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Author Van Laer, K.; Bogaerts, A.
Title How bead size and dielectric constant affect the plasma behaviour in a packed bed plasma reactor: a modelling study Type A1 Journal article
Year 2017 Publication Plasma sources science and technology Abbreviated Journal Plasma Sources Sci T
Volume (down) 26 Issue 26 Pages 085007
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Packed bed plasma reactors (PBPRs) are gaining increasing interest for use in environmental applications, such as greenhouse gas conversion into value-added chemicals or renewable fuels and volatile pollutant removal (e.g. NOx, VOC, K), as they enhance the conversion and energy efficiency of the process compared to a non-packed reactor. However, the plasma behaviour in a PBPR is not well understood. In this paper we demonstrate, by means of a fluid model, that the discharge behaviour changes considerably when changing the size of the packing beads and their dielectric constant, while keeping the interelectrode spacing constant. At low dielectric constant, the plasma is spread out over the full discharge gap, showing significant density in the voids as well as in the connecting void channels. The electric current profile shows a strong peak during each half cycle. When the dielectric constant increases, the plasma becomes localised in the voids, with a current profile consisting of many smaller peaks during each half cycle. For large bead sizes, the shift from full gap discharge to localised discharges takes place at a higher dielectric constant than for smaller beads. Furthermore, smaller beads or beads with a lower dielectric constant require a higher breakdown voltage to cause plasma formation.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000406503600003 Publication Date 2017-07-27
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1361-6595 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.302 Times cited 22 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes K Van Laer is indebted to the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT Flanders) for financial support. This research was carried out in the framework of the network on Physical Chemistry of Plasma-Surface Interactions – Interuniversity Attraction Poles, phase VII (http://psi-iap7.ulb.ac.be/), and supported by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO). The calculations were carried out using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen (UAntwerpen), a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the UAntwerpen. Approved Most recent IF: 3.302
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:144796 Serial 4635
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Author Van Laer, K.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Fluid modelling of a packed bed dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactor Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication Plasma sources science and technology Abbreviated Journal Plasma Sources Sci T
Volume (down) 25 Issue 25 Pages 015002
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract A packed bed dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactor is computationally studied with a fluid model. Two different complementary axisymmetric 2D geometries are used to mimic the intrinsic 3D problem. It is found that a packing enhances the electric field strength and electron temperature at the contact points of the dielectric material due to polarization of the beads by the applied potential. As a result, these contact points prove to be of direct importance to initiate the plasma. At low applied potential, the discharge stays at the contact points, and shows the properties of a Townsend discharge. When a high enough potential is applied, the plasma will be able to travel through the gaps in between the beads from wall to wall, forming a kind of glow discharge. Therefore, the inclusion of a so-called ‘channel of voids’ is indispensable in any type of packed bed modelling.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000370974800009 Publication Date 2015-12-01
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN 0963-0252 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.302 Times cited 50 Open Access
Notes The authors gratefully thank St Kolev for the many interesting discussions and the useful advise in setting up the models. This research was carried out in the framework of the network on Physical Chemistry of Plasma-Surface Interactions— Interuniversity Attraction Poles, phase VII (http://psi-iap7.ulb. ac.be/), and supported by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO). K Van Laer is indebted to the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT Flanders) for financial support. Approved Most recent IF: 3.302
Call Number c:irua:129802 Serial 3982
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Author Van Laer, K.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Influence of Gap Size and Dielectric Constant of the Packing Material on the Plasma Behaviour in a Packed Bed DBD Reactor: A Fluid Modelling Study: Influence of Gap Size and Dielectric Constant… Type A1 Journal article
Year 2017 Publication Plasma processes and polymers Abbreviated Journal Plasma Process Polym
Volume (down) 14 Issue 14 Pages 1600129
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract A packed bed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) was studied by means of fluid modelling, to investigate the influence of the dielectric constant of the packing on the plasma characteristics, for two different gap sizes. The electric field strength and electron temperature are much more enhanced in a microgap reactor than

in a mm-gap reactor, leading to more current peaks per half-cycle, but also to non-quasineutral plasma. Increasing the dielectric constant enhances the electric field further, but only up to a certain value of dielectric constant, being 9 for a microgap and 100 for a mm-gap reactor. The enhanced electric field results in a higher electron temperature, but also lower electron density. This last one strongly affects the reaction rate.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000403074000010 Publication Date 2016-09-19
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1612-8850 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.846 Times cited 23 Open Access Not_Open_Access
Notes Acknowledgements: This research was carried out in the framework of the network on Physical Chemistry of Plasma- Surface Interactions – Interuniversity Attraction Poles, phase VII (http://psi-iap7.ulb.ac.be/), and supported by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO). K. Van Laer is indebted to the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT Flanders) for financial support. The calculations were carried out using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen (UAntwerpen), a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the UAntwerpen. Approved Most recent IF: 2.846
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:142639 Serial 4560
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Author van Laer, K.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Improving the Conversion and Energy Efficiency of Carbon Dioxide Splitting in a Zirconia-Packed Dielectric Barrier Discharge Reactor Type A1 Journal article
Year 2015 Publication Energy technology Abbreviated Journal Energy Technol-Ger
Volume (down) 3 Issue 3 Pages 1038-1044
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract The use of plasma technology for CO2 splitting is gaining increasing interest, but one of the major obstacles to date for industrial implementation is the considerable energy cost. We demonstrate that the introduction of a packing of dielectric zirconia (ZrO2) beads into a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor can enhance the CO2 conversion and energy efficiency up to a factor 1.9 and 2.2, respectively, compared to that in a normal (unpacked) DBD reactor. We obtained a maximum conversion of 42 % and a maximum energy efficiency of 9.6 %. However, it is the ability of the packing to almost double both the conversion and the energy efficiency simultaneously at certain input parameters that makes it very promising. The improved conversion and energy efficiency can be explained by the higher values of the local electric field and electron energy near the contact points of the beads and the lower breakdown voltage, demonstrated by 2 D fluid modeling.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000362913600006 Publication Date 2015-08-19
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2194-4288 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.789 Times cited 59 Open Access
Notes This research was carried out in the framework of the network on Physical Chemistry of Plasma-Surface Interactions—Interuniversity Attraction Poles, phase VII (http://psiiap7.ulb.ac.be/), and supported by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO). K.V.L. is indebted to the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT Flanders) for financial support Approved Most recent IF: 2.789; 2015 IF: 2.824
Call Number c:irua:128224 Serial 3992
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