Large-scale ion generation for precipitation of atmospheric aerosols
<p>Artificial rain is explored as a remedy for climate change caused farmland drought and bushfires. Increasing the ion density in the open air is an efficient way to generate charged nuclei from atmospheric aerosols and induce precipitation or eliminate fog. Here we report on the development...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| Online Access: | https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/20/11717/2020/acp-20-11717-2020.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>Artificial rain is explored as a remedy for climate change caused
farmland drought and bushfires. Increasing the ion density in the open air
is an efficient way to generate charged nuclei from atmospheric aerosols and
induce precipitation or eliminate fog. Here we report on the development of
a large commercial-installation-scale atmospheric ion generator based on
corona plasma discharges, experimental monitoring, and numerical modeling of
the parameters and range of the atmospheric ions, as well as the application of the
generated ions to produce charged aerosols and induce precipitation at the
scale of a large cloud chamber. The coverage area of the ions generated by
the large corona discharge installation with the 7.2 km long wire electrode
and applied voltage of <span class="inline-formula">−90</span> kV is studied under prevailing weather conditions
including wind direction and speed. By synergizing over 300 000 localized
corona discharge points, we demonstrate a substantial decrease in the decay
of ions compared to a single corona discharge point in the open air, leading
to large-scale (30 m <span class="inline-formula">×23</span> m <span class="inline-formula">×90</span> m) ion coverage. Once
aerosols combine with the generated ions, charged nuclei are produced. Higher wind speed has led to larger areas covered by the plasma-generated ions. The cloud chamber experiments (relative humidity <span class="inline-formula">130±10</span>  %) suggest that charged aerosols generated by ions with a density
of <span class="inline-formula">∼10<sup>4</sup></span> cm<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−3</sup></span> can accelerate the settlement of
moisture by 38 %. These results are promising for the development of
large-scale installations for the effective localized control of atmospheric
phenomena.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 1680-7316 1680-7324 |