Mishik A. Kazaryan (1948–2020) – One of the pioneers of Russian hydrogen energetics

In 2018, Mishik Airazatovich Kazaryan received the highest award of the International Association for Alternative Energy and Ecology - Order of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry “For Improving the Quality of Life on the Planet of People” (IAAEE) on nominating the Award Committee of the Editorial Board of the International Scientific Journal for Alternative Energy and Ecology (ISJAEE). The award was given for his outstanding contribution to development of alternative energetics and ecology. M.A. Kazaryan's prominent contribution to the development of alternative energetics and ecology is based on his pioneering works in the field of development of methods for producing hydrogen as environmentally friendly safe fuel, as well as works in the field of processing organic compounds by various physical methods. As a part of joint research with colleagues from Lebedev Physical Institute of RAS (LPI), M.A. Kazaryan participated in creation of new methods for producing hydrogen from various chemical compounds. The method of conversion of liquid-phase compounds in plasma discharges under the influence of intensive ultrasonic cavitation occupies a special place. In the course of these works, it is shown that low-temperature plasma initiated in liquid-phase media in discharge between electrodes is able to effectively decompose hydrogen-containing molecules of organic compounds and form gaseous products where the part of hydrogen is more than 90%. Estimations of energy efficiency calculated taking into account hydrogen combustion heat and initial substances, as well as electricity costs, showed an efficiency level of about 60–70% in depending on the composition of the starting mixture. Another notable contribution of M.A. Kazaryan to the development of alternative energetics was the work on the optimization and justification of technological and structural parameters of energy discharge devices based on high-voltage pulse-periodic discharge for creating a reactor for plasmachemical processing of polymer wastes into hydrogen and other valuable compounds.