Non-thermal plasma coupled with a wet scrubber for removing odorous VOC

Odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) deteriorate the quality of life and affect human health. In this study, a process was developed to remove an odorous VOC using a combined non-thermal plasma (NTP) and wet scrubber (WS) system. The low removal efficiency of WSs and the large amount of ozone generated by NTP were resolved. Compared to the decomposition effects when using a WS and NTP separately, the NTP + WS system improved the removal efficiency of ethyl acrylate (EA) and significantly reduced ozone emissions. The maximum EA removal efficiency was 99.9%. Additionally, an EA removal efficiency of over 53.4% and a 100% ozone removal efficiency were achieved even at discharge voltages lower than 4.5 kV. Ozone catalysis was confirmed to occur in the NTP + WS system. Furthermore, we verified the removal of by-products such as residual ozone and formaldehyde, which is a representative organic intermediate of EA. This study demonstrates that the NTP + WS system is a green technology for removing odorous VOCs.

Automated summary

In this study, a process combining non-thermal plasma (NTP) and wet scrubber (WS) system was developed to efficiently remove odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The NTP + WS system showed significantly improved removal efficiency of ethyl acrylate (EA) and reduced ozone emissions compared to using WS and NTP separately. The system achieved a maximum EA removal efficiency of 99.9% and a 100% ozone removal efficiency, even at low discharge voltages. This study demonstrates the NTP + WS system as a green technology for the removal of odorous VOCs.