Molecular Gas Conversion

The dissociative effect of plasmas suggests an efficient use for the cracking of molecular gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen or ammonia, for example, as required among others in hydrogen economy processes. Non-thermal plasmas promise high energy efficiency, while only thermal plasmas are conceivable for large-scale use. In order to achieve marketable solutions, coupling with chemical-catalytic processes and plasma operation at high pressures will be necessary.  Our aim is to better understand the physical aspects of the plasma-catalyst interaction and to relate them to chemical conversion. To this end, pulsed and sinusoidal barrier or spark discharges are investigated with regard to breakdown behaviour and the essential plasma parameters.