| Records |
| Author |
Tsonev, I.; Ahmadi Eshtehardi, H.; Delplancke, M.-P.; Bogaerts, A. |
| Title |
Importance of geometric effects in scaling up energy-efficient plasma-based nitrogen fixation |
Type  |
A1 Journal article |
| Year |
2024 |
Publication |
Sustainable energy & fuels |
Abbreviated Journal |
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| Volume |
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Issue |
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Pages |
1-19 |
| Keywords |
A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
| Abstract |
Despite the recent promising potential of plasma-based nitrogen fixation, the technology faces significant challenges in efficient upscaling. To tackle this challenge, we investigate two reactors, i.e., a small one, operating in a flow rate range of 5-20 ln min-1 and current range of 200-500 mA, and a larger one, operating at higher flow rate (100-300 ln min-1) and current (400-1000 mA). Both reactors operate in a pin-to-pin configuration and are powered by direct current (DC) from the same power supply unit, to allow easy comparison and evaluate the effect of upscaling. In the small reactor, we achieve the lowest energy cost (EC) of 2.8 MJ mol-1, for a NOx concentration of 1.72%, at a flow rate of 20 ln min-1, yielding a production rate (PR) of 33 g h-1. These values are obtained in air; in oxygen-enriched air, the results are typically better, at the cost of producing oxygen-enriched air. In the large reactor, the higher flow rates reduce the NOx concentration due to lower SEI, while maintaining a similar EC. This stresses the important effect of the geometrical configuration of the arc, which is typically concentrated in the center of the reactor, resulting in limited coverage of the reacting gas flow, and this is identified as the limiting factor for upscaling. However, our experiments reveal that by changing the reactor configuration, and thus the plasma geometry and power deposition mechanisms, the amount of gas treated by the plasma can be enhanced, leading to successful upscaling. To obtain more insights in our experiments, we performed thermodynamic equilibrium calculations. First of all, they show that our measured lowest EC closely aligns with the calculated minimum thermodynamic equilibrium at atmospheric pressure. In addition, they reveal that the limited NOx production in the large reactor results from the contracted nature of the plasma. To solve this limitation, we let the large reactor operate in so-called torch configuration. Indeed, the latter enhances the NOx concentrations compared to the pin-to-pin configuration, yielding a PR of 80 g h-1 at an EC of 2.9 MJ mol-1 and NOx concentration of 0.31%. This illustrates the importance of reactor design in upscaling. With the focus on feasibility evaluation of scaling-up plasma-based nitrogen fixation by combined experiments and thermodynamic modelling, we aim to tackle the challenge of design and development of an energy-efficient and scaled-up plasma reactor. |
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Place of Publication |
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Wos |
001203657700001 |
Publication Date |
2024-04-11 |
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Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record |
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Open Access |
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Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:205435 |
Serial |
9155 |
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| Author |
Leigh, S.; Doyle, S.J.; Smith, G.J.; Gibson, A.R.; Boswell, R.W.; Charles, C.; Dedrick, J.P. |
| Title |
Ionization and neutral gas heating efficiency in radio frequency electrothermal microthrusters : the role of driving frequency |
Type |
A1 Journal article |
| Year |
2024 |
Publication |
Physics of plasmas |
Abbreviated Journal |
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| Volume |
31 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
023509-23513 |
| Keywords |
A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
| Abstract |
The development of compact, low power, charge-neutral propulsion sources is of significant recent interest due to the rising application of micro-scale satellite platforms. Among such sources, radio frequency (rf) electrothermal microthrusters present an attractive option due to their scalability, reliability, and tunable control of power coupling to the propellant. For micropropulsion applications, where available power is limited, it is of particular importance to understand how electrical power can be transferred to the propellant efficiently, a process that is underpinned by the plasma sheath dynamics. In this work, two-dimensional fluid/Monte Carlo simulations are employed to investigate the effects of applied voltage frequency on the electron, ion, and neutral heating in an rf capacitively coupled plasma microthruster operating in argon. Variations in the electron and argon ion densities and power deposition, and their consequent effect on neutral-gas heating, are investigated with relation to the phase-averaged and phase-resolved sheath dynamics for rf voltage frequencies of 6-108 MHz at 450 V. Driving voltage frequencies above 40.68 MHz exhibit enhanced volumetric ionization from bulk electrons at the expense of the ion heating efficiency. Lower driving voltage frequencies below 13.56 MHz exhibit more efficient ionization due to secondary electrons and an increasing fraction of rf power deposition into ions. Thermal efficiencies are improved by a factor of 2.5 at 6 MHz as compared to the more traditional 13.56 MHz, indicating a favorable operating regime for low power satellite applications. |
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Wos |
001207449000001 |
Publication Date |
2024-02-23 |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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| ISSN |
1070-664x |
ISBN |
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Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record |
