Device for applying bulk material with accelerated electrons

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for applying accelerated electrons to a medium, preferably bulk material, comprising a cylindrical electron exit window (102) as a component of a cylindrical housing (101) which surrounds an evacuable space; at least one wire-type, strand-type, rod-type, annular or cylindrical cathode (104a) which is arranged within the evacuable space and surrounded by the cylindrical electron exit window (102), wherein a first power supply unit is electrically conductively connected between the rod-type, annular or cylindrical cathode (104a) and the cylindrical electron exit window, so that electrons can be emitted from the wire-type, strand-type, rod-type, annular or cylindrical cathode (104a) and accelerated radially away from the cylinder axis (103) of the cylindrical electron exit window (102) in the direction of the cylindrical electron exit window (102). The device also comprises a) a cylindrical protective grid (105) which surrounds the cylindrical electron exit window (102) and defines a first annular free space (107) between the cylindrical electron exit window (102) and the cylindrical protective grid (105); b) an electron reflector (106) which surrounds the cylindrical protective grid (105) and defines a second annular free space (108) between the cylindrical protective grid (105) and the electron reflector (106); c) a number of gas tubes (109) extending within the first annular free space (107) parallel to the cylinder axis (103) of the cylindrical electron exit window (102), wherein all gas tubes (109) are spaced apart by an identical first dimension from the cylinder axis (103) of the cylindrical electron exit window (102) and by an identical second dimension from an adjacent gas tube (109), and wherein each gas tube (109) has bores (110) or at least one slot along the longitudinal extension of the gas tube (109) in opposing wall regions, through which a first gas can be introduced into the first annular free space (107).

Description

[0001] Device for applying accelerated electrons to bulk material

[0002] Description

[0003] The invention relates to a device for generating accelerated electrons and for applying the accelerated electrons to bulk material.

[0004] Electron beam technology has been used on an industrial scale for several decades for the chemical modification, disinfection, and sterilization of a wide variety of materials and products. This treatment can be carried out economically advantageously at atmospheric pressure if the electrons are first released in a vacuum, then accelerated, and finally coupled into the treatment zone through a beam exit window, usually a thin metal foil. Acceleration voltages >80 kV are typically required to penetrate sufficiently robust electron exit windows suitable for large-scale use, as well as to ensure sufficient treatment depth in the product.

[0005] Various processes and beam sources are well-established for surface treatment of flat products such as sheets and strips, while the all-round treatment of molded bodies, bulk materials, and fluids still poses challenges. For example, uniformly applying electrons to curved surfaces on all sides is geometrically problematic due to shadowing effects, variable absorption of electron energy in the gas path, and dose inhomogeneities due to different projection ratios.

[0006] With the existing source systems, such as axial radiators with a fast deflection unit or ribbon radiators (DE 196 38 925 C2) with an elongated cathode, both of which are usually operated with a heated thermionic cathode, a comprehensive product treatment is only possible in a cumbersome manner, using additional equipment or with a high expenditure of equipment and / or technology and / or time.

[0007] For example, DE 10 2006 012 666 A1 describes a solution comprising three axial emitters with associated deflection control and three associated electron exit windows. The three electron exit windows are arranged such that they completely enclose a triangular free space. If a substrate is guided through this free space, its cross-section can be exposed to accelerated electrons in a single treatment pass. However, if the substrate does not have the same triangular cross-section as the free space enclosed by the three electron exit windows, the dose distribution of the accelerated electrons on the surface of the substrate will be inhomogeneous. Furthermore, the equipment required for this embodiment is very high, making this solution very costly.

[0008] DE 4434 767 C 1 discloses a device in which a bulk material stream falls between two surface beam generators and can be impinged on by accelerated electrons from both sides. EP 0513 135 B1 describes such a bilateral impingement of the freely falling bulk material stream using two mirror-imaged axial beam sources with scanners. What both solutions have in common is the necessity of using two electron beam sources, including all their power and control components, which still requires considerable equipment complexity.

[0009] DE 199 42 142 A1 discloses a device in which bulk material is passed in multiple free fall motions past a single surface beam generator and subjected to accelerated electrons. Due to the multiple passes, combined with the intermittent mixing of the bulk material, the probability in this embodiment is very high that the particles of the bulk material will be exposed to accelerated electrons on all sides. However, the multiple passes require a significant amount of time to carry out the treatment process.

[0010] An annular device for generating accelerated electrons is disclosed in DE 10 2013 1 1 1 650 B3, in which all essential components, such as the cathode, anode, and electron exit window, are annular, so that such a device can be used to form an annular electron beam in which the accelerated electrons move toward the interior of the ring. Using such a device, for example, strand-shaped substrates that are moved through the annular opening of the device can be exposed to accelerated electrons from the outside across their entire cross-section (DE 10 2017 104 509 A1). The treatment of gaseous media (DE 10 2019 134 558 B3) and bulk materials (DE 10 2013 1 13 688 B3) using only such a ring source has also been described.The disadvantage here is that such devices are large in their construction due to the external cathodes, insulators and vacuum vessels and electron treatment of substrates can only be carried out in the relatively small volume of the ring interior.

[0011] DE 10 2018 1 1 1 782 A1 describes devices that can also generate a ring of accelerated electrons, but in this case the electron movement is directed radially outward. This arrangement, which is inverted with respect to the electron propagation direction compared to DE 10 2013 1 1 1 650 B3, achieves a more favorable ratio between the size of the electron source and the volume of the treatment zone.

[0012] This is all the more so since the cold cathodes described in DE 10 2018 1 1 1 782 A1 emit electrons only as a result of stimulation by high-energy ions, which must be provided by an integrated plasma source, which always requires increased expenditure and increased installation space, in particular at the very low pressures necessary for a plasma source to maintain the insulating capacity of the vacuum against gas breakthroughs at the technologically required acceleration voltage.

