Production of Reactive Oxygen Species and Application for NOx Control

Current gas ionization discharge techniques used in the removal of NOx from waste gases require large plasma sources, have high energy consumption, and may feature low NOx removal rates. We develop a system to generate reactive oxygen species through a strong ionization discharge, which is injected into a flow of simulated waste gas. The relative proportions and temperatures of input gases were controlled and the rate of consumption by reactive species was monitored. HNO3 oxidization products of NOx were also collected and measured. The molar ratio of reactive oxygen species to NO was optimized to improve the rate of NOx removal. A input gas temperature of 58–60 °C was also found to be optimal. The O2 volume fraction has almost no influence on NOx removal, while H2O volume fractions above 6 %, gave rise to NOx removal rates of 97.2 %. The present study addresses disadvantages of current gas ionization discharge and requires no catalyst, reducing agent or oxidant.