Electron beam and pulses corona processing of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides

Non-thermal plasma processing is an emerging technology for the abatement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x}) in atmospheric-pressure gas streams. Either electron beam irradiation or electrical discharge methods can produce these plasmas. The basic principle that these techniques have in common is to produce a plasma in which a majority of the electrical energy goes into the production of energetic electrons, rather than into gas heating. Through electron-impact dissociation and ionization of the background gas molecules, the energetic electrons produce free radicals and additional electrons which, in turn, oxidize or reduce the pollutant molecules. The potential of electron beam and electrical discharge methods has been demonstrated for the abatement of NO{sub x} and many kinds of VOCs. To apply non-thermal plasma processing to pollution control, the electrical energy consumption and byproduct formation need to be addressed. The thrust of our work has been to understand the scalability of the non-thermal plasma technique by focusing on the energy efficiency of the process and identifying the byproducts