[0013] Furthermore, this ring source also suffers from the weakness of all treatment systems equipped with only a single electron source, namely the tendency for the energy dose to be deposited unevenly in the various surface areas of the treated object (either facing or away from the electron exit window). Improvement is then to be achieved by the (time-consuming) multiple passes described above or by electron reflectors on the back of the treated object, facing away from the electron exit window (their dose contribution, however, is several times lower than that applied by the primary beam electrons on the front side). Both methods can only mitigate the problem of insufficient dose homogeneity, but cannot satisfactorily solve it.

[0014] An effective method for equalizing the surface dose is the imposition of a rotational motion on the bulk material particles, which is also state-of-the-art, as described, for example, in DE 10 2012 209 434 A1. However, this can only be effective if the duration of exposure to electrons is sufficiently high (matched to the rotation period of the bulk material particles). This, in turn, means that for the conventional, only economical, treatment of bulk material in free fall, the vertical extent of the electron exit window must be sufficiently large, and its opening area must not be interrupted in this (falling) direction.

[0015] An additional requirement for the vertical extension of the opening area of ​​an electron exit window is placed on treatment technologies with high dose requirements, such as sterilization tasks, pollutant degradation, and polymer crosslinking. This arises from the fact that the electrons accelerated inside the beam source transfer part of their energy to the metal foil and the support grid as they pass through the electron exit window, causing them to heat up. Electron exit windows are therefore commonly cooled, but to prevent thermal damage, the electron current density must still be limited. With a technology-specific acceleration voltage, this corresponds to a similarly limited area dose rate of the electron beam source.An increase in the dose transferred to the material to be treated is therefore only possible by a longer exposure time of the electrons, i.e. an extension of the opening area of ​​the electron exit window in the direction of fall of the bulk material particles.

[0016] Neither of these requirements can be met with the device described in DE 10 2018 1 1 1 782 A1, as it conflicts with the horizontal arrangement of cooling channels above and below the opening area of ​​the electron exit window, which is implicitly assumed in the cross-sectional drawings. It is known that the distance between these cold surfaces, to which the absorbed portion of the electron energy must be dissipated by heat conduction through the support grid, must not be too large (in practically implemented arrangements limited to only about 7 to 10 cm), as the temperature increase of the metal foil and support grid increases linearly with the heat flux density and quadratically with the distance to the heat sink (i.e. the actively cooled edge of the opening area). The resulting limitation on the vertical extent of the uninterrupted opening area not only limits the achievable uniformity, but also the dose that can be achieved on the material to be treated in a single pass.

[0017] Especially in bulk material handling, the protection of the metal foils from the

[0018] Protection from bulk material particles themselves, but also from frequently encountered foreign bodies, abrasion, and dust, is of great importance. Larger particles can cause direct mechanical damage to the foil; the accumulation of dust would impair electron transmission (thus reducing the dose transferred to the product) and increase the locally absorbed portion of the electron energy (thus contributing to localized thermal damage to the metal foil and thus promoting vacuum leaks). It is therefore clear that process-side components are essential for protecting the electron exit window, but DE 10 2018 1 1 1 782 A1 does not disclose any technical teaching on this.

[0019] US 2008 / 0267354 A1 also describes ring-shaped devices capable of generating high doses of X-rays and, at the same time, electron beams. Due to the high doses of X-rays generated, such devices are unsuitable for electron treatment of sensitive products, such as seeds, or products that enter the human or livestock food chain.

[0020] The invention is therefore based on the technical problem of creating a device for generating accelerated electrons that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, a device with a compact design is to be created with which, for example, bulk material, but also hollow bodies, can be uniformly exposed to accelerated electrons from all sides in a single pass, thereby achieving high dose values ​​in the product and a long continuous operating time.

[0021] The solution to the technical problem results from objects having the features of patent claim 1. Further advantageous embodiments of the invention result from the dependent patent claims.

[0022] A device according to the invention for applying accelerated electrons to bulk material comprises a cylindrical electron exit window as a component of a cylindrical housing enclosing an evacuable space; at least one wire-shaped, strand-shaped, rod-shaped, annular, or cylindrical cathode arranged within the evacuable space and enclosed by the cylindrical electron exit window, wherein electrons can be emitted from the wire-shaped, strand-shaped, rod-shaped, annular, or cylindrical cathode and accelerated radially away from the cylinder axis of the cylindrical electron exit window in the direction of the cylindrical electron exit window. In a preferred embodiment, the wire-shaped, strand-shaped, rod-shaped, cylindrical, or annular cathode is designed as a thermal emitter or as a thermionic cathode.Such electron sources require significantly less space than plasma-stimulated cold cathodes. They can be heated to emission temperature directly by passing a current through the cathode itself or indirectly (via thermal radiation or electron impact) through a heating conductor placed inside the cathode and separated from its electrical potential.

[0023] A device according to the invention further comprises a cylindrical protective grid, which encloses the cylindrical electron exit window and delimits a first annular free space between the cylindrical electron exit window and the cylindrical protective grid; an electron reflector, which in turn encloses the cylindrical protective grid and thus delimits a second annular free space between the cylindrical protective grid and the electron reflector; and a number of gas tubes, which extend within the first annular free space parallel to the cylinder axis of the cylindrical electron exit window. All gas tubes are spaced by an identical first distance from the cylinder axis of the cylindrical electron exit window and by an identical second distance from an adjacent gas tube.The gas tubes can, for example, be formed with a round or, preferably, a rectangular cross-section. Furthermore, each gas tube has at least one opening on two opposite wall regions through which a first gas can be introduced into the first annular free space. In one embodiment, a number of bores are formed on the two opposite wall regions, which are arranged along the longitudinal extent of the gas tubes. The bores in the gas tube walls extend at least over a gas tube length region that lies opposite the electron exit window. In another embodiment, a slot is formed in the wall of the gas tubes on each of the opposite wall regions, which slot extends along the longitudinal extent of the gas tubes at least over the height of the electron exit window.

