Review of the application of plasma technology in air pollution control

Abstract

Introduction: Plasma is considered the fourth state of matter. Non-thermal plasma is more popular due to its unique features such as easy operation, quick reaction at ambient temperature, and short residence time. In this study, the application of plasma technology in air pollution control will be reviewed.
 Materials and Method: In this study, Science Direct, Google Scholar, ISI, Scopus, and Pubmed search engines were used. The keywords searched included plasma, cold plasma, thermal plasma, air pollution control, and non-thermal plasma from 2016 to 2022. 
 Results: Plasma catalysis is a useful tool for increasing pollutant degradation and energy efficiency in processes. Nevertheless, some limiting factors including the cost of catalysts, the possible cost required for their stabilization, and the resulting secondary pollution must be taken into account.
 Conclusion: To commercialize plasma technology, we are facing problems such as increasing the cost and applying the mentioned technology in the real environment. The simultaneous use of catalysts and plasma technology is a useful tool to increase the destruction of pollutants and energy efficiency in processes. No wastewater production and no need for reagents are advantages of the combination of dielectric barrier discharge plasma and catalyst. The combination of dielectric barrier discharge plasma and catalyst will be very attractive methods due to low energy consumption. It seems that the recent research will be in the direction of increasing efficiency, increasing speed, and flexibility, reducing the cost and energy consumption, and making the advanced systems based on cold plasma more environmentally friendly.