Toluene removal characteristics by a superimposed wire-plate dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactor

Article type: Research Article

Authors: GUO, Yu-fang^; | YE, Dai-qi | CHEN, Ke-fu

Affiliations: College of Resource Science and Paper-making Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China | College of Environmental Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China

Note: [] Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: A superimposed wire-plate dielectric barrier discharge reactor was used to remove toluene in this study. The effects of oxygen content, gas flow rate, gas initial concentration and with/without catalyst on toluene decomposition were investigated. It was found that an optimal toluene removal was achieved when the oxygen content was about 5%. Under this condition, the highest toluene removal efficiency of 80.8% was achieved when the gas concentration was 80 mg/m^3. The toluene removal efficiency decreased with the increase of the gas flow rate and the initial concentration of toluene. In addition, the ozone concentration decreased with the increase of the initial concentration of toluene. It suggested that combining DBD (dielectric barrier discharge) with Co_3O_4/Al_2O_3/foam nickel catalyst in-situ could improve the toluene removal efficiency and suppress ozone formation. Products analysis showed that the main products were CO and CO_2 when oxygen was more than 5%.

Keywords: dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), plasma, oxygen content, catalyst, toluene, product analysis

Journal: Journal of Environmental Sciences, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 276-280, 2006