Removal of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) by Atmospheric-Pressure Dielectric-Barrier and Pulsed-Corona Electrical Discharges

摘要

During the past decade, interest in gas-phase pollution control has greatly increased, arising from a greater respect for the environment, more attention to the impact of environmental pollution, and a larger body of regulations. A promising set of methods now being applied to gas-phase pollution abatement is non-thermal plasma (NTP) technologies. These plasmas are useful for generating highly reactive species (e.g., free radicals) which readily decompose entrained pollutants in atmospheric-pressure gas streams. Such plasmas can generate both oxidative and reductive radicals showing promise for treating a wide variety of pollutants, in some cases simultaneously decomposing multiple species. In this chapter, we will discuss the removal of gas-phase volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by two types of electric-discharge-driven NTPs: dielectric-barrier (silent) discharges and pulsed corona discharges. These two types of discharges are easily operated at atmospheric pressure or above, thereby having a high process throughput compared to low-pressure NTPs.