ELECTRON-IMPACT DISSOCIATION OF MOLECULAR NITROGEN IN ATMOSPHERIC-PRESSURE NONTHERMAL PLASMA REACTORS

This letter presents measurements of the specific energy consumption ( eV per molecule) for electron-impact dissociation of N-2 (e+N-2-->e+NN) in a pulsed corona and an electron beam reactor. Measurements were done using 100 pm of NO in N-2. In this mixture the removal of NO is d ominated by the reduction reaction N+NO-->N-2+O. By measuring the spec ific energy consumption for reduction of NO, these experiments provide a good measure of the specific energy consumption for electron-impact dissociation of N-2. The specific energy consumption using pulsed cor ona processing is 480 eV per dissociated N-2 molecule. For electron be am processing, the specific energy consumption is 80 eV per dissociate d N-2 molecule. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.