Scale-Up Synthesis of Hydrogen Peroxide from H2/O2 with Multiple Parallel DBD Tubes

The scale-up synthesis of H2O2 from H2/O2 via a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) under ambient conditions was studied. A plasma reactor consisting of multiple parallel DBD tubes was designed to scale up the H2O2 synthesis. The number of tubes had no significant effect on the discharge mode, and no decay occurred in H2O2 selectivity during the scale-up process. These advantages made this technology more stable and efficient. The reactor's energy efficiency increased with the number of tubes and reached 136 g H2O2/kWh in the four-tube reaction. The total energy efficiency was limited by the extremely low energy transfer efficiency of power supply, and might be enhanced by optimizing the impedance matching between the power supply and the reactor load. As a result, an assembly of multiple DBD tubes may provide a viable route for the scale-up synthesis of H2O2 by a non-equilibrium plasma. (low temperature plasma)