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Open Access |
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Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:205506 |
Serial |
9156 |
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| Author |
Fang, W.; Wang, X.; Li, S.; Hao, Y.; Yang, Y.; Zhao, W.; Liu, R.; Li, D.; Li, C.; Gao, X.; Wang, L.; Guo, H.; Yi, Y. |
| Title |
Plasma-catalytic one-step steam reforming of CH₄ to CH₃OH and H₂ promoted by oligomerized [Cu-O-Cu] species on zeolites |
Type |
A1 Journal article |
| Year |
2024 |
Publication |
Green chemistry : cutting-edge research for a greener sustainable future |
Abbreviated Journal |
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| Volume |
26 |
Issue |
9 |
Pages |
5150-5154 |
| Keywords |
A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
| Abstract |
Oligomerized [Cu-O-Cu] species are reported to be efficient in promoting plasma catalytic one-step steam reforming of methane to methanol and hydrogen, achieving 6.8% CH4 conversion and 73.1% CH3OH selectivity without CO2. |
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Wos |
001195192800001 |
Publication Date |
2024-04-02 |
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Series Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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| ISSN |
1463-9262; 1463-9270 |
ISBN |
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Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record |
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Times cited |
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Open Access |
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| Notes |
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Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:205514 |
Serial |
9165 |
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| Author |
Long, Y.; Wang, X.; Zhang, H.; Wang, K.; Ong, W.-L.; Bogaerts, A.; Li, K.; Lu, C.; Li, X.; Yan, J.; Tu, X.; Zhang, H. |
| Title |
Plasma chemical looping : unlocking high-efficiency CO₂ conversion to clean CO at mild temperatures |
Type |
A1 Journal article |
| Year |
2024 |
Publication |
JACS Au |
Abbreviated Journal |
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Issue |
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Pages |
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| Keywords |
A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
| Abstract |
We propose a plasma chemical looping CO2 splitting (PCLCS) approach that enables highly efficient CO2 conversion into O-2-free CO at mild temperatures. PCLCS achieves an impressive 84% CO2 conversion and a 1.3 mmol g(-1) CO yield, with no O-2 detected. Crucially, this strategy significantly lowers the temperature required for conventional chemical looping processes from 650 to 1000 degrees C to only 320 degrees C, demonstrating a robust synergy between plasma and the Ce0.7Zr0.3O2 oxygen carrier (OC). Systematic experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations unveil the pivotal role of plasma in activating and partially decomposing CO2, yielding a mixture of CO, O-2/O, and electronically/vibrationally excited CO2*. Notably, these excited CO2* species then efficiently decompose over the oxygen vacancies of the OCs, with a substantially reduced activation barrier (0.86 eV) compared to ground-state CO2 (1.63 eV), contributing to the synergy. This work offers a promising and energy-efficient pathway for producing O-2-free CO from inert CO2 through the tailored interplay of plasma and OCs. |
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Wos |
001225139200001 |
Publication Date |
2024-05-08 |
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Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record |
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Times cited |
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Open Access |
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| Notes |
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Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:205970 |
Serial |
9166 |
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| Author |
Chai, Z.-N.; Wang, X.-C.; Yusupov, M.; Zhang, Y.-T. |
| Title |
Unveiling the interaction mechanisms of cold atmospheric plasma and amino acids by machine learning |
Type |
A1 Journal article |
| Year |
2024 |
Publication |
Plasma processes and polymers |
Abbreviated Journal |
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| Volume |
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Issue |
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Pages |
1-26 |
| Keywords |
A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
| Abstract |
Plasma medicine has attracted tremendous interest in a variety of medical conditions, ranging from wound healing to antimicrobial applications, even in cancer treatment, through the interactions of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) and various biological tissues directly or indirectly. The underlying mechanisms of CAP treatment are still poorly understood although the oxidative effects of CAP with amino acids, peptides, and proteins have been explored experimentally. In this study, machine learning (ML) technology is introduced to efficiently unveil the interaction mechanisms of amino acids and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in seconds based on the data obtained from the reactive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which are performed to probe the interaction of five types of amino acids with various ROS on the timescale of hundreds of picoseconds but with the huge computational load of several days. The oxidative reactions typically start with H-abstraction, and the details of the breaking and formation of chemical bonds are revealed; the modification types, such as nitrosylation, hydroxylation, and carbonylation, can be observed. The dose effects of ROS are also investigated by varying the number of ROS in the simulation box, indicating