Effect of megapore particles packing on dielectric barrier discharge, O3 generation and benzene degradation

Abstract Recently, packed-bed discharge plasma technologies have been widely studied for treatment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), due to the good performance in improving the degradation and mineralization of VOCs. In this paper, a coaxial cylindrical dielectric barrier discharge reactor packed with porous material of micron-sized pores was used for degradation of benzene, and the discharge characteristics and ozone generation characteristics were studied. When the discharge length was 12 cm and the filling length was 5 cm, the packed particles in the discharge area significantly increased the number of micro-discharges, and the current amplitude and density increased with the pore size of packed particles, but the discharge power and ozone concentration showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. The discharge power and ozone production reached the maximum when the size of pore former was 75 μ m, correspondingly, the degradation efficiency of benzene was the highest.