How do plasmas work?
Plasma is a gas (such as a vehicle exhaust gas)
that has been at least partially ionised by passing
an electrical current through it. The plasma becomes
chemically reactive because of the interaction
between the electrons and the gas molecules, which
cause the gas molecules to split into atoms known
as radicals. The radicals cause a chemical oxidation
of the particulate matter converting it into water
and carbon dioxide. This reactivity can be engineered
to perform chemical reactions under low temperature
conditions (a plasma) that allow the
destruction of pollutants in the gas.
The principle of operation is as follows:
- Generate an electric field between two electrodes
- Pass the gas between the electrodes to create
a plasma.
- The plasma causes a chemical reactions to
destroy pollutants or produce useful species
The process is highly efficient as the electrons
in the plasma carry almost all of the energy and
it is these electrons that are used to produce
reactive radicals. The result is that a wide range
of chemical reactions can be stimulated with relatively
low energy input.
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