646

lEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation

Vol. 7 No. 5, October 2000

Streamer Discharges in Liquids and their

Applications
H. Akiyama
Graduate School of Science and Technology
Kumamoto University
Kumamoto, Japan

ABSTRACT
Industrial applications using pulsed power technologies have been developed in many fields.
One of them is the treatment of exhaust gas by using uniformly produced streamer discharges.
Streamer discharges in liquid also generate extremely high electric fields at the tip of streamers, as well as high energy electrons, ozone, other chemicallyactive species, ultraviolet rays and
shock waves. All of these may be utilized to sterilize microorganism and to decompose molecules and materials. Large-volume streamer discharges in water have been produced in order
to realize industrial applications. A wire to plane electrode configuration has been used. The
discharge in water shows similar optical radiation to that in an atmospheric gas as provided
by evidence from still photographs. The influence of polarity, conductivity, electrode geometry
and hydrostatic pressure on the streamers in liquid, the mechanism of streamer discharges and
possible industrial applications of streamers in liquids, are discussed in the present work.

1 INTRODUCTION

Pulsed electric field treatment has been used for cleaning of water containing organic chemical impurities and in water-air mixtures
NUUSTRIAL applications of pulsed power technology have been de- (aerosol) [ZO]. The streamer discharge in water has a thermal nature,
veloping rapidly in many fields, such as the treatment of exhaust and the streamers are gas discharges in thin vapor bubbles, which ocgases such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and dioxin; the sterilization cur in water [14,21]. Although streamer discharges in liquids and in
of microorganism; the removal of biological wastes; the fragmentation aerosols generally have similar features, the streamers in liquids are
of rocks; the recycling of concrete and electric appliances; and the sur- denser than those in aerosols. The large volume streamer discharges
face treatment of material [l-81. The application of electric fields with a have large commercial applications, such as the treatment of sludge
short pulse width allows direct interaction with biological cells without water, the dissociation of toxic chemicals like dioxin, the cleaning of
heating the tissues [l, 9,101.
contaminated water, the sterilization of milk and juices and others.
First of all the method to produce large volume streamer discharges
Pulsed power may be used to produce nonthermal plasmas in atmospheric pressure gases that generate a high electric field at the tips is described in this review. It is very important to make streamers over
of streamer discharges and produce high energy electrons, free radi- a large volume of the liquid for commercialization of these systems.
cals, ultraviolet rays and ozone [Z, 3,ll-131. These manifestations of Then, after describing the influence of polarity, conductivity,electrode
streamer discharges have been used in the treatment of exhaust gases, geometry and pressure on the streamers, the mechanism of streamer
removal of volatile and toxic compounds such as dioxin, and the steril- discharges and their applications are summarized.
ization of microorganisms.
2 CHARACTERISTICS OF

The breakdown phenomena in liquids have been studied for a long

time, in particular its relation to electrical insulation [14-171. Large
volume streamer discharges can be produced not only in atmospheric
pressure gases but also in liquids using the most recent development in
pulsed power technology [14,18,20]. These streamer discharges in liquids are able to produce a high electric field, high energy electrons,
ozone, chemically active species, ultraviolet rays and shock waves,
which readily sterilize microorganisms and decompose molecules and
materials.

STREAMER DISCHARGES
2.1 PRODUCTION OF LARGE
VOLUME STREAMER
DISCHARGES
A small-volume streamer discharge has been produced by using a
point to plane electrode [ZZ-251. As stated already, the production of
large volume streamer discharges is important in order to realize their
industrial applications.

1070-9878101 $3.00 02000 IEEE

IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation

Polyethylene insulators

Outer ring electrode

Vol. 7 N o . 5, October 2000

Figure 3. Framing photographs with the frame gate of 20 ns and the

interframe time of 100 ns
10

Figure 1. Cross section of the reactor to produce a large volume

streamer discharge

Figure 1 shows a cross section of a reactor to produce a large volume streamer discharge [14,18]. It consists of a HV cable input, a water inlet and outlet, a plastic vessel with an acrylic window for optical
measurements and an electrode system. The inner electrode has a disk
shape, radius 1cm, and thickness 1 mm, is made of stainless steel, and
is attached to the HV cable. The outer, grounded, electrode is made of
stainless steel and has a variable inner diameter (40 to 88 mm)
Positive HV pulses are obtained from a Marx generator with a variable number of stages The stage capacitance and the charging voltage
are 0.22 pF and 40 kV, respectively The number of stages can be varied
from 3 to 12, providing a peak output voltage in the range of 120 to

647

36

4+

Ec

5 2

OO
-2
-0.5

\-

--- - --

100
50

0.5

1.5

-50
2.5

Time(*)

(a)

