Development of High-Frequency Power Source Utilizing Electronic Ballast by Employing a Half-Bridge Inverter for Water Purification

This paper outlines the design of a high-frequency power supply, specifically an electronic ballast based PWM inverter, intended to power a low-pressure UV Mercury-Argon lamp. The lamp emits germicidal UV radiation at a wavelength of 253.7 nm, which effectively targets DNA viruses and bacteria present in the water to be treated. The system underwent thorough modeling, encompassing both the electronic ballast and the discharge lamp. The power supply employs a standard converter setup, comprising a half-bridge rectifier and inverter controlled by PWM. Simulations conducted using the MATLAB software environment yielded satisfactory results aligned with our objectives. The primary aim was to achieve a sinusoidal rms current precisely at 0.65 A, operating at a frequency of 50 kHz, to maximize UVc radiation at 253.7 nm. Hence, contemporary converters employing semiconductor switches operating at high-frequencies (over 50 kHz for MOSFETs) have been employed with proportional-integral control techniques.