Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a gaseous pollutant that is toxic to humans and is also used to produce nitric acid and fertilizers. Sources of NO2 include equipment which burns fossil fuels such as vehicles, heavy machinery, and power plants. Adverse effects of NO2 exposure present as difficulty breathing and irritation of the eyes, skin, and respiratory tract. The concentration of NO2 in the atmosphere increases directly in response to burning fossil fuels, however, NO2 is reactive. Once in the atmosphere, NO2 can react with other pollutants or water to produce nitric acid (HNO3) or ozone (O3). The production and capture of NO2 and similar pollutants present the opportunity for green chemistry applications, such as producing nitric acid from a CO2/N2 plasma source. Preliminary work with a CO2/N2 plasma show NO2 can be readily produced. In this project, plasma exhaust from a CO2/N2 plasma is flowed through a trap to capture any NO2 produced. Chemical-resistant tubing transports gases to the plasma, then the product to a trap. Reacting carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N2) in non-thermal plasma, and processing the gas exhaust in FTIR has resulted in preliminary identification of compounds such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrogen tetroxide (N2O4). Analysis of gas-phase products is by FTIR and residual gas analysis (RGA).

NO2 capture from a CO2 / N2 non-thermal atmospheric plasma

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ACS Fall 2022

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