[0024] In a device according to the invention, the bulk material to be subjected to accelerated electrons is passed through the second annular free space between the electron reflector and the cylindrical protective grid. The bulk material is then subjected to accelerated electrons within this second annular free space, which is why the second annular free space is also referred to below as the treatment zone. Electrons are initially emitted from the centrally arranged rod-shaped, annular, or cylindrical cathode. The cathode can be designed, for example, as a hot cathode or as a discharge-stimulated cold cathode. In a preferred embodiment, an electric current flows through the rod-shaped, annular, or cylindrical cathode, which heats it up and thus acts as a thermal emitter or hot cathode.For this purpose, the rod-shaped, ring-shaped, or cylindrical cathode is electrically connected to the negative pole of a first power supply device. The positive pole of the first power supply is electrically connected to the cylindrical electron exit window, so that the cylindrical electron exit window has an electrical anode potential. In one embodiment, the electron exit window has the electrical ground potential. Due to the anode potential present at the cylindrical electron exit window, the electrons emitted by the rod-shaped, ring-shaped, or cylindrical cathode are accelerated radially outward toward the cylindrical electron exit window.After exiting the cylindrical electron exit window, the accelerated electrons pass through the first annular free space, pass through the cylindrical protective grid and, in the second annular free space, hit the bulk material to be impacted with the accelerated electrons.

[0025] At least the inside of the electron reflector, which delimits the second annular free space to the outside, consists of an electron-reflecting material, at least in the area opposite the electron exit window. In this way, those electrons that reach the inside of the electron reflector can be reflected by the electron reflector and contribute to the impact of accelerated electrons on the bulk material. The aforementioned area of ​​the electron reflector can consist entirely of an electron-reflecting material, or the electron reflector can be coated with an electron-reflecting material only on the inside in the aforementioned area. A suitable material for reflecting electrons, for example, is a temperature-resistant metal with a high atomic number, such as tungsten or a tungsten alloy.It is advantageous if at least the electron-reflecting area of ​​the electron reflector is cooled so that it does not heat up the air in the treatment zone. Such cooling can be implemented, for example, as water cooling.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cylindrical axis of the annular electron exit window is oriented vertically so that, for example, bulk material which is to be subjected to accelerated electrons can fall through in free fall within the second annular free space between the cylindrical protective grid and the electron reflector. The cylindrical protective grid keeps the falling bulk material away from the electron exit window and thus protects it from mechanical damage caused by the bulk material. Since it is not always possible, particularly in mobile systems, to align a system such that the cylindrical axis is completely vertical, the alignment of the cylindrical axis of the annular electron exit window can deviate from the vertical by an angle of approximately 10° or less, even when treating bulk material.

[0027] The invention is described in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment. The figures show:

[0028] Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of a horizontal section of a device according to the invention;

[0029] Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of a vertical section of the device according to the invention from Fig. 1;

[0030] Fig. 3 is a schematic representation of a vertical section of a first alternative device according to the invention;

[0031] Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of a vertical section of a second alternative device according to the invention comprising a vessel for receiving bulk material particles;

[0032] Fig. 5 is a schematic representation of a plan view of the vessel for receiving bulk particles from Fig. 4,

[0033] Fig. 6 is a schematic representation of a vertical section of a third alternative device according to the invention.

[0034] In Figs. 1 and 2, one and the same device 100 according to the invention is schematically illustrated, wherein Fig. 1 shows a horizontal section and Fig. 2 a vertical section. The device 100 comprises a cylindrical housing 101, which encloses an evacuatable space. By means of at least one vacuum pump, not shown in the figures for reasons of clarity but known from the prior art, a vacuum can be maintained within the evacuatable space. A wall region of the housing 101 is designed as a cylindrical electron exit window 102. The cylindrical electron exit window

[0035] 102 has a circular cross-section and a vertically aligned cylinder axis

[0036] 103 and encloses a centrally arranged cathode 104a. The cathode 104a is rod-shaped, extends along the cylinder axis 103, and consists of a wire through which an electric current flows. The material of the cathode 104a can, for example, comprise at least one of the chemical elements tungsten or tantalum. Due to the current flow, the cathode 104a is heated, which in turn leads to a thermal emission of electrons. The cathode 104a is thus designed as a hot cathode. The electrons emitted by the cathode 104a are accelerated radially outward toward the cylindrical electron exit window 102 because the cylindrical electron exit window 102 has an electrical anode potential.For this purpose, the cylindrical electron exit window 102 is electrically connected to the positive pole of a first power supply device, and the cathode 104 is connected to the negative pole of the first power supply device. For reasons of clarity, the first power supply device is not shown in the figures. The device 100 is thus designed as a cylindrical electron beam generator that generates a ring of accelerated electrons whose movements are directed radially outward.

[0037] However, the design of the cathode of a device according to the invention as a thin wire, as in cathode 104a, also entails additional requirements. The high operating temperature of the wire required for thermal emission of electrons leads to recrystallization of the wire material, as well as to changes in the wire's length. If the wire is made of metal, an increase in temperature generally results in the wire becoming longer. However, the lengthening of a vertically clamped wire leads to its compression and bending, so that it no longer runs exactly along the cylinder axis 103, which can negatively influence the flowability of the circumferential electron emission and ultimately the dose distribution on the material being treated. The embrittlement of a metal wire, which is also associated with recrystallization, can even lead to breakage as a result of this compression, particularly under alternating thermal stress.As an alternative to a metal wire, carbon fibers can also be used as a hot cathode, resulting in a strand-like hot cathode. However, such carbon fibers contract when the temperature rises. If tightly clamped, high tensile stresses develop, which would lead to the hot cathode cracking.

