Conversion of CO2 in a gliding arc discharge reactor: Discharge characteristics and the effects of different parameters

Abstract

In this work, a knife-shaped gliding arc discharge (GAD) reactor driven by a modulated pulse power supply was used to convert CO2. The discharge image, voltage and current waveforms of GAD were recorded experimentally. The effects of gas flow rate, input voltage, and the duty cycle of power supply on CO2 conversion were studied. A CO2 conversion of 3.8% and energy efficiency of 39.6% could be achieved. Compared with other non-thermal plasmas, GAD has a slightly lower CO2 conversion but higher energy efficiency. In addition, the capacity of CO2 treated by GAD (6 L/min) was significantly higher than other non-thermal plasmas (e.g. 25 mL/min-125 mL/min in corona discharge and dielectric barrier discharge).