Hydrogen formation in pure water by non-thermal plasma treatment R. Burlica 1 , B. Hnatiuc 1 , E. Hnatiuc 1 , B. Locke 2 1 “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Iasi, Romania 2 Florida State Univ., College of Eng. 2525 Pottsdamer St. Tallahassee, Florida, USA In the present work the formation of gaseous hydrogen from water exposed to non-thermal plasma has been study. In order to enhance the gliding arc efficiency as measured by specific energy yield for liquid phase treatment, a pulsed plasma-gliding arc (25kV, 18 W, 250 Hz) is produced in a reactor between two divergent electrodes. This reactor configuration uses an ignition coil driven by a pulse generator. The time courses of hydrogen in gas phase in addition with pH, conductivity, and the formation of hydrogen peroxide in pure water with a variety of different carrier gases is determined in the pulsed plasma gliding arc. The specific energy yields for hydrogen formation are also emphasizing. The gliding arc or glidarc technology was initially developed for gas phase applications whereby high velocity gases flow through two or more divergent electrodes connected to AC or DC or Pulsed power supplies. The electrical discharge is developed between two divergent electrodes in a gas flow and leads to the formation of positive ions, negative ions, electrons, and other chemically active species that make them suitable for a number of applications for air and water treatment by destruction of organic compounds. Spraying liquid solutions through the active volume of the gliding arc discharge has recently been demonstrated to be an effective means in producing hydrogen peroxide in water, which is directly linked with hydrogen formation. The reactor body is made of a glass rectangular vessel in which two stainless steel divergent electrodes, attached to two ceramic insulators of the same shape, are placed. The pure water to be treated is sprayed directly into the plasma formed between the electrodes through an injection nozzle equipped with one port for the gas and one port for the liquid. The liquid spray provides a larger contact surface area between the plasma and the solution and also can significantly change the characteristics of the discharge. The electrical discharge forms and “glides” along the edges of the electrodes in a mixture of gas (air, nitrogen, oxygen, or argon) containing very fine droplets of water. In the present study the gas flow rate, Q, is approximately 2L/min and the water flow rate, Q w , is 1mL/min. The hydrogen has been measured at the outlet of the reactor by gas chromatography after water separation through a condenser. The liquid collected into a different vessel at the bottom of the reactor has been also analyzed. The pH, conductivity, hydrogen peroxide concentration and nitrates, as by products of water exposed to plasma, have been measured. References [1] R. Burlica, B.R.Locke, Pulsed Plasma Gliding-Arc Discharges with Spray, IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol.44, nr. 2, 2008 [2] Radu Burlica, Michael J. Kirkpatrick, and Bruce R. Locke, Formation of reactive species in gliding arc discharges with liquid water, Journal of Electrostatics 64, 35-43, 2006. [3] Radu Burlica and Bruce R. Locke, The effect of pulsed plasma gliding arc discharges on reactive species formation in aqueous solutions, ESA-IEEE Joint Meeting Conference, Berkeley, CA, USA, 2006 [4] R. Barni, R. Benocci, C. Broggi and C. Riccardi Chemical kinetics of an argon/methane plasma in a hydrogen reforming reactor, Phys. J. Appl. Phys. 35, 135-143 (2006 [5] A. Czernichowski, M. Czernichowski, and P. Czernichowski, GLIDARC-Assisted Production of Synthesis Gas from Natural Gas, 1st European Hydrogen Energy Conference,September 2-5, 2003, Grenoble, France, 7 pp.