[0038] It is therefore advisable to clamp a wire-shaped, strand-shaped, rod-shaped, ring-shaped, or cylindrical hot cathode, for example, firmly only at the upper end, while mounting it radially guided at the bottom so as to be axially movable. When the device is operated vertically, the upper end corresponds to the end furthest from the direction of action of the Earth's gravity vector. It is advantageous to contact the hot cathode at the lower end with a clamping piece which, by means of its weight, always maintains a moderate tensile stress sufficient to tighten the cathode wire but prevent it from yielding or cracking. Alternatively, the hot cathode can also be firmly clamped or supported only at the lower end and contacted at the upper end with an axially movable clamping piece. When the device is operated vertically, the lower end corresponds to the end closer to the direction of action of the Earth's gravity vector.

[0039] When a hot cathode is heated directly by a current flow, an electrical potential gradient is created in the longitudinal direction. This leads to a change in the electric field strength and thus in the electron emission along the length of the hot cathode. To achieve a more uniform distribution of electron emission along the length of the hot cathode, the potential gradient must be minimized. To achieve this, a hot cathode can also be heated indirectly (for example, by conduction, thermal radiation, or electron impact).

[0040] For this purpose, in a practical embodiment, a rod-, strand-, or wire-shaped heating element is arranged inside a cylindrical hot cathode, centrally along the cylindrical axis of the cylindrical hot cathode and electrically insulated from the cylinder wall. This heating element is heated by a flow of current. The heating element must be operated at high temperatures to heat the hot cathode to the emission temperature and is therefore made of a material with a high melting temperature (greater than 1500 K). Refractory metals (such as tungsten, tantalum, or molybdenum) or carbon fibers are suitable for this purpose.In a first variant of this embodiment, a high-temperature-resistant, electrically low-conductive material (such as boron nitride or zirconium oxide) is introduced between the central heating element and the cylindrical hot cathode, and the heat of the central heating element is transferred to the cylindrical hot cathode by thermal conduction.

[0041] In a second variant of the above-mentioned embodiment, the heating element and hot cathode are mounted without contact, and the heat from the central heating element is transferred to the cylindrical hot cathode by thermal radiation. A particularly advantageous embodiment of this variant results when the central heating element and the cylindrical hot cathode are electrically connected to one another at one end, and the current is fed back through the heating element via the cylindrical wall of the cylindrical hot cathode. This compensates for the magnetic field associated with the heating current, which undesirably influences electron propagation (i.e., its extinction in the external environment of the hot cathode). The cylindrical wall of the hot cathode is designed to be sufficiently thick so that it has a low electrical resistance, thus keeping the potential gradient established in the longitudinal direction as desired.This results in a more homogeneous extraction field around the emission surface of the cylindrical hot cathode and thus a more uniform electron emission distribution along the longitudinal axis of the hot cathode.

[0042] In a third variant of the above-mentioned design, the heating element and hot cathode are also mounted contactlessly and completely electrically insulated from each other. The hot cathode can then be connected to the positive terminal and the heating element to the negative terminal of an additional power supply. When the heating element is heated to emission temperature, the electrons emitted by it are drawn to the inner wall of the hot cathode, heating it through electron impact.

[0043] In all three described variants, it is advisable to construct the cylindrical hot cathode from a material with a high melting point (greater than 1,500 K) and a moderate to low work function (less than 5 eV). Suitable materials for this purpose include refractory metals (tungsten, tantalum, molybdenum, niobium), titanium, zirconium, or stainless steel, all of which can be coated with compounds (such as oxides) to reduce the electron work function, as well as ceramics with a high melting temperature (such as rare earth borides, with lanthanum hexaboride being the best-known representative).

[0044] Indirect heating of a cylindrical hot cathode also leads to its length change. With such a geometry, it is advisable to clamp or support the hot cathode at the lower end and enable stress-free length compensation through an axially movable, radially guided upper clamp and contact.

[0045] Furthermore, it is expedient for all embodiments of a hot cathode to provide radial adjustability of the upper and lower clamping and contacting points in order to achieve optimal alignment of the hot cathode along the vertically oriented cylinder axis 103 and thus a uniform field strength and a resulting uniform electron emission along the entire cathode circumference.

[0046] In the device 100, the cathode 104a is further enclosed by a cylindrical control grid 104b, which has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical electron exit window 102. The grid structure of the cylindrical control grid 104b is formed over its entire circumference. The cylindrical control grid 104b consists of an electrically conductive material, is electron-transparent, and has an electrical voltage potential that is slightly more positive than the electrical voltage potential of the cathode 104a. In one embodiment, the cylindrical control grid 104b has a voltage difference relative to the cathode 104a of approximately +20 V to approximately +2,000 V.The voltage potential for the cylindrical control grid can be provided by a separate second power supply or, alternatively, by a separately controllable second channel of the first power supply. The cylindrical control grid 104b, as an electron-transparent gauze cylinder, reduces the electric field strength inside the gauze cylinder, enables the installation of optional flares for the cathode wire along its length, and ensures uniform, all-round electron extraction, which is tolerant within certain limits even to positional deviations of the cathode wire, independent of the accelerating voltage acting outside. Furthermore, the adjustability of the voltage difference between the control grid and the cathode offers, in addition to varying the heating current flowing through the cathode wire, a second, highly dynamic possibility for controlling the emitted electron current.A similar cylindrical control grid in conjunction with a cathode wire is already known from prior art ribbon radiators. For base elements for clamping the cathode wire and the cylindrical control grid 104b in a device according to the invention, structural solutions known from prior art ribbon radiators, such as those disclosed in DE 196 38 925 C2, can therefore also be used.

[0047] The cylindrical electron exit window 102 can optionally have a support grid known from the prior art, which provides the cylindrical electron exit window 102 with the necessary mechanical stability. This support grid can also include a water cooling system, as is known from the prior art. For reasons of clarity, such a support grid has also been omitted from the figures of the description of the invention.

