Abstract
Recently, a new production process of various metals and alloys from their oxides and ores by Cold Hydrogen Plasma (CHP) has been introduced. CHP is produced by using a microwave oven, using less power than the microwave ovens used domestically for cooking food. CHP is very efficient in producing metals and alloys from their oxides because of excited species. These excited species decrease the thermodynamic and kinetic barriers of reduction, making the reduction easier and faster. In the current investigation, nickel has been produced from nickel oxide (NiO) pellets of ~ 2.5 gm to ~ 7.5 gm. The hydrogen flow rate ranges from 70 ml/s to 150 ml/s, and power varies from 600 to 750 W. The time taken for reduction changed between 300 to 1200 s. CHP reduces very fast due to the active oxygen present in it. This faster production of nickel from pellets upto ~ 7.5 gm at such low power opens up the possibilities of upscaling the reduction of NiO by CHP.
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Acknowledgements
I am thankful to Prof. (Dr.) Barada Kanta Mishra, Director, Indian Institute of Technology Goa, India, and Prof. (Dr.) Raja Kishore Paramguru, Professor (Retd.), Mechanical Engineering, KIIT and Chief Scientist (Retd.) CSIR-IMMT, Bhubaneswar, for their guidance throughout my research. I would also like to thank CSIR, New Delhi, for providing financial support to carry out research work under the project MINMET, Project No. ESC 205. Last but not least, I am sincerely thankful to Prof. (Dr.) Seshadri Seetharaman, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm (KTH), Sweden, for sharing his immense knowledge and expertise on the reduction of NiO.
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Sabat, K.C. Production of Nickel by Cold Hydrogen Plasma. Plasma Chem Plasma Process 41, 1329–1345 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-021-10194-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-021-10194-3