Decomposition of VOCs by a novel catalytic DBD plasma reactor: A pilot study

Graphical To test the VOCs treatment performance of plasma catalysis at a pilot scale (50 m 3 /h), a novel multi-tube DBD coupled with Ag-MnO x /Al 2 O 3 was built, and the toluene (30 mg/m 3 ) removal efficiency and energy yield achieved by the system were 85.4 % and 5.2 g/kWh at the SED of 39.7 J/L, which were nearly three times as much as the single DBD. A pilot-scale multi-tube dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor coupled with a series of Mn−Ag based catalysts for VOCs abatement was set up and investigated. The DBD with 2 %Ag-MnO x /Al 2 O 3 catalyst exhibited the best performance of removal efficiency (85.4 %) and energy yield (5.2 g/kWh) of toluene at the specific energy density of 39.7 J/L, much higher than the single DBD reactor (34.9 %, 2.1 g/kWh). Moreover, the degradation efficiencies of styrene, dimethyl, ethyl acetate and xylene in the plasma catalysis system were also studied. The catalyst presented high stability during the 50 hours of toluene plasma-catalysis oxidation. Finally, the physicochemical properties of this catalyst were characterized and discussed using an energy dispersive spectrometer, X-ray diffraction patterns, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.