Plasma-assisted ethylene removal using silica gel and zeolite in AC dielectric barrier discharge

Abstract

The control of ethylene (C2H4) levels in storage atmospheres is crucial for fruit preservation. In this study, the conversion of C2H4 to ethane (C2H6) was investigated in a parallel-plate dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor with and without catalyst packing (silica gel and zeolite 13X). First, the effect of O2/C2H4 co-feeding was investigated in a DBD reactor without catalyst packing. The results showed that the co-feeding of C2H4 and O2 resulted in an increase in C2H4 conversion from 97.1% (with a single C2H4 feeding) to 99.7% (cofeeding at a molar ratio of 4:1 O2:C2H4) and an increase in C2H6 selectivity from 40.1% to 46.5%. Secondly, the plasma-catalytic removal of C2H4 over silica gel and zeolite 13X was investigated in a DBD reactor. Compared with non-catalytic plasma, the DBD reactor with silica gel and zeolite catalysts further improved the C2H4 removal efficiency, as well as reducing the energy consumption. The DBD reactor with silica gel and zeolite 13X gave 99.7% and 100% C2H4 conversions, respectively. The energy consumption was found to decrease from 40.5 eV/molecule for the uncatalyzed DBD to 23.9 and 24.2 eV/molecule converted for the DBD with silica gel and zeolite 13X, respectively.