Conversion to Carbon and Oxygen in a High-Power ICP*

The complete reduction of CO₂ to atomic carbon and O₂ is considered a dream reaction with respect to greenhouse gas utilization and, thus, climate change mitigation. Plasmas are capable of generating mass-specific enthalpies high enough to promote this process. At the Institute of Space Systems (IRS), the application of the inductively coupled plasma source IPG4 (Inductive Plasma Generator 4) for effective carbon dioxide dissociation is under investigation. IPG4 is a high-power (160kW) plasma source operating at reduced pressure (2900Pa). In this work, the kinetic model globalKin is used to analyze the complete CO₂ conversion to atomic carbon and oxygen in the core region of the plasma source IPG4. The simulation code is developed by Prof. Mark Kushner from the University of Michigan. The built-in plug-flow model of globalKin allows for a one-dimensional analysis of the reaction kinetics in the CO₂ plasma. The role of carbon monoxide dissociation at high temperatures is studied.