Abstract: The numerical simulation method is adopted to study NO removal from the flue gas by non-equilibrium plasma. The influence of two major characteristics in non-equilibrium plasma (electron number density n_e and electron average energy ) on NO removal efficiency is investigated. The simulation results show that the NO removal efficiency varies with the electron number density n_e and the electron average energy . In comparison, the electron number density plays a much more important role in NO removal efficiency. When the initial concentration of NO is 10¹⁶ cm^-3 and the electron density is high(n_e≥10¹⁷ cm^-3 ), the NO removal efficiency can get up to 99% even though the electron average energy is as low as 4 eV. Given constant density of the electron number and the average electron energy, the NO removal efficiency worsens as the initial concentration of NO rises.

Key words: non-equilibrium plasma, electron number density, electron average energy, numerical simulation, NO removal efficiency