Adsorption and plasma-catalytic oxidation of acetone over zeolite-supported silver catalyst

The abatement of acetone using a combination of non-thermal plasma, catalysis and adsorption was investigated in a dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactor packed with silver-coated zeolite pellets serving as both adsorbent and catalyst. The removal of acetone in this reactor system was carried out by cyclic operation comprising two repetitive steps, namely, adsorption followed by plasma-catalytic oxidation. The effects of the zeolite-supported silver catalyst on the reduction of unwanted ozone emission and the behavior for the formation of gaseous byproducts were examined. The experimental results showed that the zeolite-supported catalyst had a high acetone adsorption capacity of 1.07 mmol g(-1) at 25 degrees C. Acetone with a concentration of 300 ppm was removed from the gas stream and enriched on the zeolite surface during the adsorption step of the cyclic process (100 min). In the succeeding step, the adsorbed acetone was plasma-catalytically treated under oxygen-flowing atmosphere to recover the adsorption capability of the surface. The plasma-catalytic oxidation of the acetone adsorbed in the previous 100 min adsorption step was completed in 15 min. The abatement of acetone by the cyclic adsorption and plasma-catalytic oxidation process was able to increase the performance of the reactor with respect to the energy efficiency, compared to the case of continuous plasma-catalytic treatment. The use of the zeolite-supported silver catalyst largely decreased the emission of unreacted ozone and increased the amount of gaseous byproducts such as carbon oxides and aldehydes due to the enhanced oxidation of the adsorbed acetone and intermediates. (C) 2015 The Japan Society of Applied Physics