Gas temperature measurement in CH4/CO2 dielectric-barrier discharges by optical emission spectroscopy

The gas temperatures were determined by optical emission in a dielectric-barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure. The feed gases were either pure CH4 to yield higher hydrocarbons or CH4/CO2 mixtures to yield synthesis gas (H-2/CO). The monitored emission was from the CH radical A (2)Delta-X (2)Pi electronic system and the gas temperature range characterized was from 300 to 600 K. The technique described in this article enables the measurement of the neutral gas temperature in the discharge that is not accessible via conventional methodology using thermocouples. A bimodal rotational population distribution in the CH A (2)Delta v(')=0 state was determined in the investigated gas mixtures of CO2/CH4 and in pure methane. Most of the rotational population was at temperatures from 300 to 600 K depending on experimental conditions, which are only slightly higher than the set temperature of the reactor. A small fraction of the emitting species was found to have a much higher rotational temperature of similar to4000 K for the pure methane gas and the mixture of CO2 and CH4. The low temperature rotational distribution correlated with changes in the ambient conditions and is used as a thermometer, while the high rotational temperature component and the vibrational temperature reflect the excess of energy during the CH radical formation by electron impact dissociative excitation of methane, and the extent of collisional relaxation before emission takes place. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.