Evidence of plasma‐driven decomposition of common plastics exposed to an atmospheric nonthermal discharge

Walker, Roxanne Z.; Gershman, Sophia; Doughty, Dorothy E.; Foster, John E.

doi:10.1002/ppap.202300155

Title: Evidence of plasma‐driven decomposition of common plastics exposed to an atmospheric nonthermal discharge

Journal Article · 22 December 2023 · Plasma Processes and Polymers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ppap.202300155 · OSTI ID:2251526

^[1]; Gershman, Sophia ^[2]; Doughty, Dorothy E. ^[3]; Foster, John E. ^[1]

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
Rutgers University, NJ (United States)

A nonthermal, pulsed spark discharge is applied to three polymer powders in Ar and Ar–H₂ gas mixtures. Hydrogen is introduced to assess plasma-driven decomposition. Gaseous decomposition products, including methane, acetylene, and ethylene, are observed with Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR). Surface modifications are observed on the residual polymer via attenuated total internal reflection-FTIR. Time-averaged rotational, vibrational, and excitation temperatures are characterized in the discharge. The plasma density is found to be around 3 x 10²² m^-3, with rotational and vibrational temperatures ranging from 1500 to 2200 K and an excitation temperature of 1–2 eV. While spark properties did not change with either gas composition or polymer composition, it was determined that the addition of hydrogen promoted higher concentrations of gaseous phase products (promoting hydrogenolysis).

View Journal Article

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-09CH11466; SC0022189; DGE-1841052

OSTI ID:: 2251526

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2263382; OSTI ID: 2282136; OSTI ID: 2328614

Journal Information:: Plasma Processes and Polymers, Vol. 21, Issue 5; ISSN 1612-8850

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (60)

Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made Geyer, Roland; Jambeck, Jenna R.; Law, Kara Lavender Science Advances, Vol. 3, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1700782	journal	July 2017
Depolymerization of Polyethylene Using Induction-Coupled Plasma Technology Guddeti, R. R.; Knight, R.; Grossmann, E. D. Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, Vol. 20, Issue 1, p. 37-64 https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006969710410	journal	March 2000
Model of thermal conductivity in powder beds Gusarov, A. V.; Kovalev, E. P. Physical Review B, Vol. 80, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.80.024202	journal	July 2009
Optical diagnostics of atmospheric pressure air plasmas Laux, C. O.; Spence, T. G.; Kruger, C. H. Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Vol. 12, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/12/2/301	journal	February 2003
Power Calculation of Pulse Power-Driven DBD Plasma Wang, Ruixue; Yang, Yawen; Chen, Shubin IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, Vol. 49, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1109/TPS.2021.3084601	journal	July 2021
Power dissipation, gas temperatures and electron densities of cold atmospheric pressure helium and argon RF plasma jets Hofmann, S.; van Gessel, A. F. H.; Verreycken, T. Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Vol. 20, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/20/6/065010	journal	November 2011
Intensity ratio of spectral bands of nitrogen as a measure of electric field strength in plasmas Paris, P.; Aints, M.; Valk, F. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 38, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/38/21/010	journal	October 2005
Pyrolysis of chlorine contaminated municipal plastic waste: In-situ upgrading of pyrolysis oils by Ni/ZSM-5, Ni/SAPO-11, red mud and Ca(OH)2 containing catalysts Fekhar, B.; Gombor, L.; Miskolczi, N. Journal of the Energy Institute, Vol. 92, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joei.2018.10.007	journal	October 2019
Influence of residual charge on repetitively nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharges in atmospheric air Liu, Yidi; Yan, Huijie; Fan, Zhihui Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 24, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4986390	journal	November 2017
Catalytic Hydrogenolysis at Low Temperature and Pressure of Polyethylene and Polypropylene to Diesels or Lower Alkanes by a Zirconium Hydride Supported on Silica-Alumina: A Step Toward Polyolefin Degradation by the Microscopic Reverse of Ziegler-Natta Polymerization Dufaud, Véronique; Basset, Jean-Marie Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 37, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1521-3773(19980403)37:6<806::AID-ANIE806>3.0.CO;2-6	journal	April 1998
The HITRAN2020 molecular spectroscopic database Gordon, I. E.; Rothman, L. S.; Hargreaves, R. J. Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, Vol. 277 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2021.107949	journal	January 2022
Spectroscopic evaluation of vibrational temperature and electron density in reduced pressure radio frequency nitrogen plasma Fatima, Hira; Ullah, M. Usman; Ahmad, S. SN Applied Sciences, Vol. 3, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-021-04651-z	journal	May 2021
Determination of the electron concentration and temperature, as well as the reduced electric field strength, in the plasma of a high-voltage nanosecond discharge initiated in atmospheric-pressure nitrogen by a runaway electron beam Sorokin, D. A.; Lomaev, M. I.; Banokina, T. I. Technical Physics, Vol. 59, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063784214080234	journal	August 2014
Producing Acetylene in a Plasma Jet Leutner, Hans; Stokes, Charles Industrial & Engineering Chemistry, Vol. 53, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1021/ie50617a018	journal	May 1961
Surface characterization of plasma-modified low density polyethylene by attenuated total reflectance fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy combined with chemometrics Kovács, Réka Lilla; Csontos, Máté; Gyöngyösi, Szilvia Polymer Testing, Vol. 96 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2021.107080	journal	April 2021
Identifying Regimes During Plasma Catalytic Ammonia Synthesis Gershman, Sophia; Fetsch, Henry; Gorky, Fnu Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, Vol. 42, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-022-10258-y	journal	May 2022
Modification of Polyethylene by RF Plasma in Different/Mixture Gases E. Abusrafa, Aya; Habib, Salma; Krupa, Igor Coatings, Vol. 9, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings9020145	journal	February 2019
Methane conversion by repetitive nanosecond pulsed plasma Lotfalipour, R.; Ghorbanzadeh, A. M.; Mahdian, A. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 47, Issue 36 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/47/36/365201	journal	August 2014
Catalytic pyrolysis of plastic waste: A review Miandad, R.; Barakat, M. A.; Aburiazaiza, Asad S. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, Vol. 102 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2016.06.022	journal	July 2016
Electron density measurement in atmospheric pressure plasma jets: Stark broadening of hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated lines Nikiforov, A. Yu; Leys, Ch; Gonzalez, M. A. Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Vol. 24, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/24/3/034001	journal	April 2015
