Optimization of non-thermal plasma for the treatment of gas streams

The decomposition of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) has been described by using the ratio of power input to flow rate or of energy to gas flow rate (or specific energy density (SED), in joules/liter). However, we found that HAP decomposition was not constant for a given SED but rather depends on SED. Data were plotted to examine HAP decomposition with constant SEDs. The results indicated for most HAPs tested the soft plasma (the low voltage and high residence time) is the preferred operation for most HAP decomposition applications. This concept can lead to new insights for HAP decomposition and to the optimization of non-thermal plasma for the treatment of HAPs.