Pulsed corona and dielectric-barrier discharge processing of NO in N-2

Experimental results on pulsed corona and dielectric-barrier discharge processing of very dilute concentrations of NO in N-2 are presented. These NO reduction experiments measure the G value for electron-impact dissociation of N-2 and are used to infer the effective electron mean energy in an N-2 discharge plasma at atmospheric pressure. The data have been obtained from three different laboratories using widely differing electrode structures, voltage wave forms, power measurements, and chemical analyses. The NO reduction yields from the discharge reactors tested are all similar, corresponding to an electron mean energy of 4.0+/-0.5 eV. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.