Plasma-Assisted Low-Temperature Combustion and Ignition

Low-temperature plasma has many applications including its use for ozone production. Ozone is a very strong oxidizer (only second to fluorine) and used in widely diverse systems, some of which include ignition control and performance improvement for combustion systems, NOx reduction from power plants, and water treatment and disinfection. While these systems span a broad range of scales, all require the use of ozone, which is typically generated using low-temperature dielectric barrier discharges (DBD). DBD ozone generators themselves are not new, yet continue to suffer from low efficiencies (4- 6%). In turn, this results in high operating costs and limits implementation and adoption of the above technologies. In this proposal, we therefore aim to develop a novel, low-temperature plasma reactor for ozone production that has a substantially higher efficiency than mainstream systems. A highly efficient ozone reactor will be developed and optimized with guidance provided by a computational model developed in collaboration with researchers at Princeton University. Key innovations enabling higher efficiency involve: the formation of distributed micro-discharges and advanced thermal management. ACT will also work with Gas Technology Institute to support commercialization of the technology. A reactor having a high thermal efficiency will be designed, fabricated and tested in partnership with Professor Ju and his team at Princeton University. The technology leverages ACT’s core strength in advanced thermal management and prior experience with non-thermal plasmas. Scalability of the technology will also be assessed and commercialization opportunities will be actively pursued. Ozone is used in many applications including NOx reduction, combustion enhancement, pollution remediation, water disinfection, and medicine. The proposed technology aims to substantially lower the operating cost for ozone production and thus enable the use of ozone to be more competitive than alternative approaches.