Nonthermal plasma chemical processing assisted by catalysis and adsorption

Nonthermal plasma reactions assisted by catalysis or adsorption were investigated by using a reactor packed with ceramic pellets, mainly BaTiO
3
, mixed with catalyst or adsorbent pellets. The reaction conducted was the decomposition of benzene in air at atmospheric pressure and at room temperature. Using the pellets without a catalyst or adsorbent, the decomposition activity was increased with an increase in the dielectric constant of the pellets and the byproducts of CO and N
2
O were revealed to be produced from lattice oxygen of the pellets. In catalyst-hybrid reactors packed with a mixture of BaTiO
3
and Al
2
O
3
or metal catalyst on Al
2
O
3
, the decomposition gave the reduction of byproducts such as CO and N
2
O. In adsorbent-hybrid reactors packed with a mixture of BaTiO
3
and Molecular Sieves, the formation of NOx was reduced. Based on the formation of the main product of CO
2
, a remarkable increase of the decomposition activity was found in the adsorbent-hybrid reactors while a slight increase in the catalyst-hybrid reactors. The decomposition energy efficiency in the adsorbent-hybrid reactor could be improved if the adsorption and plasma discharge were carried out cyclically at optimized intervals.