Abstract
Synergetic effects of non-thermal plasma and catalysts have been investigated to reduce the operating power needed to remove dilute VOCs in air. The present test results show that a non-thermal plasma reactor packed with Pt coated γ-Al
catalyst beads removes toluene more effectively than a reactor packed with a non-catalytic material, i.e., glass beads. This enhanced performance can be explained with the surface chemical reactions, which are thermal activation of the Pt catalyst and adsorption of toluene on the γ-Al
beads. In order to support this hypothesis, additional parametric tests have been performed at different operating temperature conditions and with the optical diagnostics on the light emission from the plasma reactors. For the increased inlet temperature, removal efficiencies were significantly increased with Pt coated γ-Al
reactor. The spectrum analysis shows that the electron energy generated in the plasma reactors is high enough to break the chemical bonds of toluene, and tends to be constant regardless of the different physical properties of the packed beads (glass and Pt coated γ-Al
).