5. Main discharge initiation and maintenance mechanisms

The preceding examples illustrate the initiation and maintenance mechanisms of low-pressure continuous discharges:

• secondary emission on the cathode and avalanche in the cathodic region to make the discharge self-sustaining, then to maintain it;

• ohmic heating of electrons in the positive column to compensate for wall charge losses during transport to the anode.

In alternative landfills, these mechanisms can still come into play. However, new, more specific ones are emerging, which may eventually become dominant.