Toluene decomposition using nano-seconds pulsed discharge

Abstract

Pulsed streamer discharge plasma which is one of the non-thermal plasmas has been used to generate ozone and to treat exhaust gases. In our previous studies, it is found that a pulse duration of applied voltage has a strong influence on the energy efficiency of exhaust gas treatment and ozone generation. Therefore the development of a shorter pulse generator is of paramount importance for practical applications. The higher yield ozone generation and higher efficiency exhaust gas treatment using the developed nano-seconds (ns) pulsed generator having 5 ns of duration have been demonstrated. In this work, toluene decomposition using ns pulsed generator were investigated. The dependence of toluene removal ratio on ambient gases which are nitrogen, air, and oxygen and its by-products identification were carried out. As the results, the toluene removal ratio reach the highest in case of oxygen ambient gas, and in case of all of ambient gases, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and formic acid were generated as by-products. In the dependence of toluene removal ratio on the peak of applied voltage, toluene removal ratio increased with its increasing the peak of applied voltage. In the case of 50 kV of applied voltage with air ambient gas, all of toluene molecules were decomposed.