Thermo-catalytic two-step pyrolysis of real waste plastics from end of life vehicle Miskolczi, N.; Sója, J.; Tulok, E. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, Vol. 128 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2017.11.008	journal	November 2017
Expanding plastics recycling technologies: chemical aspects, technology status and challenges Li, Houqian; Aguirre-Villegas, Horacio A.; Allen, Robert D. Green Chemistry, Vol. 24, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1039/D2GC02588D	journal	January 2022
CN emission spectroscopy study of carbon plasma in nitrogen environment Abdelli-Messaci, S.; Kerdja, T.; Bendib, A. Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy, Vol. 60, Issue 7-8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sab.2005.07.002	journal	August 2005
Effects of adding hydrogen to an argon glow discharge: overview of relevant processes and some qualitative explanations Bogaerts, Annemie; Gijbels, Renaat Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, Vol. 15, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1039/a909779a	journal	January 2000
Treatment of organic waste using thermal plasma pyrolysis technology Huang, H.; Tang, L. Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 48, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2006.08.013	journal	April 2007
Images of Nanosecond Repetitively Pulsed Plasmas in Preheated Air at Atmospheric Pressure Pai, David; Lacoste, Deanna A.; Laux, Christophe O. IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, Vol. 36, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1109/TPS.2008.924484	journal	August 2008
Thermal conductivity of polymers Choy, C. L. Polymer, Vol. 18, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1016/0032-3861(77)90002-7	journal	October 1977
Non-thermal plasma-assisted hydrogenolysis of polyethylene to light hydrocarbons Yao, Libo; King, Jaelynne; Wu, Dezhen Catalysis Communications, Vol. 150 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catcom.2020.106274	journal	February 2021
Recycling and recovery of post-consumer plastic solid waste in a European context Brems, Anke; Baeyens, Jan; Dewil, Raf Thermal Science, Vol. 16, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.2298/TSCI120111121B	journal	January 2012
Hydrocracking of virgin and waste plastics: A detailed review Munir, Dureem; Irfan, Muhammad F.; Usman, Muhammad R. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 90 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2018.03.034	journal	July 2018
Conversion of Polyolefin Waste to Liquid Alkanes with Ru-Based Catalysts under Mild Conditions Rorrer, Julie E.; Beckham, Gregg T.; Román-Leshkov, Yuriy JACS Au, Vol. 1, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1021/jacsau.0c00041	journal	December 2020
‘Memory’ and sustention of microdischarges in a steady-state DBD: volume plasma or surface charge? Akishev, Yuri; Aponin, Gregory; Balakirev, Anton Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Vol. 20, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/20/2/024005	journal	April 2011
Pyrolysis of Polypropylene in a Nitrogen Plasma Reactor Tang, Lan; Huang, H.; Zhao, Zengli Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 42, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1021/ie020469y	journal	February 2003
Ablation and water etching of poly(ethylene) modified by argon plasma Švorčík, V.; Kotál, V.; Siegel, J. Polymer Degradation and Stability, Vol. 92, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2007.06.013	journal	September 2007
Plasma–surface interaction at atmospheric pressure: A case study of polystyrene etching and surface modification by Ar/O ₂ plasma jet Luan, Pingshan; Knoll, Andrew J.; Bruggeman, Peter J. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Vol. 35, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.5000691	journal	September 2017
Surface Modification of Plastics Johansson, Kenth S. Applied Plastics Engineering Handbook https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-39040-8.00020-1	book	September 2016
Absolute measurements of the continuum radiation to determine the electron density in a microwave-induced argon plasma Iordanova, E.; de Vries, N.; Guillemier, M. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 41, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/41/1/015208	journal	December 2007
Non-thermal plasma-assisted rapid hydrogenolysis of polystyrene to high yield ethylene Yao, Libo; King, Jaelynne; Wu, Dezhen Nature Communications, Vol. 13, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28563-7	journal	February 2022
Computer simulated Balmer-alpha, -beta and -gamma Stark line profiles for non-equilibrium plasmas diagnostics Gigosos, Marco A.; González, Manuel Á.; Cardeñoso, Valentı́n Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy, Vol. 58, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0584-8547(03)00097-1	journal	August 2003
Room-temperature atmospheric argon plasma jet sustained with submicrosecond high-voltage pulses Walsh, J. L.; Kong, M. G. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 91, Issue 22 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2817965	journal	November 2007
Highly efficient conversion of methane using microsecond and nanosecond pulsed spark discharges Gao, Yuan; Zhang, Shuai; Sun, Hao Applied Energy, Vol. 226 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.06.006	journal	September 2018
Hydrogen from Waste Plastics by Two-Stage Pyrolysis/Low-Temperature Plasma Catalytic Processing Aminu, Idris; Nahil, Mohamad A.; Williams, Paul T. Energy & Fuels, Vol. 34, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.0c02043	journal	September 2020
