Synthesis of Nitrogen Oxides in a Subthreshold Microwave Discharge in Air and in Air Mixtures with Methane

A subthreshold discharge excited by a microwave beam in air at pressures close to atmospheric is studied as a plasmachemical method of nitrogen oxide (NOx) production. It is shown that at the energy expenditure level (2–4) kW h/m3, it is possible to produce a nitrogen oxide concentration in pure air that exceeds the concentration in the initial gas by several orders of magnitude. At the same time, it is shown that it is possible to stop nitrogen oxide production almost completely by adding an admixture of methane (CH4) to the irradiated air, which makes the so-called self-non-self-sustained (SNSS) discharge much more promising for cleaning the gaseous exhausts from urban landfills from harmful admixtures (hydrogen sulfide, mercaptans, etc.).