Modeling of gas reactions in denitrification from flue gas by discharge plasma

Modeling of plasma discharge is a necessary complement for experimental investigation not only because it helps in understanding the fundamental chemistry and physics governing the discharge but also because it is necessary for the design and analysis of the performance of plasma devices. In this paper, a kinetics model was developed to characterize the chemical reactions taking place in a nonthermal plasma denitrification processes using a Matlab programs. The typical gas composition in this model is N₂/O₂/H₂O/CO₂=74/5/6/15 with 500 ppm NO and 1000 ppm SO₂ at the atmospheric pressure and 300 K. The calculations indicate that nitrogen oxide is removed principally by reactions with OH radicals to produce nitric acid. The removal rate of NO increased with increasing water vapor and oxygen content in the flue gas indicates. The presence of both O₂ and H₂O in the gas mixture gives the possibility to form a more extensive and reactive set of radicals for the oxidation of NO.