Effect of multiple pulses on the plasma chemistry during the remediation of NOx using dielectric barrier discharges

Dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) are being investigated to remediate NO , from atmospheric gas streams. The interaction of species generated during previous pulses of repetitively pulsed devices, such as DBDs, make their o peration fundamentally different from single pulse operation. To investigat e these effects, the reaction chemistry of multiple pulses during NOx remed iation was modelled. Reactions between radicals produced during a pulse wit h the products from previous pulses produce significantly different end pro ducts. For example, approximately 10 ppm of methyl nitrate (CH3ONO2) was ob tained by multiple pulsing whereas less than 1 ppm of it was produced with single discharge formats. Multiple pulsing has also been found to be more e fficient for NOx remediation. W-values for NOx remediation decreased from 2 40 eV for a single pulse (58 J 1(-1)) to 185 eV when the same energy was di stributed over 20 pulses.