agreement with the experimental observation. To overcome the limits of timescales and the size of molecular systems in reactive MD simulations, a deep neural network (DNN) with five hidden layers is constructed according to the reaction data and employed to predict the type of oxidative modification and the probability of occurrence only in seconds as the dose of ROS varies. The well-trained DNN can effectively and accurately predict the oxidative processes and productions, which greatly improves the computational efficiency by almost ten orders of magnitude compared with the reactive MD simulation. This study shows the great potential of ML technology to efficiently unveil the underpinning mechanisms in plasma medicine based on the data from reactive MD simulations or experimental measurements. In this study, since reactive molecular dynamics simulation can currently only describe interactions between a few hundred atoms in a few hundred picoseconds, deep neural networks (DNN) are introduced to enhance the simulation results by predicting more data efficiently. image |
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Wos |
001202061200001 |
Publication Date |
2024-04-15 |
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Series Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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| ISSN |
1612-8850 |
ISBN |
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Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record |
| Impact Factor |
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Times cited |
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Open Access |
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| Notes |
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Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:205512 |
Serial |
9181 |
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| Author |
O'Modhrain, C.; Trenchev, G.; Gorbanev, Y.; Bogaerts, A. |
| Title |
Upscaling plasma-based CO₂ conversion : case study of a multi-reactor gliding arc plasmatron |
Type |
A1 Journal article |
| Year |
2024 |
Publication |
ACS Engineering Au |
Abbreviated Journal |
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| Volume |
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Issue |
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Pages |
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| Keywords |
A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
| Abstract |
Atmospheric pressure plasmas have shifted in recent years from being a burgeoning research field in the academic setting to an actively investigated technology in the chemical, oil, and environmental industries. This is largely driven by the climate change mitigation efforts, as well as the evident pathways of value creation by converting greenhouse gases (such as CO2) into useful chemical feedstock. Currently, most high technology readiness level (TRL) plasma-based technologies are based on volumetric and power-based scaling of thermal plasma systems, which results in large capital investment and regular maintenance costs. This work investigates bringing a quasi-thermal (so-called “warm”) plasma setup, namely, a gliding arc plasmatron, from a lab-scale to a pilot-scale capacity with an increase in throughput capacity by a factor of 10. The method of scaling is the parallelization of plasmatron reactors within a single housing, with the aim of maintaining a warm plasma regime while simultaneously improving build cost and efficiency (compared to separate reactors operating in parallel). Special attention is also given to the safety and control features implemented in the setup, a key component required for integration into industrial systems. The performance of the multi-reactor gliding arc plasmatron (MRGAP) reactor is investigated, focusing on the influence of flow rate and the number of active reactors. The location of active reactors was deemed to have a negligible effect on the monitored metrics of conversion, energy efficiency, and energy cost. The optimum operating conditions were found to be with the most active reactors (five) at the highest investigated flow rate (80 L/min). Analysis of results suggests that an optimum conversion (9%) and plug power-based energy efficiency (19%) can be maintained at a specific energy input (SEI) around 5.3 kJ/L (or 1 eV/molecule). The concept of parallelization of plasmatron reactors within a singular housing was demonstrated to be a viable method for scaling up from a lab-scale to a prototype-scale device, with performance analysis suggesting that increasing the power (through adding more reactor channels) and total flow rate, while maintaining an SEI around 5.3 or 4.2 kJ/L, i.e., 1.3 or 1 eV/molecule (based on plug power and plasma-deposited power, respectively), can result in increased conversion rate without sacrificing absolute conversion or energy efficiency. |
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Thesis |
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Place of Publication |
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Editor |
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Wos |
001166625200001 |
Publication Date |
2024-02-14 |
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Series Title |
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Abbreviated Series Title |
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Series Issue |
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Edition |
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ISBN |
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Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
| Impact Factor |
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Times cited |
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Open Access |
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| Notes |
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Approved |
no |
| Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:204749 |
Serial |
9182 |
| Permanent link to this record |
