Effect of air-oxygen and argon-oxygen mixtures on dielectric barrier discharge decomposition of toluene

Abstract

One alternative application in the decomposition and destruction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by a silent plasma dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) has been successfully accomplished. For this purpose, we have designed and constructed two pairs of cells, of rectangular and circular geometries, 333.96 cm 3 each cell, and a similar second pair of 62.25 cm 3 each one. Resonant inverters for low (3.3 kHz) and high (100 kHz) frequencies were also designed and applied to these cells. The specification of the main physical parameters of each cell contemplates: i) a first order degradation ratio of the compound, and ii) air breakdown at atmospheric pressure as a function of the carrying gas. The power consumed by the cells during the discharges was computed both theoretically and experimentally by Manley's method. The equipment was applied to the degradation of toluene, which has been degraded by an oxidation process in air-oxygen and argon-oxygen gas mixtures at atmospheric pressure within the cells. The destruction efficiency was measured as a function of the initial concentration. When air is used as an oxidant, a clear formation of solid products on the walls of dielectric glass plates has been observed, such deposits being polymeric in nature. These deposits seem to be responsible for a decline in the degradation efficiency of the treated compounds.

Atmospheric non-thermal argon–oxygen plasma for sunflower seedling growth improvement

“…In the literature reviews, it was found that He, N 2 , and Ar plasma have a small effect on plant growth enhancement. 8,15,40,41) Therefore, the increase in discharge current found in this research may have most contribution from the argon discharge with a small amount from the oxygen discharge. One-way ANOVA analyses were performed to test whether sunflower seeds treated with 3 : 3 LPM of Ar : O 2 , for relatively different lengths of treatment time, had a significantly different level of average shoot length.…”

A Multicell Converter Model of DBD Plasma Discharges

“…InFigure 2.c, the voltage levels of the floated capacitors are displayed, where the value at1 C is, approximately, 2.33 kV and 4.666 kV at2 C They have been obtained applying three different values of d C : 30 nF, 3 nF and 0.3 nF. The outcome of the electrical reactor function indicates that an increase in d C leads to another in the currents, as it can be seen inFigure 4.…”

“…Thus, the electrode shape and disposition are key factors in the demand of plasma discharge start up potential [1]. Recent results on DBD technology describe several applications such as the degradation of VOCs [2], NOx and Sox [3], as well as illumination [4].…”

Three cell flying capacitor inverter for dielectric barrier discharge plasma applications

“…Plasmas in a dielectric barrier discharge cell (DBDC) are generated by applying high voltage (HV) to a pair of electrodes, separated by a gap, where at least one of these is covered by a dielectric sheet, usually made of quartz, glass or ceramic. These discharges are frequently used in industrial ozone generation [1] or in the treatment of air pollutants [2], in particular, solvents or volatile organic compounds (VOC) which are mainly produced around chemical plants [3]. The conditions required to produce non-equilibrium plasmas are easier to attain with DBDC than by alternative methods such as low pressure discharges, high pressure discharges with fast pulses, or electron beam injection.…”