Chemgineer - 23-7-2022 at 08:18
I am curious what the difference is between a birkeland-eyde reactor and an ozone generator. As I understand an ozone generator uses high voltage to
produce plasma that forms ozone. Is this not very similar to an arc in the birkeland-eyde?
I suppose the opposite question is why don't fish tank ozone generators produce nitric acid in the fish tank?
Is it maybe the size of the arc and the voltages involved?
Rainwater - 23-7-2022 at 14:13
My understanding, which is most likely to be completely wrong as I am accustomed to being is ...
Ozone forms in a corona discharge between two high voltage plates. Forming a new bond by converting 3O2 into 2O3, kinda like electrolysis but with
air, This is a horrible analogy. Resulting in ozone (O3 and trinitrogen N3 the resulting N3 is so unstable it
doesnt form or just falls apart shortly after.
Birkeland-eyde reactors are a form of pyrolysis. The extreme heat causes the N2 and O2 bonds to break. This creates free
radicals of the 2 which are highly reactive. When you have a O1 bump into nitrogen you get NO.
As nitrogen is the majority component of air, its the most likely occurring reaction.
But any combination of the 4 can occur which is why the Birkeland-eyde reaction is so inefficient