I. Introduction
Impulsive corona discharges in atmospheric air are used in practical environmental applications including surface cleaning and biological decontamination [1], [2], decomposition of chemical pollutants (e.g., and others) [3], [4], and precipitation of fine and ultrafine air-borne particulate matter [5]–[7]. Such discharges are generated through energization of electrodes within a treatment reactor with high-voltage (HV) impulses, resulting in the development of transient nonthermal plasmas. The reactive species produced by the plasma induce electric charge on air-borne solid particles; in addition, they can effectively inactivate microorganisms and decompose harmful chemical species. The physical and chemical characteristics of transient corona plasma discharges in air have been extensively studied (see [8], [9]), and the results of these studies form a basis for the development and optimization of technological applications of such plasmas. This paper is focused on an investigation of the use of impulsive corona discharges in atmospheric air for charging and removal of fine particulate matter from an air flow. This paper continues the study of the impulsive microelectrostatic precipitation (-ESP) process initiated by the authors; previously obtained results on impulsive precipitation of powder particles and charging mechanisms in the transient corona discharges are published in [6] and [10].