Toluene degradation by non-thermal plasma combined with a ferroelectric catalyst

•Destruction of toluene by plasma and a ferroelectric catalyst was investigated.•New DBD reactor was presented, in which BaTiO3 and TiO2 were used simultaneously.•A mass ratio of 2.38:1 was optimum for the BaTiO3 and TiO2 catalyst.•Main byproducts were detected and the destruction mechanisms were analyzed.

Degradation of toluene in a gas by non-thermal plasma with a ferroelectric catalyst was studied at normal temperature and atmospheric pressure. Spontaneous polarization material (BaTiO3) and photocatalyst (TiO2) were added into plasma system simultively. Toluene degradation efficiency and specific energy density during the discharge process were investigated. Furthermore, byproducts and degradation mechanisms of toluene were also investigated. The toluene degradation efficiency increased when non-thermal plasma technology was combined with the catalyst. The toluene degradation efficiencies of the different catalysts tested were in the following order: BaTiO3/TiO2 > BaTiO3 > TiO2 > no catalyst. A mass ratio of 2.38:1 was optimum for the BaTiO3 and TiO2 catalyst. The outlet gas was analyzed by gas chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and the main compounds detected were CO2, H2O, O3 and benzene ring derivatives.