Studies on a microwave-heated atmospheric plasma torch

The presented plasma torch is designed to be used for the removal of exhaust gases like volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This study covers the development of an atmospheric plasma source based on an axially symmetric resonator (2.45 GHz) and the optimisation of the shape of the gas nozzle. To guarantee that the plasma can be ignited without a striking aid, detailed information about the electric field distributions is needed. Therefore, finite element simulations of the electric field using Comsol Multiphysics® were performed. The results could be verified by measurements with a network analyser. All these studies result in a cavity configuration which can be ignited without a striking aid.