10

~~~'

'iii

50

52
.*---e?

O O

-2

-0.5

150 9
100

c 4

(b)

z::g

0.5

Time(*)

1.5

-50
2.5

Figure 4. Voltage and current waveforms in distilled water (a) and

tap water (b) with 39 mm electrode separation

are 20 and 100 ns, respectively The streamer discharges expand uniformly The streamers shown in Figure 2 are ultrahigh-speed luminous
positive tertiary streamer (PTS) or third mode [26], which usually have
a filamentary structure and can be obtained in highly overstressed gaps
and fast rise time voltage pulses [15]. Figure 4 shows the voltage and
current waveforms in distilled water (a) and tap water (b)with 39 mm
Figure 2. Time-integratedphotograph of the discharge at Marx output
electrode
separation.
voltage of 200 kV in distilled water
The uniformity of the streamer discharge is dependent on water
In order to achieve a large volume streamer discharge, it must be conductivity, electrode separation and applied voltage. Examples of
equally distributed azimuthally in space between electrodes, and have uniform and nonuniform discharges are summarized in Table 1 The
a length close to the electrode gap separation. Figure 2 shows the time- streamer pattern radius showing the final radius of the streamer cloud
integrated photograph of the discharge at a Marx output voltage of was measured on the open shutter photographs. This radius corre200 kV in distilled water with a resistivity of 1 0 4 a m. A uniform sponds to the maximum streamer length before an arc discharge occurs.
streamer discharge with a volume of 200 to 300 cm3 is obtained After arcing, the streamers do not propagate anymore The good unibetween the electrodes
20 arc channels are observed with stream- formity means that the streamer discharges have a radius >90% of the
ers Framing photographs taken with Imac0n-790~~
(Hadland Photon- electrode separation. The poor uniformity corresponds to a streamer
ics Ltd.) are shown in Figure 3 The frame gate and the interframe times pattern radius t70% of the interelectrode distance. The uniformity of
N

648

Akiyama: Streamer Discharges in Liquids and their Applications

Table 1. Estimates of the uniformity of large-volume streamer dis-

charges under various experimental conditions. The circle, triangle,

cross and bar marks mean the good uniformity, fair uniformity, poor
uniformity and no data, respectively. 0:uniform, A: nearly uniform,
x: not uniform, -: no data.

1st

(a)

Q
1st

(b)

2nd

3rd

Anode mode

Q
2nd

8
3rd

7
4th

Cathode mode

Figure 6. Schematic structures of positive (a) and negative (b) streamers for the point to plane electrode.

a negative electrode are more bushy than that from a positive electrode,
and streamers from a positive electrode are more filamentary
Although a typical example is shown in Figure 6, these structures
may change with the applied voltage waveform. Also, the electrode
Wire
configuration [15], the hydrostatic pressure [27-291, the characteristics
electrode
of the liquid [30-321 and additives [33,34] have large effects on the
Plane
structure of streamers. If we apply a negative pulsed voltage with a
electrode
fast risetime to a point-plane electrode, the second cathode mode disapFigure 5. Time-integrated photograph of discharges in tap water un.
pears. The same suppression has been observed in hexane and toluene
der a thin wire to plane electrode configuration.
when the pressure is increased 2 10 MPa [26]. In the case of a positive
pulsed voltage, the 3rd anode mode becomes dominant [la]. In satuThe volume of the streamer discharges was greatly increased by usrated n-hexane and cyclohexane, the shapes of the streamer are only
ing a thin wire electrode placed in parallel with a plane electrode. Figbush-type for a negative point, but both bush-type and tree-type are
ure 5 shows a time-integrated photograph of discharges in tap water,
observed for the positive electrode. In unsaturated 1-hexane, there is
which were produced by 9 stages of the Marx bank. The diameter of
only bush-type for a negative point and tree-type for the positive electhe thin wire was 1mm, and the electrode separation and the length of
trode. In benzene, there are both bush-type and tree-type streamers for
plane electrode were 45 and 150 mm, respectively. The thin wire electhe negative point, but only a radial-type for the positive electrode [30].
trode was positive. The number of streamers per unit length increased
The polarity effect in insulating oil was summarized by Beroual et
with the intensity of the electric field on the surface of the thin wire
al.
[15]. The positive streamer can be classified in three consecutive
electrode. Coaxial electrodes, i.e. a thin wire electrode in parallel with
stages:
the 1st anode mode (positive primary streamer), the 2nd anfour plane electrodes and a thin wire electrode surrounded by a spiral
ode
mode
(positive secondary streamer), and the 3rd anode mode (teror a mesh electrode, are necessary in order to get large volume streamer
