Erlangen 2026 – scientific programme

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P: Fachverband Plasmaphysik

P 19: Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas III

P 19.3: Talk

Thursday, March 19, 2026, 18:00–18:15, KH 01.020

Particle Dynamics and Characteristics during In-Flight Iron Oxide Reduction in an Ar-H2 Microwave Plasma — •Jonas Thiel, Lennart Kulik, Moritz Petersen, Marc Böke, and Achim von Keudell — Experimental Physics II - Reactive Plasmas, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany

The climate-neutral production of metallic iron from iron ore is an emerging research topic, as the iron and steel industry is one major emitter of CO2. In this work, an atmospheric argon-hydrogen microwave plasma torch is deployed to investigate the in-flight reduction of iron oxide particles. These plasmas provide fast reaction kinetics, a fine control of energy consumption and promising scale-up options. The experimental setup enables a wide range of operating conditions to optimize the process. OES, XRD and spatially resolved RGB pyrometry using two CCD cameras, complemented by a heat transport model and gas-flow simulation, are applied to evaluate parameter variations and the overall reduction efficiency. The resulting phase compositions of the treated particles are correlated with particle size and process parameters, revealing favorable process conditions. Additionally, we observe significant emission trails from the hot particles in the downstream region, which are caused by friction with the much faster gas flow. These formations, which depend on gas-flow dynamics and the particle surface temperature, provide insight into particle size dynamics and evaporation. Overall, the results indicate the potential of in-flight oxide reduction in atmospheric plasmas while also emphasizing challenges such as particle evaporation and surface coatings.

Keywords: In-Flight Iron Oxide Reduction; Optical Emission Spectroscopy; Atmospheric Ar-H2 Microwave Plasma; X-Ray Diffractometry; Plasma-Particle Interaction