Characterization of surface dielectric barrier discharge influenced by intermediate frequency for ozone production

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the intermediate frequency (1-10 kHz) of the sinusoidal driving voltage on the characteristics of a developed surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD)-based reactor having spikes on its discharge electrode. Moreover, its influence on the production of ozone and nitrogen oxide byproducts is evaluated. The results show that SDBD is operated in the filamentary mode at all the frequencies. Nevertheless, the pulses of the discharge current at high frequencies are much denser and have higher amplitudes than those at low frequencies. The analysis of the power consumed in the reactor shows that a small portion of the input power is dissipated in the dielectric material of SDBD source, whereas the major part of the power is consumed in the plasma discharge. The results of the ozone production show that higher frequencies have a slightly adverse effect on the ozone production at relatively high energy density values, where the ozone concentration is slightly decreased when the frequency is increased at the same energy density. The temperature of the discharge channels and gas is not a crucial factor for the decomposition of ozone in this reactor, while the results of the measurements of nitrogen oxides characteristics indicate that the formation of NO and NO2 has a significant adverse effect on the production efficiency of ozone due to their oxidation to another nitrogen oxides and their catalytic effect.