Project Team
Students
Precious Fernandez
Mechanical Engineering
Penn State Harrisburg
Faculty Mentors
Dr. Dassou Nagassou
Penn State Harrisburg
Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Brian Maicke
Penn State Harrisburg
Mechanical Engineering
Project
Project Video
Project Abstract
Carbon emissions are at an all-time high, despite a massive investment in research and new technology. Following additional investigation into the various techniques of CO2 conversion, including thermochemical, photochemical, electrochemical, microbially mediated, and plasma-assisted procedures. The relatively new concept of gliding-arc plasma appears to be easily adaptable to large-scale use at a lower cost. Dr. Dassou Nagassou’s proposal for a funnel gliding-arc plasma reactor opens new avenues for research. This method utilizes three chambers: the reactor chamber, that features three electrodes positioned at an angle to generate the glidarc plasma effect, the quenching chamber, and the catalytic converter, which converts the carbon monoxide byproduct. The inlet funnel for the reactor chamber was 3D printed using Al2O3 (Alumina), as it can withstand the high temperatures needed for the plasma generation. The arc discharge plasma occurs when all 3 electrodes are equidistant from each other. Gliding-arc plasma allows a synergistic interaction between thermal and non-thermal plasma. It utilizes a convection cooling mechanism that forces the thermal plasma, from its ignition point to a point above critical point where it discharges into non-thermal plasma and travels back down. Our preliminary data illustrated a bright blue plasma indicating successful CO2 conversion from gas to plasma in our reactor. Furthermore, the flue gas analyser instantaneously found positive CO2 dissociation. However, due to a lack of resources for additional testing and analysis, our conversion rate fluctuated significantly. Despite this setback, our data proved that this is a promising method for further research purposes.
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