[0048] The device 100 according to the invention further comprises a cylindrical protective grid 105, which encloses the cylindrical electron exit window 102, and an electron reflector 106, which in turn encloses the cylindrical protective grid 105. The electron reflector 106 is designed as a hollow cylinder. The cylinder axes of the cylindrical protective grid 105 and the electron reflector 106 are identical to the cylinder axis 103 of the cylindrical electron exit window 102, so that the cylindrical protective grid 105 delimits a first annular free space 107 between the cylindrical electron exit window 102 and the cylindrical protective grid 105, and the electron reflector 106 delimits a second annular free space 108 between the cylindrical protective grid 105 and the electron reflector 106.The heights of the cylindrical protective grid 106 and the electron reflector 106 extend at least over a region opposite the height of the cylindrical electron exit window 102. Atmospheric conditions can be created, for example, both within the first annular free space 107 and within the second annular free space 108.

[0049] As previously explained, the cylindrical electron exit window 102 has an electrical anode potential, so that the electrons emitted by the current-carrying cathode 104a are initially accelerated toward the cylindrical electron exit window 102. After exiting the cylindrical electron exit window 102, the accelerated electrons traverse the first annular free space 107, pass through the cylindrical protective grid 105, and, in the second annular free space, strike the bulk material that is to be impinged upon by the accelerated electrons. The bulk material particles move in free fall through the second annular free space 108, also referred to as the treatment zone.At least in the region of the electron reflector 106 which is opposite the cylindrical electron exit window 102, the electron reflector 106 consists, at least on the inside, of a material which reflects the electrons, so that the accelerated electrons which reach the electron reflector 106 can be reflected and fed back to the bulk material particles which are to be charged with electrons.

[0050] Due to the energy input into the electron reflector 106 as a result of accelerated electrons striking the electron reflector 106, the electron reflector 106 includes water-flow channels (not shown in the figures for reasons of clarity), through which the thermal energy input into the electron reflector is dissipated. This simultaneously cools the air in the treatment zone slightly. Such cooling channels can, for example, be attached to the outside of the electron reflector 106.

[0051] The cylindrical protective grid 105, which outwardly delimits the first annular space 107, keeps the bulk material guided through the treatment zone away from the cylindrical electron exit window 102 and thus reduces the risk of mechanical damage to the cylindrical electron exit window 102 by the bulk material to be treated with electrons. The first annular free space 107 is therefore also referred to below as the protective zone. The cylindrical protective grid 105 extends along the cylinder axis 103 at least over a region opposite the cylindrical electron window and is preferably made of an electrically conductive and heat-resistant material, such as molybdenum or stainless steel. In one embodiment, the cylindrical protective grid 105 is designed such that it has a transparency of at least 75% with respect to the accelerated electrons.This ensures that a sufficient number of electrons reach the bulk material to be treated with electrons in the treatment zone. While the cylindrical protective grid 105 ensures that larger particles of the bulk material to be treated with electrons are kept away from the electron exit window 102, bulk materials usually also contain dust particles that can penetrate the protective grid 105 and deposit on the electron exit window 102, causing it to absorb significantly more electron energy in the contaminated areas, thermally overload it, and potentially be destroyed.

[0052] This risk of damage would become increasingly significant the longer the cylindrical electron source and all the components described above are made, which is the key to achieving higher dose rates.

[0053] According to the invention, the device 100 therefore also comprises a number of gas tubes 109, which extend within the first annular free space 107 parallel to the cylinder axis 103 of the cylindrical electron exit window 102. The gas tubes 109, with their previously described orientation, represent the component as an assembly that enables the desired free scalability of the axial length (vertical extension) of the cylindrical electron source and its functionally determining components for higher dose rates. In a preferred embodiment, all gas tubes 109 are spaced by an identical first dimension from the cylinder axis 103 of the cylindrical electron exit window 102 and by an identical second dimension from a respective adjacent gas tube 109. In the embodiment described in the exemplary embodiment, the gas tubes 109 are formed with a rectangular cross-section.Alternatively, however, other geometric shapes for the cross-section of the gas tubes 109, such as a circular cross-section, can also be realized. Each gas tube 109 has bores 110 on two opposite wall regions along the longitudinal extent of the gas tubes 109, through which bores a first gas can be introduced into the first annular free space 107. The bores, which are formed in the gas tubes 109 with a preferred diameter of approximately 1 mm or smaller, extend at least over a gas tube length region that lies opposite the cylindrical electron exit window 102 and thus corresponds to the width of the cylindrical electron exit window 102.The bores 110 are preferably introduced into the gas tubes 109 and the gas tubes 109 are aligned such that the exit direction of the first gas through a bore 110 runs within a horizontal plane of the device 100 and is aligned perpendicular to a straight line 111 that starts from the cylinder axis 103 of the cylindrical electron exit window 102 and extends to the center of a horizontal section of an associated tube 109. The exit direction of the first gas through the bores 110 is illustrated by arrows in Fig. 1. Air or an inert gas, for example, can be used as the first gas. For the sake of completeness, it should be mentioned that the gas tubes 109 are connected by means of a line system to a reservoir within which the first gas is located. The reservoir can also comprise the ambient air of a device according to the invention.

[0054] Instead of the individual holes 110, a vertical slot can alternatively be introduced into the walls of the gas tubes 109 on the opposite wall areas, extending over the height of the electron exit window 102. The vertical slot has a width of approximately 1 mm or less.

[0055] The first gas introduced into the protective zone through the bores 110 escapes to the outside through the cylindrical protective grid 105 and is discharged into the treatment zone with the flow of the bulk material to be subjected to accelerated electrons. The first gas flowing through the bores 110 fulfills two tasks. Firstly, the first gas flowing outwards through the cylindrical protective grid 105 prevents dust particles from passing through the cylindrical protective grid 105 inwards towards the electron exit window 102, thereby protecting the electron exit window 102 from a parasitic coating with dust particles. The first gas is therefore also referred to below as the protective gas. Secondly, the flow of the protective gas within the first annular free space 107 simultaneously cools the cylindrical electron exit window 102.As a result, a water cooling system for a support grid for the electron exit window 102 can also be dimensioned smaller.

