Removal of trimethylamine and isovaleric acid from gas streams in a continuous flow surface discharge plasma reactor

The removal of isovaleric acid (IVA) and trimethylamine (TMA) using nonthermal plasma (NTP) in a continuous surface discharge reactor is investigated. The influence of the energy density shows that its increment is accompanied by the increase of the removal rate. At flowrate equal to 2 m3 h−1, when energy density extends three times, the removal rates of IVA and TMA are increased from 5 to 15 mmol m−2 h−1 and from 4 to 11 mmol m−2 h−1, respectively. The impact of relative humidity (RH) is also studied. An increase in % RH (up to 20%) leads to a decrease of the removal rate. Additionally, the formation of by-products in the surface discharge reactor and the plausible reaction mechanism of the two VOC were also detected and discussed. Moreover, a kinetic model taking into account the mass transfer step is developed in order to represent the experimental results. The model shows a good agreement with experimental results.