Mitigation of ammonia slip through fuel staging in plasma assisted ammonia swirl burners

Wang, Ziyu, Balakrishnan, Aravind, Mashruk, Syed and Valera Medina, Agustin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1580-7133 2026. Mitigation of ammonia slip through fuel staging in plasma assisted ammonia swirl burners. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 281 , 157997. 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2026.157997

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Abstract

Previous studies have shown that applying gliding arc plasma (GAP) on the ammonia (NH3) side can reduce NOx emissions but may increase NH3 slip under fuel-rich conditions. Therefore, a strategy is needed to minimize both NOx and NH3 slip. This study investigates the synergistic effects of fuel staged combustion and GAP assistance on NH3-air flame systems to mitigate NH3 slip while maintaining low NOx emissions. A detailed parametric study is conducted by varying secondary air and NH3 injection ratios to identify optimal emission conditions, complemented by combustion optical diagnostics. Results indicate that fuel staging combined with GAP enhances flame stability, improves fuel-air mixing, and promotes complete NH3 reaction, achieving NH3 emissions below 100 ppm and 25-54% reduction in NOx. While GAP effectively reduces NOx, it may slightly increase N2O (∼10 ppm) under fuel-rich conditions due to enhanced NH + NOdouble bondN2O + H reactions and partial inhibition of N2O reduction. Furthermore, GAP-assisted fuel staged combustion significantly enhances NH3 decomposition and radical formation (NH2*, OH*), strengthening reaction intensity and combustion stability under fuel-rich conditions. These findings demonstrate that the integration of fuel staging and GAP provides an effective strategy for optimizing emissions in NH3 combustion systems.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Engineering
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0360-3199
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	13 October 2026
Date of Acceptance:	5 October 2026
Last Modified:	13 Oct 2026 10:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/190192

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