Destruction of Toluene in a Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Reactor

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of a Single Tube Single Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) Plasma Reactor for destruction of toluene in the air phase and to find , a scale up parameter. The chief area of interest was the relationships between energy density and destruction efficiency. A number of process variables were examined including secondary voltage, frequency, flow rate and energy density. Removal efficiencies for toluene in the range of 85-96.9 % were observed at relative humidity of 30-45%. Increasing energy density increased the destruction efficiency at a constant inlet concentration and relative humidity. Also, a carbon balance of more than 85 % was obtained for toluene during destruction testing. The calculated value for toluene was 1233 J/L and this value is higher than the literature value of 99 J/L.