating rod in
spark gap, 1800 r/min. 5—Gas tank. 6—Main reactor. 7—Cooling water tank.
the NiCr needle electrode tip. As a result, the input electricity 8—Oscilloscope.
will concentrate only on the tip of the needle electrode. The
final design of the feedthrough electrode is shown in Fig. 2.
The photo of the feedthrough electrode after modifications is
shown in Fig. 3. A stainless steel mesh (Small Parts Inc.,
Miami Lake, FL) cut in a round-shaped plate with a 5-cm
diameter served as the ground electrode. The electrode gap
distance between the needle and ground is 3 cm. The electri-
cal discharge was produced by a high-voltage power supply,
consisting of a variable voltage source 0–100-kV dc source
(Universal Voltronics, Brookfield, CT), a storage capacitor of
2.0 nF, and a rotating spark gap (1800 r/min) with a pulse
repetition frequency of 60 Hz [14]. The peak voltage, reactor
current, power per pulse, and waveform were measured by
using a Tektronix TDS 460 oscilloscope. The overall setup is
shown in Fig. 4.
Fig. 5. Discharge image from open-top reactor of 35-kV-input atmospheric
pressure.
B. Experimental Procedures
The first set of experiments involved measurements of the fore, the streamer initiation was defined by the waveform record
initiation liquid breakdown voltage under different pressures. from the oscilloscope. Fig. 5 shows a picture of the successfully
The reactor is closed and fully sealed when pressurized. There- formed continuous discharge streamer at a 35-kV input from
SHIH et al.: EFFECT OF PRESSURE ON DISCHARGE INITIATION AND CHEMICAL REACTION IN REACTOR
Fig. 6. Voltage and current waveform of successfully formed continuous
discharge under atmospheric pressure.
Fig. 7. Image from open-top reactor of 25-kV-input atmospheric pressure. No
discharge formed.
Fig. 8. Voltage and current waveform without continuous discharge under
atmospheric pressure.
an open top (atmospheric pressure) reactor. Fig. 6 shows the
current and voltage waveform of the streamer in Fig. 5. Fig. 7
shows the open-top-reactor picture with a 25-kV input. There
is no streamer formed when the input voltage is lower than the
critical breakdown voltage. Fig. 8 shows the waveform for the
25-kV-input open-top condition. A comparison between Fig. 6
with Fig. 8 shows that the hump shape of the current and voltage
633
Fig. 9. Voltage and current waveform of nondischarge condition.
Fig. 10. Displacement current and net current waveform under 35-kV input.
waveform defines the liquid breakdown. Fig. 9 shows the
current and voltage waveforms at a 35-kV input under 690 kPa.
Under this higher pressure condition, 35 kV is not sufficient
to initiate the discharge. No sound from the discharge was
observed and no chemical (hydrogen peroxide) formation was
found during this higher pressure experiment, thus supporting
the conclusion that there is no streamer formed. The waveform
for this case (Fig. 9) shows similar oscillations as in Fig. 8 due
to reactor inductance. Fig. 10 shows the displacement current
(no discharge, 690 kPa) [15] and net current [displacement
current subtracted from total current (Fig. 6)] under a 35-kV
input. Therefore, we can define the initiation voltage by the
current waveform.
The solution was prepared with 1 L of deionized water which
was adjusted to a conductivity of 500 μS/cm by adding potas-
sium chloride (KCl). The reasons why we choose 500 μS/cm
as the conductivity are as follows:
1) Fig. 11 shows the initiation voltage at different con-
ductivities under atmospheric pressure. Because the gap
between the stainless steel reactor wall and the needle
electrode is 4.5 cm, those tests which used solution
conductivity lower than 500 μS/cm (150 and 300 μS/cm)
will spark when increasing the input voltage to approxi-
mately 45 kV.
634 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 45, NO. 2, MARCH/APRIL 2009

Fig. 11. Initiation voltage at different conductivities under atmospheric

pressure.

Fig. 12. Discharge initiation voltage under different pressures.

