Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of Removal of NOx from Diesel-Type Engine Exhaust Using Dielectric Barrier Discharges

Removing toxic impurities from gaseous flows by electrical gas discharges has been investigated for almost two decades. Cold discharges, i.e. plasmas in which the electrons are not in thermal equilibrium with neutrals and ions, are a potential method for the conversion of NO_x (NO, NO₂) and hydrocarbons (HC) in exhaust gases of cars. In this work we present experimental results of removing nitric oxides in synthetic and real diesel exhaust and compare these results with modelling results using a spatially homogeneous, time-dependent model. We also compare results obtained by a two-dimensional, time-dependent model with experimental data measured with the LIF-method to test the accuracy of our numerical simulation results for the discharge behaviour.