Chemical Kinetics in Air Plasmas at Atmospheric Pressure

The chapter, after a general introduction concerning plasmas produced in air at atmospheric pressure, describes the chemical kinetics happening in the plasma gas-phase, focusing on the nitrogen oxides mechanism of formation and elimination. After a general review of the chemical kinetic pattern, we discuss dielectric barrier discharges and their use for NOx remediation. In fact, research concerning the use of plasmas for the promotion of chemical reactions has emerged as one of the most prominent application field. Gas treatment aimed to toxic waste disposal or to pollutant emission reduction is an important field where plasma processing can prove to be a very effective technology. We have studied the characteristics of plasma reactors based on dielectric barrier discharges (DBD) operating in a streamer regime, as well as those based on high voltage electrical discharges operated in an intermittent spark regime. Both kind of discharges have been considered for the promotion of chemical reactions aimed to nitrogen oxides removal form a diluted gas flow. Detailed modeling of the chemical kinetics happening in an air plasma gas-phase has been investigated in our previous research. The evolution of the gas-phase composition during and after the interaction in the discharge region was calculated under different operating conditions. The results have been used to predict the NOx reduction achievable and to study the role played by the different discharge parameters in order to determine the optimal interaction between plasma and gas mixture. Comparison between streamer and spark discharges could be performed too.