2) For those tests which used higher conductivity solutions
(800 and 1000 μS/cm), the high-conductivity solution
caused side discharge problems and damaged the break-
through insulation cap. Furthermore, the highest voltage
that this system can reach without insulation problems is
around 65 kV. The increase of the atmosphere initiation
voltage decreases the voltage operation range at high
pressure. Therefore, 500 μS/cm is an optimized value for
the operation of this reactor.
The NiCr needle electrode had a protrusion length of 2 mm,
and the gap distance between needle and ground electrode
was 3 cm for all experiments. Cooling water was used to
control the solution temperature to 20 ◦ C. A compressed argon
cylinder was used to pressurize the reactor in the range between
atmospheric to 1380 kPa (200 lb/in2 ). In each experiment, the
input voltage was gradually increased until the liquid discharge Fig. 13. Initiation voltage correlated to water boiling point.
started. The initiation voltage, current, and waveform were
recorded with an oscilloscope. wavelength and was converted to H2 O2 concentration by a
The effect of pressure on streamer chemical reactions was calibration curve.
determined through measurements of H2 O2 concentration in
the solution. Hydrogen peroxide has been proposed to come
III. R ESULT AND D ISCUSSIONS
mainly from the recombination of hydroxyl radicals [1], [20],
[22], which is the most important chemical radical produced Fig. 12 shows the results of the initiation voltage under dif-
by electric discharge in water. Therefore, the measurement ferent pressures. The initiation voltage increased approximately
of H2 O2 gives us an idea of core streamer chemical reac- linearly with respect to the increase of external pressure, and
tions. The electrode setup and solution preparation were the this result is in agreement with that of Sawada et al. [13]. The
same as aforementioned for the initiation voltage measure- external pressure obviously had a large effect on the initiation
ment experiments. Three different pressures were used where liquid breakdown. One hypothesis to explain this behavior
a continuous (nonintermittent) discharge can be formed below is based on the bubble theory. The external pressure has a
a 55-kV input. The liquid-phase discharge was operated for significant influence on liquid thermal properties, which are
30 min under three different pressure conditions with the same the critical factors for steam bubble formation. The specific
voltage input. Liquid samples were taken every 5 min, and enthalpy of liquid water (heat required to increase 1 ◦ C of 1-g
the H2 O2 concentration was measured. The H2 O2 concentra- liquid water) and the boiling point are both increased with
tion was determined by the colorimetric method published by increasing pressure. On the other hand, the heat of vaporization
Eisenberg [16]. A liquid sample of 2 mL was taken from decreases when the external pressure increases. This depen-
the reactor and mixed with 1 mL of titanium sulfate reagent. dence can be calculated by the Clausius–Clapeyron equations
Titanium sulfate reagent was prepared by dissolving 1 g of [17]. Overall, in our experimental conditions, the bubble for-
titanium powder with 100 mL of hot sulfuric acid (1:1). After mation rate depends on the amount of heat required to vaporize
dissolving all of titanium, a sufficient amount of 65% (w/w) the 20 ◦ C water. The heat required to vaporize 1 g of water from
of nitric acid was added to the violet-colored reaction mixture 20 ◦ C under different pressures can be calculated by summing
to obtain a colorless solution. The absorbance of the formed the heat required to heat 1 g of 20 ◦ C water up to the boiling
yellow color pertitanic acid complex was measured at a 410-nm point and adding the heat of vaporization.
SHIH et al.: EFFECT OF PRESSURE ON DISCHARGE INITIATION AND CHEMICAL REACTION IN REACTOR
Fig. 14. Power per pulse correlated to water boiling point.
Fig. 15. Hydrogen peroxide concentration under different pressures.
Figs. 13 and 14 show the initiation voltage and the power per
pulse with the applied pressure, respectively. The heat required
to vaporize 1 g of water from 20 ◦ C at each pressure is shown
for comparison. These results suggest that the increase in
discharge initiation conditions is related to increases of the
heat required to form vapor bubbles in boiling water. However,
the initiation voltage is better correlated than the power per
pulse to the pressure. This is likely due to the fact that the
initiation voltage is more directly related to the breakdown-
initiation criterion (critical breakdown voltage and electric
field emission) just before the streamer is formed in compar-
ison to the power per pulse which was determined for the
power release into the solution over the entire pulse streamer
duration.