tiary streamer). The primary positive streamer with a velocity of 2 to
discharges.
3x103 m/s has an umbrella-like structure and reaches to near the opposite electrode. At a higher applied voltage, the 2nd anode mode with
2.2 POLARITY EFFECTS ON
a velocity of 3 . 2 ~ 1 m/s
0 ~ appears in the form of bright stems witha top
STREAMERS
ionization zone in the shape of brush-type structures [3]. Further higher
Polarity effects on the structure and the velocity of streamers were applied voltage causes a short 1st anode mode growth, an earlier 2nd
summarized in [15,26]. Figure 6 shows schematic structures of positive anode mode inception, and an ultra-high speed 3rd anode mode with a
(a) and negative (b) streamers for a point to plane electrode [26]. In the velocity >lo5m/s. The 3rd anode mode is less branched and often filcase of a positive point electrode, the 1st anode mode with a velocity of amentary The structure of negative streamers in insulating oil appears
2x102 m/s appears, and then a bushy streamer, defined as the 2nd to change depending on the applied electric field. The structures of the
anode mode, propagates with a velocity of 4x103 m/s. Finally, the 3rd 1st cathode mode (negative primary streamer) changes from the shape
anode mode with a velocity of 4x104 m/s propagates until it reaches of a leafless treetop to a compact bushy structure with many branches
the grounded plane electrode. After the streamer connects between two as the applied voltage increases. At very high fields, the streamer shape
electrodes, an arc discharge occurs.
changes again. Only one branch bridges the gap with a velocity that can
In the case of a negative point electrode as shown in Figure 6(b), the exceed lo5 m/s. For larger gaps (>40 mm), a secondary stage could be
1st cathode mode, with 100 p m length, propagates with a velocity of detected.
The disk to circular electrode shown in Figure 1 produced multi2x102 m/s, and then a more bushy 2nd cathode mode grows with a
velocity of 2x102 m/s. The 3rd and 4th cathode modes propagate with ple positive streamers. Figure 7 shows the dependence of the streamer
velocities of 2x105 m/s and 4x106 m/s, respectively. An arc discharge length of the 3rd anode mode (tertiary streamers) on time for various
occurs after the streamer arrives at the plane electrode. Streamers from applied voltages in distilled water. The streamer expansion velocity

the streamer discharge improves with decreasing applied voltage, increasing electrode separation, and increasing water conductivity

IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation

Vol. 7 No. 5,OctoberZOOO

649

the increase of streamer pattern radius with time. The streamer 17elocity is similar for both distilled and tap water despite the 2.5 order of
magnitude difference in their conductivities.
The dielectric breakdown in water has been investigated by changing the conductivity and using high amplitude electric fields of sub microsecond duration [21]. Figure 8 shows the dependence of the breakdown time lag on the breakdown voltage in distilled water, and 0.001
and 0.01 M (molar) sodium chloride solutions. The influence of conductivity on discharges is small, and therefore bulk heating via ionic
current contributes little to the initiation of the breakdown process.

Figure 7. Dependence of the streamer length of the 3rd anode mode

(tertiary streamers) on time for various applied voltages in distilled
water.

10

50

60

70

Ebd

(ICv/")

80

90

100

Figure 8. Dependence of the breakdown time lag on the breakdown

voltage in distilled water, 0.001 and 0.01 M sodium chloride solutions.

is independent of the voltage pulse amplitude for a fast rising pulsed

voltage and is x 3 to 4x104 m/s. The number of major visible positive streamers increases with increasing applied voltage [14,18]. The
number of negative streamers is much less than that of the positive
streamers.

2.3

INFLUENCE OF LIQUID
CONDUCTIVITY

Electronic conduction processes in dielectric liquids have been studied for many years [35-411. The voltage and current waveforms for both
distilled and tap water are shown in Figure 4. Although the prebreakdown current in distilled water, just before the rapid voltage drop corresponding to breakdown, is significantly less than that in tap water,
the time lag to breakdown is almost similar in both experiments. The
framing photographs of the streamer discharge in distilled water taken
with the image converter camera are shown in Figure 3. The voltage
applied to the inner positive electrode is 200 kV A number of major
filamentary self-luminous streamers propagate between the electrodes
with almost constant velocity of 3x104 m/s, which is calculated from

2.4 EFFECTS OF ELECTRODE

GEOMETRY
The characteristics of streamers depend on the electric field. The
electric field E, on the surface of the wire in a wire to plane electrode
is expressed by the following equation [42]

