Chemical Reaction Kinetics and Reactor Modeling of NO<i>_x</i> Removal in a Pulsed Streamer Corona Discharge Reactor

Abstract

The removal of nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2) from dry nitrogen gas and dry air with and without ethylene using a pulsed streamer corona discharge reactor (PSCDR) was investigated. A kinetic model was developed to characterize the chemical reactions taking place in a PSCDR using a combination of the CHEMKIN and KINEMA programs. Concurrently, an experimental program to determine NO removal from a gas stream was conducted. The electron density for the reactions of N2 and O2 by electron−molecule collisions was obtained by fitting the model to experimental data on NO removal as functions of the applied electric field and the reactor residence times. The model was then used to predict the concentrations of various other species, including O3, NO2, N2O, and byproducts of ethylene decomposition, to test the model and to guide the experimental analysis of byproduct characterization.