Self Portrait
Michael O'Halloran

Plasma for CO2 Catalysis Bachelor's Thesis Grade: First Class Honours
Thesis available upon request
ccp plasma setup

Brief

There exists an ever-increasing interest in plasma technology for CO2 conversion. In this process, plasma is generated in the presence of CO2. Radio-frequency waves is supplied to energise the plasma & break down CO2 bonds. The result is the formation of CO, CH4, and other hydrocarbons. These can be stored in the form of liquid fuels, with major demand in chemical & energy industries.

During this project, an adept knowledge of multiple plasma systems was developed & linked to a pre-existing familiarity to complex physics phenomena. A strong knowledge of plasma systems & real-world experience in plasma technology directly aids in the technology & semiconductor industry, where plasma etching is the primary method for integrated circuit manufacturing.

Features

A systems-engineering software named LabVIEW was used for modelling & testing. LabVIEW is a development environment for a visual programming language, offering thousands of analysis functions.

One of the many reasons why my work was so impressive was the mathematical model created to accurately predict complex phenomena that relay pivotal diagnostic information on this system. The reason why this model is interesting is that it is essentially a work-around for modern instrumentation problems. On a plasma-scale, important phenomena like electron density can be as tiny as 10-12/cm2. In decimal notation, this figure would be 0.000000000001 electrons per cubic centimeter. My mathematical model could predict such phenomena with precision.

Python Anaconda was used to analyse recorded data, allowing for the smooth implmentation of systems engineering practices.

Result

A high-quality plasma system with monumentally improved performance. To put the quality of this system into perspective, some of the most acclaimed plasma systems I studied could run for 3-6 hours on end before breaking down or being at high risk of breaking down. The plasma system I improved could run for much longer due to its unique implementation at atmospheric pressure.

An interesting aspect of such a system is its ability to maintain performance with relatively cheaper components at very high temperatures. The vibrational energy of electrons was suspected to be as far as 15,000K, yet the system temperature around the plasma remained safe-to-touch.

This system is currently under further research and is soon-to-be published formally in a Physics Journal.

Contact You can contact me on the following:
Email: michaeljohalloran01@gmail.com
or by visiting my Github/LinkedIn.