where h, R a n d V are the distance between the center of the wire electrode and the plane electrode, the radius of wire, and applied voltage
to the wire, respectively For example, in the case of the 5 cm gap separation and 50 pm wire electrode, the electric field on the surface of the
wire is enhanced by 240x the average field.
This enhancement factor is determined by the electrode geometry,
and is one of the important factors to initiate the streamer and to shape
the streamer structure. The electrode geometry is also one of the important factors to determine whether streamer remains single or spreads
into multiple forms.

2.5

INFLUENCE OF HYDROSTATIC
PRESSURE

The hydrostatic pressure has a large effect on the structure and the
velocity of streamers. The streamer volume and the number of streamer
branches decrease with increasing hydrostatic pressure. These phenomena are shown clearly in Figure 9 [15]. These photographs are taken for
negative streamers in cyclohexane, and changing pressure. The number and amplitude of current and light pulses and the average streamer
velocity are reduced. Consequently, there is a decrease in the number
and amplitude of microdischarges which contribute to the propagation
of streamers [15]. A further increase in the pressure causes the disappearance of the streamer, and the corresponding current and light
pulses [16]. Therefore the breakdown strength of liquids increases with
increasing hydrostatic pressure. These phenomena have been investigated on a microsecond time scale [43-45]. The influence of pressure
decreases as the pulse duration is reduced to the sub-microsecondtime
scale [27].
A short pulse with 3 ns risetime and 100 ns duration was used to investigate the breakdown in water. Gap separations from 0.4 to 2.1 mm
were used, and the pressure was changed from atmospheric to 40 MPa.
The time lag to breakdown has been found to increase with increasing
pressure. Figure 10 shows the propagation velocity of the ionizing front
in distilled water as a function of pressure [21]. The gap separation is

Akiyama: SfreamerDischarges in Liquids and their Applications

650

Figure 9. Structure of streamers at different hydrostatic pressure.

The streamer is increasing in length with time. Taking the measured

velocity of a streamer v,the rate of increase of the water mass d m l d t
(in kg/s) involved in the streamer propagation process is
dm
- = nr'vp,
(2)
dt
where T and w are the radius of the streamer tip and the density of
water. The radius of the streamer tip is assumed to be constant during
the streamer propagation process, according to the literature data [58].
The power P necessary to evaporate the water during the streamer
propagation can be estimated from the specific heat of evaporation
(Wv
= 2 . 3 ~ 1 J/kg)
0 ~ as follows [14]
dm
P = W,- d t = W,nr2vp,
(3)
Substituting 31.6 p m streamer radii into Equation (3) gives a power
of P,,
= 2170 kW that must be released into a single streamer to
ensure its propagation in the form of vapor channels.
I
"

P or e s s u r e L (MPa) 0

In the case of multiple streamers shown in Figure 2, the calculated

power of a single streamer is multiplied by the total number of visible
streamers of 50 and the total power Pt for 50 streamers becomes
10.85MW. This power is in good agreement with the power calculated
from the discharge current and voltage.
N

Figure 10. Propagation velocity of ionizing front in distilled water as

a function of pressure.

1.1mm,and the applied voltage is 66 kV. Since the statistical time lag
is much smaller than the formative time lag, the velocity is calculated
from the gap distance divided by the time lag to breakdown. The velocity also decreases with the pressure in the case of 100 ns pulse voltage.

MECHANISM OF STREAMER
DISCHARGES

Two main concepts of electrical breakdown in liquid [46] have been

studied; i.e. a bubble process [47-511 and an electronic process.
As one example of a bubble process, a bubble is formed by vaporization of liquid by local heating in the strong field region at the tips
of asperities on the electrodes. The bubble will grow and breakdown
will take place in the low-strength vapor within the bubbles. According to the electronic process, breakdown will occur when an electron
makes a suitable number of ionizing collisions in its transit across the
breakdown gap. The use of new optical and measuring techniques has
permitted significant progress in understanding of the phenomena that
can occur in the prebreakdown phase and then in the breakdown [52561.
It has been confirmed by recent work carried out on ultra purified
cyclohexane that the physical nature of the streamers is gaseous [16,
511. In that case, the cavitation mechanismsinduced by electrohydrodynamic phenomena are the most evoked, particularly for the slow bushlike streamers [16]. The time lag to water breakdown, using 100ns pulse
voltage, has been found to increase with increasing pressure. These experimental results indicate that the bubble mechanism is a contributing