[0056] It is advantageous if the gas tubes 109 have mechanical contact with the cylindrical protective grid 105 or if the gas tubes 109 are mechanically connected to the cylindrical protective grid 105. This mechanically stabilizes the cylindrical protective grid 105 and holds it in position. The gas tubes 109 and the cylindrical protective grid are then designed, for example, as a compact assembly that can be removed in one piece during maintenance work. In a further embodiment, the diameter of the cylindrical protective grid 105 is selected such that its cylindrical wall is arranged centrally between the electron reflector 106 and the cylindrical electron exit window 102.

[0057] In a further embodiment, the ring width of the first annular free space 107 is selected such that the gas tubes 109 fill at least 90% of the distance between the cylindrical electron exit window 102 and the cylindrical protective grid 105.

[0058] A disadvantage of using gas tubes 109 in a device according to the invention, however, is that the gas tubes 109 are not sufficiently transparent for accelerated electrons. Therefore, each of the gas tubes 109 ensures that, within an angular range with an angle w, an insufficient number of accelerated electrons, originating from the cathode 104a, cannot reach the second annular free space directly, or in other words, each of the gas tubes 109 shadows the treatment zone with respect to the accelerated electrons in the angular range with the angle w. These angular ranges with the angle w are therefore also referred to below as shadowing angle ranges. Within the shadowing angle ranges, it is not possible to apply the required dose of accelerated electrons to bulk material particles.Therefore, bulk material to be subjected to accelerated electrons should be prevented from entering the shading angle ranges of the treatment zone. At the top of the second annular free space 108, at which the bulk material to be subjected to accelerated electrons is introduced into the treatment zone, the bulk material particles to be subjected to accelerated electrons can be prevented from entering the shading angle ranges, for example by means of mechanical baffles. To ensure economical operation of a device according to the invention, the number of gas tubes 109 and their cross-sectional dimensions should be selected such that the sum of all shading angle ranges of the second annular free space 108 does not cover more than 20% of the cross-sectional area of ​​the second annular free space 108.

[0059] Since these shading angle ranges are unfortunately unavoidable in a device according to the invention, but are inevitable, it is advantageous if other components of a device according to the invention, which also cause shading of the treatment zone or which must not be exposed to the accelerated electrons, are arranged directly within the shading angle ranges. For example, it is advantageous if vertically extending electrical lines, for example for sensor elements or measuring devices, vertically extending cooling water lines for the support grid of the cylindrical electron exit window 102, or fastening elements for components of the device according to the invention are arranged within the shading angle ranges.

[0060] Starting from the shadowing angle ranges, rod-shaped or strip-shaped sensor elements can, for example, extend like antennas into the angular ranges traversed by accelerated electrons and be used to determine the circumferential and / or vertical distribution of the electron current density. The actual values ​​recorded by the sensor elements are fed to an evaluation unit and compared with a target value within the evaluation unit. The electrical parameters of the device can then be controlled depending on the comparison result.

[0061] Alternatively or additionally, sensors, for example in the form of metal sheets electrically insulated from ground, can be attached to the inner wall of the electron reflector 106, which detect parameter values ​​of the electrons impinging there and forward these values ​​to the evaluation device in order to make statements about the circumferential and / or vertical distribution of the electron current density and to initiate control processes dependent thereon.

[0062] For reasons of energy efficiency and reducing the thermal load on the electron source, it is advantageous not to allow electrons to impinge on the electron exit window or its vertical support and cooling structures within the shadowing angle ranges, as these would be absorbed and thus contribute to the parasitic heating of the electron gun, but not to its technological dose rate. For this purpose, the cylindrical control grid 104b and / or the electron exit window 102 can be designed such that they are not completely transparent to electrons, but are provided with defined opening areas that align with the angular areas of the electron exit window 102 that are not covered by shadowing angle areas with the angle w.Electrons emitted by the thermionic cathode and hitting the control grid 104b in the closed shading angle range are absorbed there and do not reach the electron exit window 102. Since they only pass through a small potential difference and thus have absorbed little energy, this beam-shaping absorption at the control grid does not represent a serious loss factor.

[0063] In a further embodiment of the invention, the electron reflector 106 is electrically insulated from the electrical ground potential. By means of a third power supply device, an electrical voltage potential can be generated at the electron reflector 106, which is suitable for igniting and maintaining an atmospheric pressure plasma within the second annular free space 108. It is particularly advantageous to select the voltage difference such that a non-autonomous glow discharge, supported by the beam electrons, forms in the second annular free space 108. This is characterized by the fact that it stabilizes as a large-area, uniform volume discharge, i.e., its transformation into a filament or arc discharge can be prevented. For this purpose, a voltage of 1 kV to 5 kV per 1 cm of radial distance between the electron reflector 106 and the protective grid 105 is required.A particularly high power density of this atmospheric-pressure plasma is achieved when the energy supply is pulsed by the third power supply device. It is known that plasmas, while not deeply penetrating, at least have near-surface chemical and disinfecting effects on media exposed to the plasma. A plasma inherently acts on an object, such as a bulk material particle, from all sides. If, in a device according to the invention, the bulk material to be subjected to accelerated electrons is, for example, seed, in which microorganisms adhering to the seed grains are to be rendered harmless by means of the accelerated electrons, the formation of such a plasma within the second annular free space is particularly advantageous.The all-round, near-surface action of the plasma on the seeds helps to inactivate the microorganisms adhering to the seeds and to disinfect the seeds.

