Evaluation of residence time on nitrogen oxides removal in non-thermal plasma reactor

Non-thermal plasma (NTP) has been introduced over the last few years as a promising after- treatment system for nitrogen oxides and particulate matter removal from diesel exhaust. NTP technology has not been commercialised as yet, due to its high rate of energy consumption. Therefore, it is important to seek out new methods to improve NTP performance. Residence time is a crucial parameter in engine exhaust emissions treatment. In this paper, different electrode shapes are analysed and the corresponding residence time and NOx removal efficiency are studied. An axisymmetric laminar model is used for obtaining residence time distribution numerically using FLUENT software. If the mean residence time in a NTP plasma reactor increases, there will be a corresponding increase in the reaction time and consequently the pollutant removal efficiency increases. Three different screw thread electrodes and a rod electrode are examined. The results show the advantage of screw thread electrodes in comparison with the rod electrode. Furthermore,between the screw thread electrodes, the electrode with the thread width of 1 mm has the highest NOx removal due to higher residence time and a greater number of micro-discharges. The results show that the residence time of the screw thread electrode with a thread width of 1 mm is 21% more than for the rod electrode

Plasma-surface interaction: dielectric and metallic targets and their influence on the electric field profile in a kHz AC-driven He plasma jet

International audiencePlasma catalysis, biomedical applications or atomic layer deposition at atmospheric pressure all make use of non-thermal plasmas in contact with a wide variety of surfaces. As the presence of a target (substrate) has been shown to modify the plasma in addition to the plasma modifying the target, it is reasonable to describe and study the plasma-surface as one system. This work shows how the presence of dielectric and metallic targets influences a kHz AC-driven discharge in a He plasma jet. Next to bringing the absolute values of the axial electric field along the plume of the jet, the presence of the surface has been shown to significantly elongate both the plume and the electric field profile. In addition, when a dielectric target is placed closer than the maximum length of the freely expanding jet, the electric field profile is enhanced only in the vicinity of the dielectric, typically between 0.3 and 2 mm above the target surface. The maximum measured relative increase is 31%, for 1000 SCCM flow with the target at 7 mm distance, when the electric field increased from 14.1 kV cm−1 for the freely expanding jet to 32.6 kV cm−1 when the jet was impinging on glass. Finally, a grounded metallic target enhances the electric field compared to the glass target only within a very thin layer just above the surface, typically about 0.2 mm. The highest measured electric field was 40.1 kV cm−1 at a grounded metallic target 12 mm away from the nozzle, for 1000 SCCM of helium flow. The discussion on the effects of the flow on the electric field profile are supported by the visualization of the flow. The discussion brings, among other, the comparison of properties between the 30 kHz AC-driven system and the 5 kHz pulsed jet

Electric field measurements in a kHz-driven He jetthe influence of the gas flow speed

International audienceThis report focuses on the dependence of electric field strength in the effluent of a vertically downwards-operated plasma jet freely expanding into room air as a function of the gas flow speed. A 30 kHz AC-driven He jet was used in a coaxial geometry, with an amplitude of 2 kV and gas flow between 700 sccm and 2000 SCCM. The electric field was measured by means of Stark polarization spectroscopy of the He line at 492.19 nm. While the minimum and the maximum measured electric fields remained unchanged, the effect of the gas flow speed is to cause stretching of the measured profile in spacethe higher the flow, the longer and less steep the electric field profile. The portion of the effluent in which the electric field was measured showed an increase of electric field with increasing distance from the capillary, for which the probable cause is the contraction of the plasma bullet as it travels through space away from the capillary. There are strong indications that the stretching of the electric field profile with increase in the flow speed is caused by differences in gas mixing as a function of the gas flow speed. The simulated gas composition shows that the amount of air entrained into the gas flow behaves in a similar way to the observed behaviour of the electric field. In addition we have shown that the visible length of the plasma plume is associated with a 0.027 molar fraction of air in the He flow in this configuration, while the maximum electric field measured was associated with a 0.014 molar fraction of air at gas flow rates up to 1500 SCCM (4.9 m s−1). At higher flows vortices occur in the effluent of the jet, as seen in Schlieren visualization of the gas flow with and without the discharge