NO_x production in a rotating gliding arc plasma: potential avenue for sustainable nitrogen fixation

Abstract

An atmospheric pressure plasma arc reactor operating in two distinct modes shows substantially different NOx concentrations; one mode produces record NOx concentrations (up to 5.5%) with an energy consumption of 2.5 MJ mol−1.

Highly efficient nitrogen fixation enabled by an atmospheric pressure rotating gliding arc

“…Vervloessem et al [ 34 ] reported an energy consumption of 3.6 MJ/mol in the synthesis of NO x from a mixture of N 2 and O 2 using a GA plasma. Jardali et al [ 35 ] investigated the NO x production using an RGA reactor operated in two arc modes (rotating and stable modes). The NO x concentrations up to 5.5% were achieved with the lowest energy consumption of 2.5 MJ/mol when the arc was operated in a stable mode.…”

“…[ 15,20,31 ] This range of the reduced electric field could also apply to the RGA plasma in this study. For example, Jardali et al [ 35 ] used the reduced electric field of 5–30 Td in the modeling of NO x production in an RGA reactor. Recent works reported that vibrational excitation can enhance the generation of NO x through the conventional Zeldovich mechanism.…”

“…Recent works reported that vibrational excitation can enhance the generation of NO x through the conventional Zeldovich mechanism. [ 20,35,39 ] …”

Al2O3-Supported Transition Metals for Plasma-Catalytic NH3 Synthesis in a DBD Plasma: Metal Activity and Insights into Mechanisms

“…Therefore, a higher N 2 fraction would favour the production of NH 3 , especially because the dissociation energy of N 2 (9.76 eV) is higher than that of H 2 (4.48 eV), making the activation of N 2 the rate-determining step [19]. Although N 2 molecules can also be activated by vibrational or electronic excitation [25,26,55], a higher relative amount of N 2 would still result in a larger number of excited N 2 molecules. On the other hand, an even lower H 2 :N 2 ratio (e.g., 1:3) would result in a smaller number of plasma-excited H 2 molecules and, hence, a lower NH 3 formation.…”

Low-Temperature Plasma-Assisted Nitrogen Fixation for Corn Plant Growth and Development

“…These literature reports claim that plasma-treated water activates the synthesis of plant hormones such as auxin and cytokinin, inducing other physicochemical changes to enhance the germination, growth, and development of plants. Separately, a significant amount of research has also been already conducted on the development and improvement of plasma-assisted nitrogen fixation [36][37][38][39][40]. Nitrogen-fixed water is acidic (∼pH 2-3) because of the dissolved nitrogen oxides and hydrogen peroxide [41].…”