Odor Removal Characteristics of a Laminated Film-Electrode Packed-Bed Nonthermal Plasma Reactor

Takuya Kuwahara,Tomoyuki Kuroki,Masaaki Okubo,Hideya Kametaka,Toshiaki Yamamoto

doi:10.3390/s110605529

Abstract

Odor control has gained importance for ensuring a comfortable living environment. In this paper, the authors report the experimental results of a study on the detailed characteristics of a laminated film-electrode and a laminated film-electrode packed-bed nonthermal plasma reactor, which are types of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor used for odor control. These plasma reactors can be potentially used for the decomposition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and reduction of NOx. The reactor is driven by a low-cost 60-Hz neon transformer. Removal efficiencies under various experimental conditions are studied. The complete decomposition of the main odor component, namely, NH3, is achieved in a dry environment. The retention times are investigated for the complete removal of NH3 in the case of the film-electrode plasma reactor and the film-electrode packed-bed plasma reactor. The removal efficiency of the former reactor is lower than that of the latter reactor. Mixing another odor component such as CH3CHO in the gas stream has no significant effect on NH3 removal efficiency.

Highlights

Odor control has gained importance for ensuring a comfortable living environment
In order to meet this requirement, the authors have investigated the use of a packed-bed plasma system for odor removal
The authors report the experimental results of a study on the detailed characteristics of laminated film-electrode and laminated film-electrode packed-bed plasma reactors, which are driven by a low-cost 60-Hz neon transformer and can be combined with an indoor air cleaner, used for the removal of ammonia (NH3), a typical odor component

Summary

Introduction

Odor control has gained importance for ensuring a comfortable living environment. Previously, the authors and other researchers have reported the implementation of a nonthermal plasma odor control system in an animal house [1,2], odor removal from restaurants, and cigarette smoke removal [3,4,5,6]. The capital cost involved in the development of these systems is very high because an extremely fast pulse-switching (rising time, ~100 ns) high-voltage power supply is required for high performance. For small apparatus such as a commercial garbage processor [11], odor control is usually performed by using biochip technology combined with oxidation catalysts. This process is extremely slow and not so effective. In order to meet this requirement, the authors have investigated the use of a packed-bed plasma system for odor removal

Methods

Results

Conclusion