[0064] It has already been explained that a device according to the invention can have a cooling device by means of which the electron reflector 106 of a device according to the invention and thus also the second annular free space 108 can be cooled. In particular, when bulk materials within the second annular free space 108 are to be subjected to accelerated electrons, a cooling device for the electron reflector 106 alone is not sufficient to prevent heating of the second annular free space 108. If the bulk material is in the form of seed, for example, heating of the second annular free space 108 can lead to thermal damage to the seed. Fig. 3 shows an alternative device 300 according to the invention schematically as a vertical section. The device 300 initially comprises all components and their functionalities as described for the device 100 in Figs. 1 and 2.In addition, the device 300 comprises at least one device 312 for forming a flow 313 of a second gas within the second free space 108. The device 312 can be designed, for example, as a blower or fan. The flow 313 of the second gas is oriented such that it is identical to the direction of movement of the bulk material, which is guided through the second annular free space 108 and is subjected to accelerated electrons there. The flow 313 of the second gas essentially fulfills two tasks. Firstly, blockages within the second annular free space 108 are avoided if the medium to be subjected to accelerated electrons is designed as a bulk material, because the second annular free space 108 is virtually permanently flushed by the flow 313 of the second gas. The second gas is therefore also referred to below as the purge gas.On the other hand, a constant gas exchange within the second annular free space 108 prevents the second annular free space 108 from heating up. For example, air or an inert gas can be used as the second gas.

[0065] In device 300, the device 312 for generating the flow 313 of a second gas is arranged at the inlet region of the second annular free space 108 and is designed as a blower or fan. Alternatively or additionally, such a device can also be arranged at the outlet of the second annular free space 108 and, for example, be designed as a suction pump, so that the suction pump generates a suction flow within the second annular free space 108, and by means of this suction flow, the air is sucked out of the second annular free space 108.

[0066] It is important that the volume flow of the first gas into the first annular free space 107 can be metered independently of the flow 313 of the second gas within the second annular free space 108. In this way, an aerodynamic balance of the two gas flows can be achieved and the transfer of particles, e.g., dust or grain abrasion, from the second annular free space 108 into the first annular free space 107 can be suppressed.

[0067] Fig. 4 schematically shows a vertical section through a second alternative device 400, by means of which bulk material particles 414 are to be subjected to accelerated electrons. Firstly, the device 400 can comprise all components and their functionalities as described for the devices 100 and 300 in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The cylinder axis 103 of the cylindrical electron exit window of the device 400 is oriented vertically. A device for separating the bulk material particles 414 is additionally arranged above the cylindrical electron beam generator with the cylindrical housing 101. The device for separating the bulk material particles 414 comprises a vessel for receiving the bulk material particles 414.The vessel, in turn, comprises a cylindrical side wall 415 and a conical bottom wall 416, with an annular gap 417 formed between the cylindrical side wall 415 and the conical bottom wall 416. Alternatively, the bottom wall of the vessel can also be disc-shaped. A conical bottom wall has the advantage that the slope of the bottom wall causes the bulk material particles to roll, which then continues as a rotational movement during free fall. The vessel is shown schematically in plan view in Fig. 5. The conical tip of the conical bottom wall is directed upwards and positioned exactly on the extended cylinder axis of the cylindrical electron exit window 103.Due to the conical shape of the bottom wall 416, the bulk material particles 414 in the lower region of the cylinder 415 are forced into an annular outer region, from which the bulk material particles 414 fall out through the opening in the form of the annular gap 417. The annular gap 417 is arranged rotationally symmetrically around the extended cylinder axis 103 of the cylindrical electron exit window and has a gap width such that, with respect to the gap width, only one bulk material particle 414 after the other can fall through the annular gap 417. Relative to the length of the annular gap 417, several bulk material particles 414 can, of course, fall through the annular gap 417 simultaneously.

[0068] In one embodiment, the cylindrical wall 415 of the vessel and the electron reflector 106 of the electron gun form a continuous unit such that both components are combined into a single continuous hollow cylinder.

[0069] In the angular regions of the annular gap 417 that are identical to the shading angle regions of the second annular free space with the angle w, the annular gap 417 is provided with baffles 518 that prevent bulk material particles 414 from falling through the annular gap 417 in these angular regions. Optionally, the baffles 518 can have vertically downwardly extending side walls that extend downward through the second annular free space, thus completely ensuring that no bulk material particles 414 can enter the shading angle regions.

[0070] In this way, a thin, ring-shaped curtain of falling bulk particles is created, which is only interrupted in the shadowing angle ranges and which can then be subjected to accelerated electrons within the second ring-shaped free space.

[0071] Due to the acceleration of gravity of the falling bulk particles, their velocity constantly increases as they pass through the second annular free space, whereby the electron dose acting on the bulk particles during their free fall through the second annular free space constantly decreases. An additional flow of a second gas within the second annular free space, as described for device 300 in Fig. 3, can further increase the velocity of the falling bulk particles and thus further reduce the electron dose acting on the bulk particles during their fall.In addition, the protective gas also passes through the cylindrical protective grid into the second annular free space, which must be discharged downwards with the bulk material flow, whereby the volume flow of both gases to be discharged downwards and thus, with a constant cross-sectional area of ​​the second annular free space, also the flow velocity of the gas flow and thus the undesirable acceleration of the bulk material flow within the second annular free space increases.

[0072] Therefore, Fig. 6 schematically shows a third alternative device 600 according to the invention in a vertical section. Device 600 differs from the previously described devices only in that the electron reflector 606 is not designed as a hollow cylinder, but rather has the shape of the outer surface of a truncated cone, whereby the second annular free space 608 has a ring shape in which the outer diameter and thus the cross-sectional area continuously increase towards the bottom. This design of the second annular free space 608 counteracts a downwardly increasing flow velocity of the protective and rinsing mixture within the second annular free space 608 and thus prevents additional acceleration of the bulk material particles.

[0073] A downwardly increasing flow velocity within the second annular free space in a device according to the invention can also be counteracted by introducing openings into the wall of the electron reflector 106 or 606 through which gas can escape horizontally from the second annular free space, thereby reducing the vertical flow velocity inside the second annular free space. The horizontal partial flow should be dimensioned such that the predominantly vertical fall direction of the bulk material particles has little influence, but dust and abrasion debris are effectively carried away radially outward.

