CHEMCAL REACTION ANALYSIS OF THE

FORMATION OF HYDROGEN PEROXIDE AND

HYDROGEN IN WATER-SPRAY GLIDING ARC
REACTORS

Bruce R. Locke
Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32310 USA

Selma Mededovic
Department of Ecological Engineering
Toyohashi University of Technology
Toyohashi, JAPAN


Gliding arc discharges Iormed in Ilowing gases containing
water droplets sprayed into the plasma leads to the generation
oI hydrogen peroxide and molecular hydrogen as well as
other species
1
. Such discharges may be import Ior a number
oI applications in energy and the environment. It is currently
known that the temperature oI the active plasma in such
discharges can be very high and that the temperature can vary
Irom 7000K to 2000K as the gas Ilows through the plasma
zones. However, the mechanisms Ior the Iormation oI the
resulting chemical species in the presence oI water spray are
not well understood. The present work seeks to utilize
kinetic modeling oI high temperature water reactions
2
to
study possible routes Ior the Iormation oI hydrogen peroxide,
hydrogen, and oxygen in gliding arc plasma. The
mathematical model utilizes a plug Ilow reactor approach
with speciIied temperature proIiles and it includes high
temperature water reactions previously studied in aqueous
phase pulsed corona discharges
2
. The modeling results are
compared to recent experimental data
3
.

1. R. Burlica, M. J. Kirkpatrick, and B. R. Locke, 'The
Formation oI Reactive Species in Gliding Arc Discharges
with Liquid Water, Journal oI Electrostatics, 64, 2006, pp.
35-43.
2. S. Meedovi and B. R. Locke, 'Primary Chemical
Reactions in Pulsed Electrical Discharge Channels in Water,
Journal oI Physics D: Applied Physics, 40, 2007, pp. 7734-
7746.
3. D. Porter, M. D. Poplin, F. Holzer, W. C. Finney, and B. R.
Locke, 'Formation oI Hydrogen Peroxide, Hydrogen, and
Oxygen in Gliding Arc Electrical Discharge Reactors with
Water Spray, 42nd IEEE Industry Applications Society
Annual ConIerence, September 23-27, 2007.