https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2016-70272-8
Regular Article
Electron scattering by biomass molecular fragments: useful data for plasma applications?*,**
1 Instituto de Física “Gleb Wataghin”, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13083-859 Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
2 Instituto Tecnológico da Aeronáutica, Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia Aeroespacial, 12228-900 São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil
3 School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, South Australia 5001, Australia
4 Institute of Mathematical Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
5 Centro de Ciências Exatas, Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, 29075-910, Vitória – Espírito Santo, Brazil
6 Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão 1731, 05508-90 São Paulo, Brazil
7 Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal do Paraná, CP 19044, 81531-990 Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
a
e-mail: maplima@ifi.unicamp.br
Received: 16 April 2016
Received in final form: 3 June 2016
Published online: 9 August 2016
Recent data obtained for electron scattering by biomass molecular fragments, indicated that low-energy resonances may have an important role in the de-lignification of biomass through a plasma pre-treatment. To support these findings, we present new experimental evidence of the predicted dissociation pathways on plasma treatment of biomass. An important question is how accurate must the experimental and/or the theoretical data be in order to indicate that plasma modelings can be really useful in understanding plasma applications? In this paper, we initiate a discussion on the role of data accuracy of experimental and theoretical electron-molecule scattering cross sections in plasma modeling. First we review technological motivations for carrying out electron-molecule scattering studies. Then we point out the theoretical and experimental limitations that prevent us from obtaining more accurate cross sections. We present a few examples involving biomass molecular fragments, to illustrate theoretical inaccuracies on: resonances positions and widths, electronic excitation, superelastic cross sections from metastable states and due to multichannel effects on the momentum transfer cross sections. On the experimental side we briefly describe challenges in making absolute cross sections measurements with biomass species and radicals. And finally, through a simulation of a N2 plasma, we illustrate the impact on the simulation due to inaccuracies on the resonance positions and widths and due to multichannel effects on the momentum transfer cross sections.
Contribution to the Topical Issue “Advances in Positron and Electron Scattering”, edited by Paulo Limao-Vieira, Gustavo Garcia, E. Krishnakumar, James Sullivan, Hajime Tanuma and Zoran Petrovic.
Supplementary material in the form of one pdf and two mp4 files available from the Journal web page at http://dx.doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2016-70272-8
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag 2016