factor to the sub-microsecond discharge formation in water [21]. The
time to form these bubble was 3 to 13 ns, depending on field and pressure. The field emission currents from asperities [57], which can provide the necessary heating and free electrons, were considered as the
most probable agent contributing to bubble nucleation.

The influence of small concentrations of electronic scavenger additives on the shape and velocity of negative streamers [31,59] and the
spectroscopic analysis of the light emitted by streamers [32] indicate
that electronic processes are present also. With regards to the positive
streamers, the electronic scavenger additives have negligible effect on
the shape and velocity It is thought that both gaseous and electronic
processes occur simultaneously in the prebreakdown phase, even if one
of them is dominant in one case and the second in another [16].

APPLICATION OF STREAMER
DISCHARGES

4.1

PRODUCTION OF CHEMICAL
REACTANTS

Several methods, such as oxidation using ozone and high-energy

electron irradiation, have been tried for the treatment of pollutants in
liquids. Recently, another method using streamer discharges in liquid
was considered [60-621. The streamer discharges in liquid produced by
pulsed HV generate reactants such as OH, H, HO2, H202, 0 , 02, 02and 03. These reactants treat organic compounds by oxidation. Especially, the OH and 0 radicals and 03 are known to play an important
role in oxidative purification of water and in degrading organic compounds [24,63].
Figure 11shows a typical example of the emission spectra of radicals
from a pulsed streamer discharge in distilled water [64,65]. Several
peaks were observed. The peaks were identified as follows: at 282 nm
(A%+ (v=l)+ XzH (v=O)and at 309 nm (A2Cf (v=O)+ X211 (v=O))
are from OH radicals. Peaks in the visible region are H, (656.3nm), Ho
(486.1 nm) and H, (434.0 nm), respectively [64,65]. Peaks at 777.1 nm
(3p5P0+ 3s5S0)and 844.6 nm (3p3P + 3s3S0)are from the emission
lines of atomic oxygen.

IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation!

t

Vol. 7 No. 5, October 2000

the solution were measured by using gas chromatography and highperformance liquid chromatography The liquid chromatography ultraviolet detwtnr was wt a t a-w
Carbon dioxide
Lvplpndh of 7%

m
11

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

651

Phenol solution

fi

1
.

1000

Wavelenglb [nm]

Figure 11. Typical emission spectra of radicals from a pulsed streamer

discharge in distilled water.

(a)

4.2

REACTION MECHANISMS

The 0 radical reacts directly with pollutants in water by oxidation.

In addition, the 0 radical reacts with liquid to produce the OH radical
by the following reaction
0t HzO + 20H
(4)
Also, the OH radicals are produced by the reaction with hydrogen peroxide as follows
0t HzOz + OH t H02
(5)
The OH radicals oxidize organic compounds directly. The primary
oxidation products are oxidized to form secondary products, and finally
it is expected that carbon dioxide is formed.
Ozone can react with organic compounds directly and also decomposes into other radicals, which react with the organic compounds. Water decomposition by ozone produces many transient oxidizing species
such as OH,HOz, O,O-,
O;, 0; [64]. These oxidizing species destroy
organic compounds effectively.

4.3

REMOVALS OF PHENOL AND

TRlCH LOROETHYLENE

The initial reaction rate constants for the formation of hydroxyl radicals, hydrogen peroxide and aqueous electrons produced by pulsed
streamer discharges were described by Joshi et al. [66]. The degradation of phenol in aqueous solution was studied by Sharma et al. [60]
using a pulsed streamer discharge. It was observed that a variety of
waste water contaminants could be destroyed using this reactor. The
transient and final byproducts of phenol treated by a pulsed streamer
discharge were studied by Sato et al. [25].
The experimental apparatus for the treatment of phenol with a
pulsed streamer discharge is shown in Figure 12(a) [25]. A point-toplane geometry electrode system was used with a separation distance
of 21 mm. The electrodes are a sharp platinum point and a 20 mm diameter stainless steel disk. A rotating double spark-gap switch was
used to generate a HV pulse. Typical oscillograms of the pulse voltage
and current are shown in Figure 12(b). The liquid was circulated with a
peristaltic pump and was cooled through a coiled-pipe heat exchanger
to ambient temperature. The liquid circulation rate was adjusted from
20 to 200 ml/min. The concentration of the phenol and byproducts in

GND

GND

(W

Time (50 ps/div)

Figure 12. (a) Experimental apparatus for the treatment of phenol

with a pulsed streamer discharge, and (b) voltage and current wave-

forms.
was measured by absorption in barium hydroxide followed by back
titration with standardized HCI.

-0-+20 kV
4-+17.2 kV

2oF, 1
,

0
0

10

2c

Resldence time [min]