Plasma surface modification of polystyrene and polyethylene Guruvenket, S.; Rao, G. Mohan; Komath, Manoj Applied Surface Science, Vol. 236, Issue 1-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2004.04.033	journal	September 2004
COx-free co-cracking of n-decane and CH4 to hydrogen and acetylene using pulsed spark plasma Fan, Zhe; Sun, Hao; Zhang, Shuai Chemical Engineering Journal, Vol. 436 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2022.135190	journal	May 2022
Nonthermal atmospheric plasma reactors for hydrogen production from low-density polyethylene Tabu, Benard; Akers, Kevin; Yu, Peng International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 47, Issue 94 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2022.09.161	journal	December 2022
Monomer recovery through advanced pyrolysis of waste high density polyethylene (HDPE) Diaz-Silvarrey, Laura S.; Zhang, Kui; Phan, Anh N. Green Chemistry, Vol. 20, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1039/C7GC03662K	journal	January 2018
Gas temperature determination of non-thermal atmospheric plasmas from the collisional broadening of argon atomic emission lines Rodero, A.; García, M. C. Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, Vol. 198 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2017.05.004	journal	September 2017
Plastics recycling with a difference Sardon, Haritz; Dove, Andrew P. Science, Vol. 360, Issue 6387 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat4997	journal	April 2018
Promotion of the vapors from biomass vacuum pyrolysis for biofuels under Non-thermal Plasma Synergistic Catalysis (NPSC) system Fan, Yongsheng; Zhao, Weidong; Shao, Shanshan Energy, Vol. 142 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.10.060	journal	January 2018
Characterization of an RF-driven argon plasma at atmospheric pressure using broadband absorption and optical emission spectroscopy Nayak, G.; Simeni Simeni, M.; Rosato, J. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 128, Issue 24 https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0035488	journal	December 2020
Experimental study of hydrogen plasma reforming by intermittent spark discharges Barni, R.; Quintini, A.; Piselli, M. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 103, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2838177	journal	March 2008
Nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharges in air at atmospheric pressure—the spark regime Pai, David Z.; Lacoste, Deanna A.; Laux, Christophe O. Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Vol. 19, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/19/6/065015	journal	November 2010
Progress and perspective for conversion of plastic wastes into valuable chemicals Zheng, Kai; Wu, Yang; Hu, Zexun Chemical Society Reviews, Vol. 52, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1039/D2CS00688J	journal	January 2023
From plastic waste to wealth using chemical recycling: A review Jiang, Jie; Shi, Ke; Zhang, Xiangnan Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, Vol. 10, Issue 1, p. 106867 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2021.106867	journal	February 2022
Catalytic Hydrocracking-Mechanisms and Versatility of the Process Weitkamp, Jens ChemCatChem, Vol. 4, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.201100315	journal	February 2012
Surface treatment of polymers for adhesive bonding Schonhorn, H.; Hansen, R. H. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 11, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1002/app.1967.070110809	journal	August 1967
Study of the Production of Hydrogen and Light Hydrocarbons by Spark Discharges in Diesel, Kerosene, Gasoline, and Methane Malik, Muhammad Arif; Hughes, David; Malik, Areej Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, Vol. 33, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-012-9429-1	journal	December 2012
The spectrum of molecular nitrogen Lofthus, Alf; Krupenie, Paul H. Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data, Vol. 6, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.555546	journal	January 1977
Surface characterization of plasma-modified polyethylene by contact angle experiments and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy De Geyter, N.; Morent, R.; Leys, C. Surface and Interface Analysis, Vol. 40, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1002/sia.2611	journal	January 2008
Hydrogen and carbon black nano-spheres production via thermal plasma pyrolysis of polymers Mohsenian, Sina; Esmaili, Mahdieh Sadat; Fathi, Jafar International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 41, Issue 38 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.05.150	journal	October 2016

Similar Records

Observation and Characterization of Vibrationally Active Surface Species Accessed with Nonthermal Nitrogen Plasmas

Journal Article · 2024 · ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces · OSTI ID:2297420

Lee, Garam; Yan, Chang; Schneider, William F.; +2 more

Toward sustainable production of N-containing products via nonthermal plasma-enhanced conversion of natural gas resources

Journal Article · 2024 · Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering (Online) · OSTI ID:2281704

Poirier, Deanna L.; Hale, David; Barboun, Patrick M.; +1 more

ROTATIONAL EXCITATIONS OF H{sub 2} IN NONTHERMAL ASTROPHYSICAL PLASMAS

Journal Article · 2012 · Astrophysical Journal · OSTI ID:22011888

Ki, Dae-Han; Jung, Young-Dae

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
Atmospheric pressure plasma
plastics
depolymerization
nonthermal

Title: Evidence of plasma‐driven decomposition of common plastics exposed to an atmospheric nonthermal discharge

Citation Formats

References (60)

Similar Records

Related Subjects