Electrostatic Dispersion of Fuel Drops To Reduce Soot

Electrostatic dispersion of drops of sprayed liquid fuel has been proposed as a technique for reducing the amount of soot formed during burning of the fuel. It is necessary to disperse fuel drops in order to reduce local concentrations of fuel-rich vapors, because such concentrations favor the nucleation of soot. The present technique can be implemented by use of a previously developed device called an "electrostatic triode"; this device puts like electrostatic charges onto sprayed fuel drops to generate dispersion of the drops.