Figure 13. Phenol removal with increasing residence time.

Phenol with an initial concentration of 50 ppm was removed by

pulsed streamer discharges. The phenol removal increased with increasing residence time, as shown in Figure 13 [25]. The intermediate main byproducts were hydroquinone, pyrocatechol and 1,4benzoquinone. The phenol and intermediate products were removed
completely after increasing the residence time. The hydrogen peroxide
and carbon dioxide are considered the candidates for final byproducts.
Trichloroethylene is a toxic substance. It was difficult to remove it
by common water treatment techniques. The pulsed streamer discharge
is an effective candidate to remove it. Trichloroethylene with an initial
concentration of 100 ppm was reduced by 90% using pulsed streamer
discharges [64].

Akiyama: Streamer Discharges in Liquids and their Applications

652

4.4 OTHER POSSIBLE

APPLICATIONS
Large volume streamer discharges can be produced in liquids, and
generate extremely high electric fields [67], high energy electrons,
ozone, chemically active species, ultraviolet rays and shock waves [68],
which sterilize microorganisms and decompose molecules and materials. Possible applications of large volume discharges are as follows;
(a) sewage treatment, (b)water treatment, (c) ozone water production,
(d) treatment of dioxin, (e) treatment of volatile organic compounds, (0
sterilization of food, (g) deodorization and (h) free radical sources.

5 CONCLUSIONS

large volume streamer discharge in water was produced by using

a wire to plane electrode configuration. A Marx bank was used to
supply the pulsed HV of 120 to 480 kV between two electrodes. The
streamer discharges in water generate extremely high electric fields
at the tips of the streamers, high-energy electrons, ozone, chemically
active species, ultraviolet rays and shock waves. An increase in the
streamer discharge volume is important in order to realize industrial
applications, such as the sterilization of microorganisms and the decomposition of molecules. The influence of polarity, conductivity, electrode geometry and pressure on liquid streamers, the mechanism of
streamer discharges, and the applications of streamers have been discussed and summarized.

REFERENCES
[l] C. Polk, "Biological Applications of Large Electric Fields: Some History and Fundamentals", IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci., Vol. 28, pp, 2-14,2000.
[2] T. Namihira, S. Tsukamoto, D. Wang, S. Katsuki, R. Hackam, H. Akiyama, Y. Uchida
and M. Koike, "Improvement of NO, Removal Efficiency Using Short Width Pulsed
Power", IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci., Vol. 28,2000 (in print).
[3] S. Masuda and H. Nakao, "Control of NO, by Positive and Negative Pulsed Corona
Discharges", IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, Vol. 26, pp. 374383,1990,
[4] Pulsed Power Discharge and its Application, Ed. H. Akiyama, IEE of Japan, 2000 (in
print).
[5] H. Inone, I. V Lisitsyn, H. Akiyama and 1. Nishizawa, "Pulsed Electric Breakdown
and Destruction of Granite", Japan J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 38, pp. 6502-6505,1999,
[6] I. V. Lisitsyn, H. Inoue, I. Nishizawa, S. Katsnki and H. Akiyama, "Breakdown and
Destruction of Heterogeneous Solid Dielectrics by HV Pulses", J. Appl. Phys., Vol.
84, pp. 6262-6267,1998.
[7] H. Inoue, I. V. Lisitsyn, H. Akiyama and I. Nishizawa, "Drilling of Hard Rocks by
Pulsed Power", IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine, Vol. 16,2000 (in print).
[8] A. Abou-Ghazala, Efecf ofpulsed Electric Fields on Aquatic Nuisance Species, Dissertation, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, 1998.
[9] S. Katsuki, T. Majima,K. Nagata, I. Lisitsyn, H. Akiyama, M. Furuta, T. Hayashi, K.
Takahashi and S. Wirkner, "Inactivation of Bacillus Stearothermophilus by Pulsed
Electric Field, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci., Vol. 28, pp. 155-160,2000,
[lo] Q. Zhang, G. V Barbosa and B. G. Swanson, "Engineering Aspects of Pulsed Electric
Field Pasteurization", J. Food Eng., Vol. 25, pp, 261-281,1995.
[ll] F, Hegeler and H. Akiyama, "Spatial and Temporal Distributions of Ozone After a
Wire-to-Plate Streamer Discharge", IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci., Vol. 25, pp. 115&1165,
1997.
[12] F. Hegeler and H. Akiyama, "Ozone Generation by Positive and Negative Wire-toPlate Streamer Discharges", Japan J, Appl. Phys., Vol. 36, pp. 5335-5339,1997.
[13] S. Tsukamoto, T. Namihira, D. Wang, S. Katsuki, H. Akiyama, E. Nakashima, A.
Sato, Y. Uchida and M. Koike, "Pollution Control of Actual Flue Gas Using Pulsed
Power at a Thermal Power Plant", Trans. of IEE Japan, Vol. 119-A, pp. 984-989,1999
(in Japanese).
[14] 1. V Lisitsyn, H. Nomiyama, S. Katsuki and H. Akiyama, "Thermal Processes in a
Streamer Discharges", IEEE Trans. Dielectr. Electr. Insul, Vol. 6, pp. 351-356,1999.

