Formation of NOx from Air and N2/O2 Mixtures Using a Nonthermal Microwave Plasma System

We present an experimental study of NOx (NO and NO2) formation from air and N-2/O-2/NOx mixtures using a nonthermal microwave plasma device. The tests were performed considering the energy consumed to generate plasma gas and the flow rate of air. The results demonstrated that NOx production was proportional to input power and the inverse of air flow rate. In the experiments that used N-2 and O-2 mixtures instead of air, the maximum NOx concentration produced at equilibrium was 16.02 x 10(16) molecules/J (0.66 x 10(16) NO molecules/J and 15.36 x 10(16) NO2 molecules/J). Under the condition of the source gases consisting of NO and NO2 of 970 ppm in the N-2 and O-2 mixture with a ratio of 79/21, the concentrations of NOx generated were 5,571 and 5,320 ppm. (C) 2010 The Japan Society of Applied Physics