Effects of Reduced Electric Field on Sulfur Hexafluoride Removal for a Double Dielectric Barrier Discharge Reactor

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF
₆
) is a greenhouse gas with very high global warming potential. This paper investigated the effects of reduced electric field, E/N, on SF
₆
abatement by using a coaxial double-layer dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor. The concentration of SF
₆
was 2%, and the remaining 98% of the feed gas is He/water vapor. The reduced electric field of the discharge region was calculated. The effects of different reduced electric fields on SF
₆
removal and the mechanisms were studied in terms of the removal efficiency and energy yield (EY). The experimental results showed that higher removal efficiency was achieved when the reduced electric field was higher than 126 Td and as the E/N increased; the time for removing SF
₆
completely was shortened. However, the EY at different reduced electric fields did not change much. SO
₂
F
₂
, SOF
₄
, SOF
₂
, and SO
₂
were the main products after the plasma removal process.