Abstract

An electrostatic precipitator air cleaner having a novel ionizer cell made up of a plurality of positively charged wire-like ionizer electrodes, a plate-like negatively charged passive electrode positioned between and parallel to each adjacent pair of ionizer electrodes, and a box-like enclosure surrounding the ionizer cell such that the side walls of the enclosure adjacent the outermost ones of the ionizer electrodes form grounded electrically conducting surfaces, a relatively high electrostatic field being produced in the region between the ionizer electrodes and the passive electrodes and between the ionizer electrode and the grounded surfaces. In a preferred embodiment, the ionizer electrodes and passive electrodes are impressed with relatively high voltages of equal but opposite polarity such that the spacing between an ionizer electrode and an adjacent passive electrode is twice the spacing between an ionizer electrode and the adjacent grounded surface.