[15] A. Beroual, M. Zahn, A. Badent, K. Kisi, A. J. Schwabe, H. Yamashita, K. Yamazawa, M. Danikas, W. G. Chadband, Y and Torshin, "Propagation and Structure
of Streamer in Liquid Dielectrics", IEEE Electr. Insul. Magazine, Vol. 14, pp, 6-17,
1998.
[16] A. Bbronal, "Electronic and Gaseous Processes in the Prebreakdown Phenomena of
Dielectric Liquids", J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 73, pp. 45284534,1993.
(171 H. M. Jones, E. E and Kunhardt, "Prebreakdown Currents in Water and Aqueous
Solutions and Their Influence on Pulsed Dielectric Breakdown", J. Appl. Phys., Vol.
78, pp. 330&3314,1995.
[18] I. V. Lisitsyn, H. Nomiyama, S. Katsuki and H. Akiyama, "Streamer discharge reactor for water treatment by pulsed power", Rev. Sci. Instrum., Vol. 70, pp. 3457-3462,
1999.
1191 H. Akiyama, H. Nomiyama, S. Katsuki and I. Lisitsyn, "Large Volume Discharges
in Water and Application to Sludge Treatment", 27th IEEE International Conference
on Plasma Science, New Orleans, 2000.
[20] V M. Bystritskii, T. K. Wood, Y. Yankelevich, S. Chaunan, D. Yee and E Wessel,
"Pulsed Power for Advanced Waste Water Remedialion", Proc. 11th International
Pulsed Power Conference, Baltimore. IEEE Catalog Number 97 CH36127, pp. 7984,1997.
1211 H. M. Jones and E. E. Kunhardt, "The Influence of Pressure and Conductivity on the
Pulsed Breakdown in Water", IEEE Trans. Dielectr. Electr. Insnl., Vol. 1, pp, 10161025,1994.
[221 I. M. Gavrilov, V. R. Knkhta, V V Lopatin and l? G. Petrov, "Dynamics of Prebreakdown Phenomena in a Uniform Field in Water", IEEE Trans. Dielectr. Electr. Insul.,
Vol. 1, pp. 496-502,1994,
1231 E. V Yanshin, 1.T. Ovchinnikov and Yn. N. Vershinin, "Mechanism of the Pulsed
Electric Breakdown of Water", Sov. Phys.-Doklady, Vbl. 19, pp. 95-96,1974.
[24] J. S. Clements, M. Sato and R. H. Davis, "Preliminary Investigation of Prebreakdown Phenomena and Chemical Reactions Using a Pulsed HV Discharge in Liquid
Water", IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., Vol. 23, pp. 224-235,1987.
[25] Bing Sun, M. Sato and J. S. Clement, "Use of a pulsed HV discharge for removal
of organic compounds in aqueous solution", J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., Vol. 32, pp.
1908-1915,1999,
[26] R. E. Hebner, "Measurements of Electrical Breakdown in Liquids", in The Liquid
Stale and ifs ElectricalProperties, Eds. E. E. Kunhart, L, G. Christophoreau, and L H.
Luessen, Plenum Press, New York, pp, 519-537.1988.
1271 K. C. Kao and J. B. Higham, "The Effects of Hydrostatic Pressure, Temperature, and
Voltage Duration on the Electric Strengths of Hydrocarbon Liquids", J. Electrochem.
Soc., Vol. 108, pp. 522-528,1961.
[281 K. C. Kao and J, F. C. McMath, "Time-dependent Pressure Effects in Liquid Dielectrics", IEEE Trans. Electr. Insul., Vol. 5, pp. 6448,1970,
1291 Jones, H. M. and E. E. Kunhardt, "Pulsed Dielectric Breakdown of Pressurized Water and Salts Solutions", J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 77,pp. 795-805,1995,
[30] H. Yamashita and H. Amano, "Prebreakdown Phenomena in Hydrocarbon Liquids", IEEE Trans. Electr. Insul., Vol. 4, pp. 739-750,1988.
[311 A. BCoual and R. Tobazhon, "Prebreakdown Phenomena in Liquid Dielectrics",
IEEE Trans. Electr. Insnl., Vol. 4, pp. 613-627,1986.
[32] I? I? Wong and E. 0. Foster, "The Dynamics of Electrical Breakdown in Liquid Hydrocarbons", IEEE Trans. Electr. Insul., Vol. 17, pp, 203-220,1982.
1331 Y Nakao, H. Itoh, S. Hoshino, Y. Sakai and H. Tagashira, "Effects of additives in
Prebreakdown Phenomena in n-Hexane", IEEE Trans. Dielectr. Electr. Insnl., Vol. 1,
pp. 383-390,1994,
[34] R. E. Hebner, E. F, Kelley, E. 0. Forster and G. J, FitzPatrick, "Observation of Prebreakdown Phenomena in Liquid Hydrocarbons 11, Non- Uniform Field Conditions", IEEE Trans. Electr. Insnl., Vol. 20, pp. 281492,1985,
[35] W. E Schmidt, "Electronic Conduction Processes in Dielectric Liquids", IEEE Trans.
Electr. Insul. Vol. 19, pp, 389418,1984.
[36] J, I? Gosse, "Electric Conduction in Dielectric Liquids", in The Liquid Sfnfeand its
Electrical Properties, Eds. E. E. Kunhart, L. G. Christophoreau, and L H. Luessen,
Plenum Press, New York, pp, 519-537.1988.
1371 N. Gee, M.A. Floriano, T. Wada, S. S:S. Hnang and Gorton, "Ion and Electron
Mobilities in Cryogenic Liquids: Argon, Nitrogen, Methane, and Ethane", J, Appl.
Phys., Vol. 57, pp. 1097-1101,1985,

IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation

[38] S. Sakamoto and H. Yamada, "Optical Study of Conduction and Breakdown in Dielectric Liquids", IEEE Trans. Electr. Insul., Vol. 15, pp. 171-181,1980,
[39] K. Yoshino, "Electrical Conductionand Dielectric Breakdown in Liquid Dielectrics",
IEEE Trans. Electr. Insul., Vol. 21, pp, 847-853,1986.
[40] S. Theoleyre and R. Tobazkon, "Ion Injection by Metallic Electrodes in Highly Polar
Liquids of Controlled Conductivity", IEEE Trans. Electr. Insul., Vol. 20, pp. 213-220,
1985.
[41] M. Hilaire, C. Marteau and R. Tobazbon, "Apparatus Developed for Measurement
of the Resistivity of High Insulating Liquids", IEEE Trans. Electr. Insul., Vol. 23, pp.
