Effect of the voltage waveforms and power on hydrogen and hydrogen peroxide formation in water-spray gliding arc reactor

The present work deals with the formation of molecular hydrogen (H₂) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) from liquid water sprayed into a non-thermal plasma formed by a gliding arc discharge. Previous work has demonstrated enhanced efficiency, as measured by specific energy yield, for the production of these species using a low power-pulsed plasma-gliding arc formed in a reactor with two divergent electrodes, water sprayed through a two way nozzle, and power generated by an ignition coil driven by a pulse generator. In the present work, H₂ in the gas phase and H₂O₂ in the liquid water are determined for different values of the power injected into the reactor, as well for different waveforms (pulsed and alternating current AC), with Ar carrier. A comparison of the pulsed and AC waveforms of the voltage, for the same power injected into plasma (6 W), on the efficiency of the H₂ and H₂O₂ production was made.