Research on Enhancing Oil Contamination Tolerance of High Voltage Power Supplies in Kitchen Fume Purifiers

The high-voltage power supply is the core component of electrostatic kitchen fume purifiers, and its performance directly determines purification efficiency and service life. Traditional power supplies are prone to short circuits, arcing, and efficiency degradation after oil contamination accumulation. In recent years, through material innovation, circuit optimization, and system integration, the oil contamination tolerance of high-voltage power supplies has been significantly enhanced, becoming a key breakthrough in industry technology.
1. Technical Challenges of Oil Contamination Tolerance
Kitchen fume purifier high-voltage power supplies need to continuously generate a high-voltage electrostatic field of 5-30 kilovolts to charge oil fume particles and adsorb them onto the collection plates. However, oil contamination accumulated on the components of the electric field leads to reduced insulation performance, causing short-circuit protection or arc discharge, which forces the equipment to shut down. More seriously, sticky oil contamination can cover the electrode surface, hindering the corona discharge effect and causing purification efficiency to drop sharply from an initial 98% to less than 50%. Additionally, the chemical corrosiveness of oil contamination accelerates metal electrode aging, further shortening the power supply's lifespan.
2. Key Enhancement Technical Solutions
1.  Adaptive Voltage Regulation Technology 
    Modern high-voltage power supplies use intelligent closed-loop control systems that monitor load changes in real time. When an increase in electric field impedance due to oil contamination accumulation is detected, the power supply automatically increases the output voltage to maintain electric field strength; conversely, it instantly reduces voltage to protect against short-circuit risks. This automatic voltage increase and decrease mechanism ensures the power supply operates stably and optimally in oily environments without manual intervention.
2.  Corrosion-Resistant Materials and Surface Treatments 
    Electrodes and collection plates are made of corrosion-resistant materials such as aluminum alloy and stainless steel, and are coated uniformly through electrostatic powder spraying processes. The latest technology introduces super-hydrophobic coatings with contact angles greater than 150°, mimicking the lotus leaf effect to prevent oil contamination from adhering, and even if adhered, making it easy to wash off. Such coatings maintain their performance after 1000 hours of UV aging tests, significantly extending maintenance cycles.
3.  Integrated Automatic Cleaning Mechanisms 
    Innovative designs couple cleaning mechanisms with power supply operation. For example, using exhaust airflow to drive rotating scrapers that continuously remove oil sludge from the surface of adsorption plates; simultaneously, a gear system drives an oil collection trough to achieve sealed collection and discharge of waste oil. This mechanical self-cleaning system requires no external energy and can operate without interrupting operation.
4.  Modular and Protective Design 
    Modular unit structure allows each high-voltage discharge unit to operate independently, so a single unit failure does not affect overall operation. The power supply housing is designed to meet IP54 protection standards, and internal circuits are potted with epoxy resin to prevent oil mist intrusion. Additionally, the sensitivity of the arc protection circuit is adjustable, avoiding false shutdowns caused by instantaneous short circuits due to oil contamination.
3. Performance Improvement and Future Directions
After enhancing oil contamination tolerance, the maintenance cycle of high-voltage power supplies has been extended from the traditional 1-3 months to 12 months, and the fluctuation range of purification efficiency has been narrowed from over 50% to within 10%. Future technology will focus on photocatalytic degradation combined with electrostatic design: using high-voltage electric fields to capture oil mist particles while employing ultraviolet photolysis technology to decompose organic components, reducing oil contamination accumulation at the source. Furthermore, frequency conversion control technology can automatically adjust power based on oil fume concentration, further reducing oil contamination adhesion on electrode surfaces.
Enhancing the oil contamination tolerance of high-voltage power supplies is a systematic project that requires multidisciplinary innovation integrating materials science, power electronics, and mechanical design. Through continuous optimization, the new generation of power supplies not only adapts to harsh kitchen environments but also lays a solid foundation for the development of kitchen fume purifiers towards higher efficiency and intelligence.