Dielectric barrier micro-plasma reactor with segmented outer electrode for decomposition of pure CO₂

Abstract

Four coaxial cylinder dielectric barrier discharge micro-plasma reactors were designed for the non-catalytic decomposition of pure CO₂ into CO and O₂ at low temperature and ambient pressure. The influence of segmented outer electrodes on the electrical characteristics and the reaction performance was investigated. Experimental results indicated that the introduction of segmented outer electrodes can significantly promote the decomposition of CO₂. Encouragingly, the highest conversion of 13.1% was obtained at an applied voltage of 18 kV, which was a substantial increase of 39.4% compared to the traditional device. Compared with other types of dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactors, the proposed segmented outer electrode micro-plasma reactor can give a higher CO₂ conversion and acceptable energy efficiency. The increase in conversion can be attributed mainly to the enhanced corona discharge caused by the fringe effect at electrode edges, the increase in energy density and the increase in the number of micro-discharges. In addition, detailed electrical characterization was performed to reveal some trends in the electrical behavior of proposed reactors.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

CO₂ decomposition / dielectric barrier discharge / segmented outer electrodes / electrical analysis / reactor design

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Acknowledgments

This work is financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFB0600701).

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2020 Higher Education Press