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SF6 Degradation in a γ-Al2O3 Packed DBD System: Effects of Hydration, Reactive Gases and Plasma-Induced Surface Charges

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Abstract

Packed-bed DBD (PB-DBD) plasmas hold promise for effective degradation of greenhouse gases like SF6. In this work, we conducted a combined experimental and theoretical study to investigate the effect of the packing surface structure and the plasma surface discharge on the SF6 degradation in a γ-Al2O3 packing DBD system. Experimental results show that both the hydration effect of the surface (upon moisture) and the presence of excessive reactive gases in the plasma can significantly reduce the SF6 degradation, but they hardly change the discharge behavior. DFT results show that the pre-adsorption of species such as H, OH, H2O and O2 can occupy the active sites (AlIII site) which negatively impacts the SF6 adsorption. H2O molecules pre-adsorbed at neighboring sites can promote the activation of SF6 molecules and lower the reaction barrier for the S-F bond-breaking process. Surface-induced charges and local external electric fields caused by the plasma can both improve the SF6 adsorption and enhance the elongation of the S-F bonds. Our results indicate that both the surface structure of the packing material and the plasma surface discharge are crucial for SF6 degradation performance, and the packing beads should be kept dry during the degradation. This work helps to understand the underlying mechanisms of SF6 degradation in a PB-DBD system.

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Acknowledgements

The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the HPC core facility CalcUA of the Universiteit Antwerpen, and VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center), funded by the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO) and the Flemish Government.

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  1. Zhaolun Cui and Chang Zhou are the authors contributed equally to this paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electric Power Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510630, China

    Zhaolun Cui, Yanpeng Hao & Licheng Li

  2. Department of Chemistry, Research Group PLASMANT, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk-Antwerp, Belgium

    Zhaolun Cui, Amin Jafarzadeh & Annemie Bogaerts

  3. School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, 430068, China

    Chang Zhou & Xiaoxing Zhang

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  1. Zhaolun Cui
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Cui, Z., Zhou, C., Jafarzadeh, A. et al. SF6 Degradation in a γ-Al2O3 Packed DBD System: Effects of Hydration, Reactive Gases and Plasma-Induced Surface Charges. Plasma Chem Plasma Process 43, 635–656 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-023-10320-3

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