[0074] Electron beam generators are known from the prior art which also generate a ring of accelerated electrons, but whose movements are directed radially inward. These can also be used to impinge on an annular curtain of falling bulk material particles with the accelerated electrons. However, for the same diameters of this bulk material curtain, an electron beam generator according to the invention with radially outward-directed electron propagation is significantly more compact than such an electron beam generator from the prior art. In the prior art electron beam generator, all essential components (which determine the function and cost of the electron beam generator) are arranged outside the ring of falling bulk material particles, so that they enclose the bulk material particle curtain. In a device according to the invention, however, all essential components are arranged inside the annular bulk material particle curtain.Therefore, in a device according to the invention, many components can be made smaller than in the prior art, which is more cost-effective. Furthermore, a device according to the invention with radially diverging electron propagation can also be used inside hollow bodies, such as for treating the inner walls of pipes. The axial alignment of the shielding gas tubes, sensor cables, and cooling channels, and their arrangement in the same shadowing angle ranges, further allows for free axial scaling of the electron beam generator and thus the dose rate of a device according to the invention.

Claims

Patent claims 1 . Device for applying accelerated electrons to bulk material, comprising a cylindrical electron exit window (102) as a component of a cylindrical housing (101) which encloses an evacuable space; at least one wire-shaped, strand-shaped, rod-shaped, ring-shaped or cylindrical cathode (104a) which is arranged within the evacuable space and is enclosed by the cylindrical electron exit window (102), wherein a first power supply device is electrically conductively connected between the wire-shaped, strand-shaped, rod-shaped, ring-shaped or cylindrical cathode (104a) and the cylindrical electron exit window, so that from the wire-shaped, strand-shaped, rod-shaped,annular or cylindrical cathode (104a) electrons can be emitted and accelerated radially away from the cylinder axis (103) of the cylindrical electron exit window (102) in the direction of the cylindrical electron exit window (102), characterized by a) a cylindrical protective grid (105) which surrounds the cylindrical electron exit window (102) and delimits a first annular free space (107) between the cylindrical electron exit window (102) and the cylindrical protective grid (105); b) an electron reflector (106; 606) which surrounds the cylindrical protective grid (105) and delimits a second annular free space (108; 608) between the cylindrical protective grid (105) and the electron reflector (106); c) a number of gas tubes (109),which extend within the first annular free space (107) parallel to the cylinder axis (103) of the cylindrical electron exit window (102), wherein all gas tubes (109) are spaced by an identical first dimension from the cylinder axis (103) of the cylindrical electron exit window (102) and by an identical second dimension from an adjacent gas tube (109), and wherein each gas tube (109) has bores (110) or at least one slot along the longitudinal extent of the gas tube (109) on opposite wall regions, through which a first gas can be introduced into the first annular free space (107).

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the wire-shaped, strand-shaped, rod-shaped, ring-shaped or cylindrical cathode is designed as a cold cathode.

3. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the wire-shaped, strand-shaped, rod-shaped, ring-shaped or cylindrical cathode (104a) is designed as a hot cathode.

4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the wire-shaped, strand-shaped, rod-shaped, annular or cylindrical cathode (104a) is designed as a hot cathode heated directly by means of current flow.

5. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the cathode is cylindrical and has a wire-, strand- or rod-shaped heating element extending along the cylinder axis, wherein the cylindrical cathode can be heated by means of thermal conduction, thermal radiation or electron impact.

6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that one end of the cylindrical cathode is electrically conductively connected to one end of the wire-, strand- or rod-shaped heating element.

7. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by a cylindrical control grid (104b) which encloses the wire-shaped, strand-shaped, rod-shaped, ring-shaped or cylindrical cathode (104a) and which has a diameter which is smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical electron exit window (102).

8. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that the cylindrical control grid (104b) has a voltage difference with respect to the rod-shaped, ring-shaped or cylindrical cathode (104a) of about +20 V to about +2000 V, wherein a second power supply device generates the electrical voltage potential for the cylindrical control grid (104b).

9. Device according to one of claims 7 or 8, characterized in that the cylindrical control grid (104b) is not completely open, but only in defined opening regions is electron-transparent, wherein these opening regions are arranged centrally symmetrically to those of the cylindrical electron exit window (102).

10. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the gas pipes (109) are attached to the cylindrical protective grid (105). 1 1. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by at least one device (312) for generating a flow (313) of a second gas within the second annular free space (108).

12. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the volume flow of the first gas into the first annular free space (107) can be metered independently of the flow (313) of a second gas within the second annular free space (108).

13. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electron reflector (106) is designed to be electrically insulated from the electrical ground potential and a third power supply device generates an electrical voltage potential at the electron reflector (106) for igniting and maintaining a plasma within the second annular free space (108).

14. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cylinder axis (103) of the cylindrical electron exit window (102) is oriented vertically or at an angle of approximately 10° or less deviating from the vertical.

15. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by a device for separating and rotating a plurality of bulk material particles (414), comprising a cylindrical side wall (415) and a disc-shaped or conical bottom wall (416), wherein an annular gap (417) is formed between the cylindrical side wall (415) and the disc-shaped or conical bottom wall (416).

16. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electron reflector (106, 606) is designed as a hollow cylinder (106) or that the electron reflector (106, 606) has the shape of the lateral surface of a truncated cone (606).

17. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electron reflector (106; 606) has openings in the wall.

18. Device according to one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the wire-shaped, strand-shaped, rod-shaped, annular or cylindrical cathode (104a) is only firmly clamped at the upper end and is contacted at the lower end with an axially movable clamping piece.

19. Device according to one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the wire-shaped, strand-shaped, rod-shaped, annular or cylindrical cathode (104a) is firmly clamped or supported only at the lower end and is contacted at the upper end with an axially movable clamping piece.

20. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the radial position of the wire-shaped, strand-shaped, rod-shaped, annular or cylindrical cathode (104a) is adjustable.

21. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cylindrical electron exit window (102) is designed such that it is not completely transparent to electrons, but is provided with defined opening areas which are aligned with the angular areas of the electron exit window (102) which are not covered by shading angle areas with the angle w.

22. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by diaphragms which cover the second annular free space (108) on its upper side in shading angle ranges with the angle w.

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