A Simple Electrostatic Device for Eliminating Tobacco Sidestream Smoke to Prevent Passive Smoking

Abstract

An electrostatic apparatus was constructed to capture tobacco sidestream smoke. This apparatus consisted of a perforated polypropylene plate with metal spikes and a grounded metal net arrayed in parallel at a defined interval. Spikes were negatively charged to positively polarize the net and an electric field was formed between the opposite charges of the spike tips and the grounded net. Discharge from the spike tips occurred, which depended on the pole distance and the voltage applied to the spikes. At lower voltages (<12.1 kV) that do not cause arc discharge from the tips, a corona discharge occurred with the generation of an ionic wind from the spiked plate to the net. This discharge increased in direct proportion to the applied voltage and relative humidity, while a larger corona discharge generated a stronger ionic wind. The ionic wind involved negative ions and the number of negative ions in the wind increased with increasing applied voltage. The optimal voltage (10 kV) generated sufficient negative ions to ionize smoke particles in the electric field, before the ionized smoke particles were successfully captured by the oppositely charged metal net. Thus, this study provides an experimental basis for the practical application of an electrostatic-based method to prevent the production of tobacco sidestream smoke that leads to passive smoking by non-smokers.

Keywords

• electrostatic smoke eliminator
• corona discharge
• ionic wind
• negative ions
• fine smoke particles