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Modelling the Low‐Pressure N 2 O 2 Plasma Afterglow to Determine the Kinetic Mechanisms Controlling the UV Emission Intensity and Its Spatial Distribution for Achieving an Efficient Sterilization Process
Author(s) -
Kutasi Kinga,
Saoudi Bachir,
Pintassilgo Carlos D.,
Loureiro Jorge,
Moisan Michel
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
plasma processes and polymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1612-8869
pISSN - 1612-8850
DOI - 10.1002/ppap.200800085
Subject(s) - afterglow , kinetic energy , spatial distribution , plasma , intensity (physics) , emission intensity , atomic physics , microwave , materials science , analytical chemistry (journal) , chemistry , molecular physics , optics , physics , luminescence , optoelectronics , astrophysics , environmental chemistry , quantum mechanics , statistics , mathematics , gamma ray burst
The flowing afterglow of a N 2 O 2 microwave discharge intended to provide intense and spatially uniform UV emission for an efficient inactivation of bacterial spores is modelled with a 3‐D hydrodynamic model leading to the spatial density distribution of the species in the reactor. The agreement of the calculated densities of the NO(A) and NO(B) UV emitting species with the corresponding measured emission intensities strongly supports the choice of the kinetic reactions retained in the model. In that respect, the specific contribution of N and O atoms to the spatial distribution of the NO(A) density (generating the NO γ system) in the late afterglow is, for the first time, brought into relief.