Decomposition of three volatile organic compounds by nanosecond pulsed corona discharge: Study of by-product formation and influence of high voltage pulse parameters
- UMR 6614--CORIA, Technopole du Madrillet, BP12, Avenue de l'Universite, 76801 Saint Etienne du Rouvray Cedex (France)
Increasing concerns over atmospheric pollution has motivated research into technologies able to remove volatile organic compounds (VOC's) from gas streams. The aim of this paper is to understand the chemical and physical mechanisms implied in the decomposition of VOC's in a filamentary nonthermal plasma discharge. Experiments have been carried out on three pollutants (propane, propene, and isopropyl alcohol) in dry air at atmospheric pressure using a wire to cylinder corona discharge generated by a homemade nanosecond rise time high voltage pulse generator. The resulting plasma efficiently destructs propane, propene, or isopropyl alcohol at a concentration of 500 ppm with low specific input energies (less than 500 J/L), but the poor oxidation rate leads to the formation of numerous by-products (acetone, formaldehyde, formic acid, and methyl nitrate) whose concentration can reach some hundreds of ppm. We also investigated the effect of pulse parameters on VOC removal efficiency. Neither pulse peak value nor rise time (in the range of 4-12 ns) appears to have a significant influence on the VOC decomposition rates. Therefore, we believe that the way the energy is deposited in the plasma does not modify the density of active species (radicals, ions) in the streamers. The production of energetic electrons is not enhanced by the external applied field, and the only effective parameter may be the local field in the streamer head, which is almost the same (around 500 Td) whatever the voltage (above the inception value)
- OSTI ID:
- 20795824
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 99, Issue 11; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2202700; (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
GENERAL PHYSICS
ACETONE
ALCOHOLS
ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
BY-PRODUCTS
CORONA DISCHARGES
DECOMPOSITION
DISSOCIATION
FORMALDEHYDE
FORMIC ACID
HIGH-VOLTAGE PULSE GENERATORS
NITRIC ACID ESTERS
PLASMA
PLASMA DENSITY
PROPANE
PROPYLENE
PULSE RISE TIME
RADICALS
REACTION KINETICS
TAIL ELECTRONS
VOLATILE MATTER