Air purifier and air purifying method
An air purifier includes an air inlet portion through which polluted air flows in, a plasma reaction portion connected to and in fluid communication with the air inlet portion and including a discharge region generating discharge plasma, a gas-liquid mixing portion connected to and in fluid communication with the plasma reaction portion, and including a gas-liquid mixing portion housing, a droplet spraying device arranged in the gas-liquid mixing portion housing and including at least one spray nozzle spraying fine droplets, and a fluid mixing device which mixes the fine droplets with first purified air transferred from the plasma reaction portion, and a gas-liquid contact portion connected to and in fluid communication with the gas-liquid mixing portion, defining micro-channels through which a gas-liquid mixture fluid transferred from the gas-liquid mixing portion passes, and including an impactor which captures droplets from the gas-liquid mixture fluid.
1. An air purifier comprising:
an air inlet portion through which polluted air flows in;
a plasma reaction portion connected to and in fluid communication with the air inlet portion and comprising a discharge region generating discharge plasma;
a gas-liquid mixing portion connected to and in fluid communication with the plasma reaction portion, and comprising a gas-liquid mixing portion housing, a droplet spraying device arranged in the gas-liquid mixing portion housing and including at least one spray nozzle spraying fine droplets, and a fluid mixing device which mixes the fine droplets with first purified air transferred from the plasma reaction portion; and
a gas-liquid contact portion connected to and in fluid communication with the gas-liquid mixing portion, defining micro-channels through which a gas-liquid mixture fluid transferred from the gas-liquid mixing portion passes, and including an impactor which captures droplets from the gas-liquid mixture fluid,
wherein the gas-liquid mixing portion and the gas-liquid contact portion are sequentially arranged in an opposite direction to a gravity direction,
wherein the air purifier further comprises a fluid communication portion extending in the gravity direction and arranged between the gas-liquid mixing portion and the gas-liquid contact portion, and
wherein the fluid communication portion comprises a vortex finder.
2. The air purifier of claim 1 , wherein at least one spray nozzle is provided in plural, and a plurality of spray nozzles is arranged apart from each other at predetermined distances in an upper portion of the gas-liquid mixing portion housing.
3. The air purifier of claim 1 , wherein at least one spray nozzle is provided in plural, and a plurality of spray nozzles is arranged apart from each other at predetermined distances in a lower portion of the gas-liquid mixing portion housing.
4. The air purifier of claim 1 , wherein at least one spray nozzle is provided in plural, and a plurality of spray nozzles is arranged apart from each other at predetermined distances on a side portion of the gas-liquid mixing portion housing.
5. The air purifier of claim 1 , wherein the impactor comprises a porous member for capturing the droplets from the gas-liquid mixture fluid.
6. The air purifier of claim 5 , wherein the impactor comprises a housing and a plurality of fillers filled in the housing.
7. The air purifier of claim 6 , wherein the impactor comprises a mesh screen arranged on a side surface of the housing and supporting the plurality of fillers.
8. The air purifier of claim 5 , wherein a porosity of the porous member is about 0.5 or more.
9. The air purifier of claim 1 , wherein the gas-liquid contact portion comprises a gas discharge portion through which an uncaptured gas from among the gas-liquid mixture fluid is discharged, and
wherein the gas discharge portion is disposed along a direction different from the gravity direction.
10. The air purifier of claim 1 , wherein the impactor has one of a polyprism shape or a cylindrical shape.
11. The air purifier of claim 1 , wherein the impactor has one of a square pillar shape or a cylindrical shape.
12. The air purifier of claim 1 , wherein a voltage of about 2 kilovolts to about 500 kilovolts is applied to the discharge region.
13. The air purifier of claim 1 , wherein the plasma reaction portion comprises a plurality of dielectric particles arranged in the discharge region.
14. The air purifier of claim 1 , further comprising a liquid collecting portion which collects a liquid discharged from the gas-liquid contact portion.
15. An air purifying method for purifying polluted air by an air purifier, the air purifying method comprising:
allowing the polluted air to flow into a plasma reaction portion connected to be in fluid communication with an air inlet portion through which polluted air flows in and comprising a discharge region generating discharge plasma;
purifying the polluted air into first purified air by the discharge plasma;
generating a gas-liquid mixture fluid by mixing the first purified air with the fine droplets;
capturing, by a gas-liquid contact portion, droplets from a gas-liquid mixture fluid transferred, via a fluid communication portion, from a gas-liquid mixing portion connected to be in fluid communication with the plasma reaction portion; and
discharging the captured liquid in a gravity direction and discharging a purified gas in a direction different from the gravity direction,
wherein the gas-liquid mixing portion and the gas-liquid contact portion are sequentially arranged in an opposite direction to the gravity direction,
wherein the air purifier further comprises a fluid communication portion extending in the gravity direction and arranged between the gas-liquid mixing portion and the gas-liquid contact portion, and
wherein the fluid communication portion comprises a vortex finder.
16. The air purifying method of claim 15 , further comprising collecting and purifying a liquid discharged from the gas-liquid contact portion and re-supplying the purified air to a droplet spraying device.