n-hexane soot oxidation reactivity in N2/O2 and N2/O2/NO2 atmospheric pressure pulsed corona discharges

This paper discusses some aspects of n-hexane soot reactivity in a multi-pin to plate pulsed corona discharge working in the nanosecond regime at atmospheric pressure. The soot-discharge interaction was quantified by measuring the densities of CO, CO2, O-3 and NO2 out-coming from the discharge cell. Results showed that CO2 is the major product of soot oxidation. They also showed a strong enhancement of soot oxidation for O-2 percentage greater than 10% and cathode temperatures above 425 K. The soot reactivity is significantly enhanced when the discharge frequency is increased. The results obtained were interpreted in term of the competition between the kinetics of plasma active species adsorption and oxidation product desorption.