Discharge and NO(x) removal characteristics of nonthermal plasma reactor with a heated corona wire

Abstract

The NO(x) removal characteristics of a wire-to-cylinder type nonthermal plasma reactor with a heated corona wire were investigated experimentally. A heated corona wire can produce energetic electrons and activate the oxidation of generated ozone. It was found that the corona starting voltage decreased with an increase in either the corona wire temperature or the initially fed NO concentration. At higher corona currents (or voltages) the generated ozone concentration decreased monotonically and drastically with an increase in corona wire temperature. While at lower currents (or voltages), the ozone generation increased along with the corona wire temperature to a maximum of about 500°C. A very high removal efficiency of 96% with a 112 (ppm) concentration of initially fed NO gas was achieved when the elevated corona wire temperature remained below 200°C, yet with a higher initial NO gas concentration the removal rate decreased dramatically in a wire-to-cylinder-type test reactor with a 200 mm long corona wire and 26 mm diameter outer cylinder electrode. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.