Comparing atmospheric pressure plasma production of RONS to a Zapdos framework 0D model as a function of gas temperature*

Atmospheric pressure plasma production of nitrate has potential in various biological applications, such as agriculture.  Water can absorb nitrate produced by these plasmas and then be applied to plants as fertilizer [1, 2].  In order for plasma production of nitrate to be industrially viable, it is important to characterize and optimize this process.  An atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge is investigated.  The device is electrically characterized to determine discharge current, dissipated power and plasma events.  Deionized water is treated and aqueous nitrate is determined colorimetrically along with the ozone density in the plasma effluent using OAS.  The relation between gas temperature and nitrate production is investigated.  Experimental results display good agreement with a 0D reaction network model, using the zapdos framework [3].  The key reaction pathways responsible for observed trends are explored and how gas temperature impacts what species are produced.  Lastly, the impacts on plasma reactor design for scaled agriculture applications is discussed.

[1] Ranieri, Pietro, et al. "Plasma agriculture: Review from the perspective of the plant and its ecosystem." Plasma Processes and Polymers 18.1 (2021): 2000162

[2] Puač, N., Gherardi, M., & Shiratani, M. (2017). Plasma agriculture: A rapidly emerging field. Plasma Processes and Polymers, 15(2), 1700174. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppap.201700174 

[3] Alexander D. Lindsay, David B. Graves, and Steven C. Shannon. “Fully coupled simulation of the plasma liquid interface and interfacial coefficient effects”. In: Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics 49.23 (2016), p. 235204. DOI: 10.1088/0022-3727/49/23/235204