Plasma destruction of flue gases

Nonthermal electrical discharges with sufficiently high electron energies can reduce NO (nitric oxide) levels in air-like gases (e.g. flue gas) to zero and will, with sufficiently high energy input, also reduce the concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and thus of total NO_x, besides destroying various other pollutants. Two basic configurations have been considered: direct treatment where the gas is directly exposed to the discharge, and indirect treatment where an auxiliary gas is exposed to a discharge and then mixed with the gas to be treated. Characterization of efficiencies is here by g-values: number of molecules converted (or generated) with an energy input of 100 eV. g-values given here refer to energy invested in the discharge, discounting energy losses in power conditioning. The main findings are briefly mentioned