Treatment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by corona discharges in air at ambient temperature and pressure in reactors of wire/cylinder type

The application of nonthermal plasmas is being developed for the remediation of air streams contaminated by VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in low concentrations. Nonthermalizing electrical discharges are conveniently used for the production of nonthermal plasmas in several different types of reactors (wire/cylinder, barrier discharge, packed bed, etc.). The results are reported of an investigation aimed at gaining insight into the chemical steps involved in the decomposition of different VOCs. The experiments were carried out with two reactors of the wire-cylinder type of different size; DC voltage of negative and positive polarity and pulse energization were tested.