The H2 O2 concentration versus reaction time for an input
voltage of 55 kV (above the initiation voltage) and average
power of 58.6 W under three different pressures is shown in
Fig. 15. There are no statistically significant differences in
the H2 O2 formation rates under three different pressures. The
H2 O2 efficiency (energy yield) is 6.58 nmol/J. This value is
similar to those of previous literature (4.53 nmol/J from [18],
5.7–8.8 nmol/J from Holzer and Locke [19], 7.8 nmol/J from
[20], and 8.3 nmol/J [21]). Thus, the reactor design, electrode
geometry, and solution conditions of our experiment did not
result in large differences in H2 O2 efficiency compared with
previous literatures. The liquid discharge waveforms of a 55-kV
input under three different pressures are shown in Figs. 16 and
17. As the results show, the voltage and current waveform of the
635
Fig. 16. Voltage waveform of three different pressures.
Fig. 17. Current waveform of three different pressures.
discharge were very similar under all three different pressures.
Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that once the input electric
field is greater than the initiation barrier, the effects of discharge
streamer should be identical.
Sahni and Locke [20] used chemical probes to quantify
the hydroxyl radical formation. Those experimental results
suggested that the hydroxyl radical is formed by the direct
plasma dissociation of water molecules in the discharge plasma
channel, and H2 O2 is formed mainly by the recombination
of hydroxyl radicals in the recombination zone which is next
to the plasma channel. Mededovic and Locke [22] used a
mathematical model to describe a series of primary chemi-
cal reactions within the core plasma channel and a recom-
bination zone. With proper boundary conditions, the thermal
and mass balance can predict the species formation (OH, H2 ,
O2 , and H2 O2 ) in the liquid-phase electrical discharge. The
results showed that hydrogen peroxide is mainly formed in
the recombination region, where the temperature varies from
ambient to 2000 K, via the recombination of hydroxyl radi-
cals. It is conjectured in this study that, once the discharge
is formed, the locally high-temperature and high-pressure of
the discharge channel and recombination zone are not affected
by the applied external pressure in the range studied. Con-
sequently, the final H2 O2 concentration which was measured
in this study in the bulk solution should be the same under
three different pressures. All experiments on hydrogen perox-
ide generation were conducted at the same power input. The
discharge characteristics are also similar (Figs. 16 and 17), and
therefore, it is reasonable that pressure (in the range studied)
636 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. 45, NO. 2, MARCH/APRIL 2009
had no effect on chemical reaction once the discharge is stably
formed.
IV. C ONCLUSION
This study demonstrated the development of a new electrical
discharge reactor which can be used under high pressure. The
liquid-phase electrical discharge of pressurized water and salt
solution has been investigated as a function of pressure. It
was found that the initiation voltage increased linearly with
increasing pressure. To explain this behavior of the initiation
voltage with pressure, the bubble theory of liquid-phase dis-
charge has been used. In the bubble theory, the liquid-phase
discharge is initiated by the electric field heating of the liq-
uid and formation of regions of low density (bubbles) where
electron avalanches and streamer propagation can develop. A
higher external pressure increases the total heat required to
vaporize liquid water and also increases the difficulty of bubble
formation.
For a constant initial voltage input, the current and voltage
waveforms and power of the discharge under three different
pressures were very similar. The formation of hydrogen perox-
ide was not affected by pressure in the range studied for these
conditions. It can be concluded that, once the input electric field
is greater than the critical initiation value, the streamer can be
formed stably, and the resulting H2 O2 generation, which is one
of the important streamer chemical processes, is independent of
pressure.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank Prof. A. Mizuno for the sug-
gestions concerning high-pressure electrical discharge reactors
and the U.S. Air Force, Tyndall Air Force Base, for the donation
of the high-temperature high-pressure Parr reactor.
