Atmospheric Pressure Non-Thermal Plasma Activation of CO in a Packed-Bed Dielectric Barrier Discharge Reactor.

Direct conversion of CO into CO and O is performed in a packed-bed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) non-thermal plasma reactor at low temperatures and atmospheric pressure. The maximum CO conversion of 22.6 % is achieved when BaTiO pellets are fully packed into the discharge gap. The introduction of γ-Al O or 10 wt % Ni/γ-Al O catalyst into the BaTiO packed DBD reactor increases both CO conversion and energy efficiency of the plasma process. Packing γ-Al O or 10 wt % Ni/γ-Al O upstream of the BaTiO bed shows higher CO conversion and energy efficiency compared with that of mid- or downstream packing modes because the reverse reaction of CO conversion-the recombination of CO and O to form CO -is more likely to occur in mid- and downstream modes. Compared with the γ-Al O support, the coupling of the DBD with the Ni catalyst shows a higher CO conversion, which can be attributed to the presence of Ni active species on the catalyst surface. The argon plasma treatment of the reacted Ni catalyst provides extra evidence to confirm the role of Ni active species in the conversion of CO .