Effect of the voltage waveforms and power on hydrogen and hydrogen peroxide formation in water-spray gliding arc reactor

Abstract

The present work deals with the formation of molecular hydrogen (H2) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) from liquid water sprayed into a non-thermal plasma formed by a gliding arc discharge. Previous work has demonstrated enhanced efficiency, as measured by specific energy yield, for the production of these species using a low power-pulsed plasma-gliding arc formed in a reactor with two divergent electrodes, water sprayed through a two way nozzle, and power generated by an ignition coil driven by a pulse generator. In the present work, H2 in the gas phase and H2O2 in the liquid water are determined for different values of the power injected into the reactor, as well for different waveforms (pulsed and alternating current AC), with Ar carrier. A comparison of the pulsed and AC waveforms of the voltage, for the same power injected into plasma (6 W), on the efficiency of the H2 and H2O2 production was made.