R EFERENCES
[1] B. R. Locke, M. Sato, M. R. Hoffmann, and J. S. Chang, “Electrohydraulic
discharge and nonthermal plasma for water treatment,” Ind. Eng. Chem.
Res., vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 882–905, 2006.
[2] A. Fridman and L. A. Kennedy, Plasma Physics and Engineering.
New York: Taylor & Francis, 2004, pp. 204–217.
[3] E. O. Forster, “Progress in understanding of electrical breakdown in con-
densed matter,” J. Phys. D, Appl. Phys., vol. 23, no. 12, pp. 1056–1514,
Dec. 1990.
[4] Y. Toriyama, T. Sato, and H. Mitsui, “Dielectric breakdown of in-
sulating liquids,” Brit. J. Appl. Phys., vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 203–204,
Feb. 1964.
[5] A. W. H. Kratel, “Pulsed power discharges in water,” M.S. thesis,
California Inst. Technol., Pasadena, CA, 1996.
[6] K. C. Kao and J. B. Higham, “The effects of hydrostatic pressure,
temperature and voltage duration on the electric strengths of hydro-
carbon liquids,” J. Electrochem. Soc., vol. 108, no. 6, pp. 522–528,
Jun. 1961.
[7] K. C. Kao and J. P. C. McMath, “Time-dependent pressure effect in
liquid dielectrics,” IEEE Trans. Electr. Insul., vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 64–68,
Sep. 1970.
[8] H. Akiyama, “Streamer discharges in liquids and their applications,”
IEEE Trans. Dielectr. Electr. Insul., vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 646–653,
Oct. 2000.
[9] H. M. Jones and E. E. Kunhardt, “Pulsed dielectric breakdown of pressur-
ized water and salt solution,” J. Appl. Phys., vol. 77, no. 2, pp. 795–805,
Jan. 1995.
[10] T. Ito and K. Terashima, “Generation of micrometer-scale discharge in
a supercritical fluid environment,” Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 80, no. 16,
pp. 2854–2856, Apr. 2002.
[11] T. Ito, H. Fujiwara, and K. Terashima, “Decrease of breakdown voltages
for micrometer-scale gap electrodes for carbon dioxide near the critical
point: Temperature and pressure dependences,” J. Appl. Phys., vol. 94,
no. 8, pp. 5411–5413, Oct. 2003.
[12] E. H. Lock, A. V. Saveliev, and L. A. Kennedy, “Initiation of pulsed
corona discharge under supercritical conditions,” IEEE Trans. Plasma
Sci., vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 850–853, Apr. 2005.
[13] M. Sawada, T. Tomai, T. Ito, H. Fujiwara, and K. Terashima,
“Micrometer-scale discharge in high-pressure H2O and Xe environ-
ments including supercritical fluid,” J. Appl. Phys., vol. 100, no. 12,
pp. 123 304-1–123 304-5, Dec. 2006.
[14] D. Grymonpre, A. K. Sharma, W. C. Finney, and B. R. Locke, “The role
of Fenton’s reaction in aqueous phase pulsed streamer corona reactors,”
Chem. Eng. J., vol. 82, no. 1–3, pp. 189–207, Mar. 2001.
[15] P. Bletzinger and B. N. Ganguly, “The effect of displacement current on
fast-pulsed dielectric barrier discharges,” J. Phys. D, Appl. Phys., vol. 36,
no. 1, pp. 1550–1552, Jul. 2003.
[16] G. M. Eisenberg, “Colorimetric determination of hydrogen peroxide,”
Ind. Eng. Chem. Anal. Ed., vol. 15, no. 5, pp. 327–328, 1943.
[17] S. I. Sandler, Chemical and Engineering Thermodynamics, 3rd ed.
Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 1999, pp. 308–309.
[18] M. Sato and J. S. Clement, “Formation of chemical species and
their effects on microorganisms using a pulsed high-voltage discharge
in water,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 106–112,
Jan./Feb. 1996.
