Splitting in High-Enthalpy Plasma Flows*

Plasma-based CO₂ conversion has proven to be a promising candidate for greenhouse gas utilization. At the Institute of Space Systems (IRS), the inductively coupled plasma generator IPG4 is investigated for this purpose. IPG4 is a high-power (160kW) plasma source operating at reduced pressure (2900Pa). Unraveling the carbon dioxide conversion process in such a high-enthalpy plasma requires the identification and understanding of dominant reaction pathways. In this work, an extensive CO₂ chemistry set, built into the global plasma model globalKin (M. Kushner), is applied to analyze the reaction kinetics in IPG4. The chemistry set includes vibrational energy transfer as well as the dissociation of carbon monoxide into carbon and oxygen. Intrusively measured specific energy values allow for a radially discretized analysis of reaction kinetics in the plasma jet. The contribution of single reactions to dissociation mechanisms and gas heating is studied.