779-787,1988.
[42] M. Hara and H. Akiyama, High Voltoge Pulsed Power Engineering, Morikita, Capter 1,
1991 (in Japanese).
[43] A. E Alkhimov, V V Vorobev, V. F, Klimkin, A. G. Ponomarenko and R. 1. Soloukhin,
"The Development of Electrical Discharge in Water", Sov. Phys.-Doklady, Vol. 15,
pp, 959-961,1971,
[44] E. A. Abramyan, V. A. Kornilov, V M. Lagunov, A. G. Ponomarenko and R. I.
Soloukhin, "Megavolt Energy-concentrating Device", Sov. Phys.-Doklady, Vol. 16,
pp, 983-985,1972.
[45] K. C. Kao and J. B. Higham, "The Effects of Hydrostatic Pressure, Temperature, and
Voltage Duration on the Electric Strengths of Hydrocarbon Liquids", J. Electrochem.
Soc., Vol. 108, pp, 522-528,1961.
[46] A. H. Sharbaugh, J. C. Devins and S. J. Rzad, "Progress in the Field of Electrical
Breakdown in Dielectric Liquids", lEEE Trans. Electr. Insul., Vol. 13, pp. 249-276,
1978.
[47] I? K. Watson, "Electrostatic and Hydrodynamic Effects in the Electrical Breakdown
of Liquid Dielectrics", IEEE Trans. Electr. Insul., Vol. 20, pp. 395-399,1985.
1481 I? K. Watson, W.G. Chadband and M. Sadeghzadeh-Araghi, "The Role of Electrostatic and Hydrodynamic Forces in the Negative-point Breakdowm of Liquid Dielectrics", IEEE Trans. Electr. Insul., Vol. 26, pp, 543-559,1991.
[49] I? K. Watson and W.G. Chadband, "The Dynamics of Pre-Breakdown Cavities in
viscous Silicone Fluids in Negative Point-Plane Gaps", IEEE Trans. Electr. Insul.,
Vol. 23, pp, 729-738,1991.
[50] R. Kattan, A. Denat and 0. Lesaint, "Generation, Growth, and Collapse of Vapor
Bubbles in Hydrocarbon Liquids under a High Divergent Electric Field", J. Appl.
Phys., Vol. 66, pp, 40624066,1989.
[51] A. Bbroual, C. Marteau and R. Tobazkon, "Measurement of the Charge of a Single or
of a Series of Streamers in Liquids Subjected to a Voltage Step", IEEE Trans. Electr.
Insul., Vol. 23, pp. 427-431,1988.
[52] V D. Terasov, V A. Balakin and 0.P Pecherskii, "Electrical Breahdown in Water by
0.5-1. 7 MV Pulses 0.5-5 sec Long", Soviet Physics -Technical Physics, Vol. 16, pp.
1379-1380,1972,

Vol. 7"o. 5, October 2000

653

1531 Katsumi Yoshino, Masazumi Shiraishi, Haruhisa Fujii and Yosino Inuishi, "Pressure
Dependence of Polarity Effect of Dielectric Breakdown in liquid Nitrogen", Japan J.
Appl. Phys., Vol. 19, pp. 997-999,1980,
[54] Y. Kamata and Y. Kaka, "Flashover Characteristics of Extremely Long Gaps In Transformer Oil Under Non-Uniform Field Conditions", Trans. Electr. Insul., Vol. 15, pp.
1&26,1980.
[55] H. Yamada, T.Murakami, K. Kusano, T.Fujisawa and T. Sato, "Positive Streamer in
Cyclohexane under Microsecond Pulse Voltage", IEEE Trans. Electr. Insul., Vol. 26,
pp. 708-714,1991,
1561 Yu. V. Torshin, "On the Existence of Leader Discharges in Mineral Oil", IEEE Trans.
Dielectr. Electr. Insul., Vol. 2, pp, 167-179,1995,
1571 J. K. Bragg, A. H. Sharbaugh and R. W.Crowe, "Cathode Effects in the Dielectric
Breakdown of Liquids", J. Appl. Phys. Vol. 25, pp. 382-391,1954,
[58] V Ya. Ushakov, Pulsed Electric Brenkdozua ofliqirids, Tomsk University Press, Tomsk
1975 (in Russian).
1591 J. C. Devins, S. J. Rzad and R. J, Schwabe, "Breakdown and Prebreakdown Phenomena in Liquids", J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 52. pp. 4531-4545,1981.
[60] A. K. Sharma, B. R. Locke, I? Arce and W.C. Finney, "A Preliminary Study of Pulsed
Streamer Corona Discharge for the Degradation of Phenol in Aqueous Solutions",
Hazardous Waste &Hazardous Materials, Vol. 10, pp. 209-219,1993.
[61] D. M. Willberg, P. S. Lang, R. H. Hochemer, A. W.Kratel and M. R. Hoffmann,
"Electrohydraulic Destruction of Hazardous Wastes", CHEMTECH. Vol. 26, pp, 5257,1996.
[62] M. R. Hoffmann, "Electrohydraulic Discharge, Cavitation and Sonolysis", Proc. 2nd
lnt. Symp. on Environ. Appl. Adv. Oxidation Technol., Vol. 3, p. 28-45, San Francisco, USA 1997.
[63] M. Sato, T. Ohgiyama, 1 and S. Clements, "Formation of Chemical Species and Their
Effects on Microorganizms Using a Pulsed HV Discharge in Water", IEEE Trans,
Industry Appl., Vol. 32, pp. 106-112,1996.
I641 M. Sato, B. Sun, T. Ohshima and Y. Sagi, "Characteristics of Active Species and
Removal of Organic Compound by a Pulsed Corona Discharge in Water", J, Adv.
Oxid. Technol., Vol. 4, pp. 339-342,1999.
1651 R. W.B. Pearse and A. G. Gaydon, The Idrtitijrotion ofMolecular Speclm, Chapman
and Hill, London, pp. 264,1976.
[66] A. A. Joshi, B. R. Locke, I? Arce and W.C. Fiuney, "Formation of Hydroxvl Radicals,
Hydrogen Peroxide and Aqueous Electrons by Pulsed Streamer Corona Discharge
in Aqueous Solution", Hazardous Materials, Vol. 41, pp. 3-30 1995.
[67] N. J. Felici, "Blazing a Fiery Trail with the Hounds", IEEE Trans. Electr. Insul., Vol.
23, pp, 497-503,1988,
[68] J. C. Devins, S. J, Rzad and R. J. Schwabe, "Breakdown and Prebreakdown Phenomena in Liquids", J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 52, pp. 4531-4545,1981.

Manuscript was received on 29 May 2000, in final form 15 August 2000,