[19] F. Holzer and B. R. Locke, “Influence of high voltage needle electrode
material on hydrogen peroxide formation and electrode erosion in a hy-
brid gas–liquid series electrical discharge reactor,” Plasma Chem. Plasma
Process., vol. 28, pp. 1–13, 2008.
[20] M. Sahni and B. R. Locke, “Quantification of hydroxyl radicals produced
in aqueous phase pulsed electrical discharge reactors,” Ind. Eng. Chem.
Res., vol. 45, no. 17, pp. 5819–5825, 2006.
[21] M. Kirkpatrick and B. R. Locke, “Effects of platinum electrode on hydro-
gen, oxygen, and hydrogen peroxide formation in aqueous phase pulsed
corona electrical discharge,” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., vol. 45, no. 6, p. 2138,
2006.
[22] S. Mededovic and B. R. Locke, “Primary chemical reactions in pulsed
electrical discharge channel in water,” J. Phys. D, Appl. Phys., vol. 40,
no. 24, pp. 7734–7746, 2007.
Kai-Yuan Shih was born in Taipei, Taiwan. He
received the B.S. degree in chemical engineer-
ing from National Taiwan University, Taipei. Since
2005, he has been working toward the Ph.D. de-
gree in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical
Engineering, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
University–Florida State University (FSU) College
of Engineering, FSU, Tallahassee.
Radu Burlica received the Ph.D. degree in elec-
trical machines, electrical apparatus, and actuators
from “Gh. Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Iasi,
Romania.
He is currently an Assistant Professor with the
Department of Electrical Engineering, “Gh. Asachi”
Technical University of Iasi. He was also involved
in postdoctoral studies in the field of “management
of the environment, legislation, and waste” with
the Ecole des Mines d’Ales, Ales, France, and was
a North Atlantic Treaty Organization/National Sci-
ence Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow with Florida State University,
Tallahassee, during 2005–2006. His research interests include gliding arc
electrical discharges for pollution control.
SHIH et al.: EFFECT OF PRESSURE ON DISCHARGE INITIATION AND CHEMICAL REACTION IN REACTOR
Wright C. Finney received the B.S. degree in
physics and the M.S. degree in biology from Florida
State University (FSU), Tallahassee, in 1975 and
1978, respectively.
He is currently a Research Associate with
the Department of Chemical and Biomedical En-
gineering, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
University–Florida State University College of En-
gineering (FAMU–FSU COE), FSU, where, prior
to joining the FAMU–FSU COE, he was with the
Aerosol Physics Research Group, Department of
Physics, from 1978 to 1992. There, he codeveloped several aerosol and gas-
treatment techniques, such as an electron beam particle precharger for enhanced
electrostatic precipitation and a pulsed-streamer-corona reactor for high-
efficiency SO2 and NOx removal. In addition to his research, he is involved in
the development of new undergraduate and graduate academic initiatives in the
department. His general research interests include environmental engineering,
electrostatic processes, aerosol science, and biomedical engineering. One of
his continuing current interests lies in the area of using a nonthermal plasma
technology known as pulsed streamer corona for the treatment and breakdown
of airborne and groundwater-containing organic contaminants.
637
Bruce R. Locke (M’99–SM’08) received the
B.E. degree in chemical engineering and envi-
ronmental and water resources engineering from
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, the M.S. de-
gree in chemical engineering from the University of
Houston, Houston, TX, and the Ph.D. degree from
North Carolina State University, Raleigh.
He is currently a Professor and the Chairman
of the Department of Chemical and Biomedical
Engineering, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
University–Florida State University (FSU) College
of Engineering, FSU, Tallahassee, where he is also a member of the Materials
and Technology Research Center. His research interests include the develop-
ment and analysis of electrical discharge plasma reactors for initiating chemical
reactions in air and water pollution control, green chemistry, and disinfection.
He also studies networks of chemical reactions coupled with diffusion and
convection in bioreactors, tissue engineering, and other bioengineering appli-
cations. He has published 100 peer-reviewed journal papers.
Dr. Locke is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and
the American Chemical Society.