Control of oxidative processes in plasma reactors

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to control plasma-liquid interactions by means of a chemical engineer-ing approach based on some well-known but sometimes new approaches. The first control step consists of comparing the operating regimes of each Gliding Arc Dis-charge plasma reactor and considering a new reactive device capable of positioning itself with the other reactors according to the needs expressed by the user. The operating principle of this new reactor is inspired by the Venturi flow principle, and its spatiotemporal discharge mode enables the production of molecules for industrial use. It is a plasma reactor that operates effi-ciently from both a production and an economic point of view. For the safety front, the inves-tigations indicate a high level of safety (SIL2) compare to the other plasma reactors. Adopting the double film theory and following a more modern approach to the mathematical treatment of mass transfer, it was possible to calculate the operating regime of each plasma reactor han-dling liquid media. Based on this evaluation, the new reactor with the best efficiency-safety ratio was selected to produce Catechol from phenol molecules at Lab and Industrial scales using the novel GAD-VNT plasma reactor. The conceptualization of the chemical control of plasma reactions has opened up great per-spectives on easy, economical, and safe industrial organic synthesis