Niloofar

Removal of sulfur dioxide from air using a packed-bed dbd plasma reactor (pbr) and in-plasma catalysis (ipc) hybrid system

  • Authors Details :  
  • Niloofar Damyar,  
  • Ali Khavanin,  
  • Ahmad Jonidi Jafari,  
  • Hassan Asilian-mahabadi,  
  • Ramazan Mirzaei,  
  • Hamid Ghomi,  
  • Seyyed Mohammad Mousavi

Journal title : Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Publisher : Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Online ISSN : 1614-7499

Page Number : 42821-42836

Journal volume : 28

Journal issue : 31

255 Views Original Article

Sulfur dioxide, a noxious air pollutant, can cause health and environmental effects, and its emissions should be controlled. Nonthermal plasma is one of the most effective technologies in this area. This study evaluated the efficiency of a packed-bed plasma reactor (PBR) and in-plasma catalysis (IPC) in SO2 removal process which were finally optimized and modeled by the use of the central composite design (CCD) approach. In this study, SO2 was diluted in zero air, and the NiCeMgAl catalyst was selected as the catalyst part of the IPC. The effect of three main factors and their interaction were studied. ANOVA results revealed that the best models for SO2 removal efficiency and energy yielding were the reduced cubic models. According to the results, both PBR and IPC reactors were significantly energy efficient compared with the nonpacked plasma reactor and had high SO2 removal efficiency which was at least twice larger than that of the nonpacked one. Based on the results, the efficiency of IPC was better than in PBR, but its performance decreased over time. However, the PBR had relatively high SO2 removal efficiency and energy efficiency compared to the nonpacked reactor, and its performance remained constant over the studied time. In optimization, the maximum SO2 removal efficiency and energy efficiency were 80.69% and 1.04 gr/kWh, respectively (at 1250 ppm, 2.5 L/min, and 18 kV as the optimum condition) obtained by the IPC system which were 1.5 and 1.24 times greater than PBR, respectively. Finally, the model’s predictions showed good agreement with the experiments.

Article DOI & Crossmark Data

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13173-5

Article Subject Details


Article Keywords Details



Article File

Full Text PDF


Article References

  • (1). Abbas Y, Lu W, Wang Q, Dai H, Liu Y, Fu X, Pan C, Ghaedi H, Cheng F, Wang H (2020) Remediation of pyrene contaminated soil by double dielectric barrier discharge plasma technology: performance optimization and evaluation. Environ Pollut 260:113944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.113944
  • (2). Ban Z, Zhang J, Wang S, Wu D (2004) Direct reduction of SO2 to elemental sulfur by the coupling of cold plasma and catalyst (I) Industrial engineering chemistry research 43:5000-5005. https://doi.org/10.1021/ie0498652
  • (3). Bezerraa MA, Santelli RE, Oliveiraa EP, Villar LS, Escaleiraa LAl (2008) Response surface methodology (RSM) as a tool for optimization in analytical chemistry Talanta 76:965–977
  • (4). Bo Z, Zhu J, Yang S, Yang H, Yan J, Cen K (2019) Enhanced plasma-catalytic decomposition of toluene over Co–Ce binary metal oxide catalysts with high energy efficiency RSC Advances 9:7447-7456 doi: https://doi.org/10.1039/C9RA00794F
  • (5). Brinker C, Frye G, Hurd A, Ashley C (1991) Fundamentals of sol-gel dip coating. Thin Solid Films 201:97–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-6090(91)90158-T
  • (6). Chang MB, Balbach JH, Rood MJ, Kushner MJ (1991) Removal of SO2 from gas streams using a dielectric barrier discharge and combined plasma photolysis. J Appl Phys 69:4409–4417. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.348367
  • (7). Chang MB, Lee HM, Wu F, Lai CR (2004) Simultaneous removal of nitrogen oxide/nitrogen dioxide/sulfur dioxide from gas streams by combined plasma scrubbing technology. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 54:941–949. https://doi.org/10.1080/10473289.2004.10470965
  • (8). Chen HL, Lee HM, Chen SH, Chang MB (2008a) Review of packed-bed plasma reactor for ozone generation and air pollution control. Ind Eng Chem Res 47:2122–2130. https://doi.org/10.1021/ie071411s
  • (9). Chen HL, Lee HM, Chen SH, Chao Y, Chang MB (2008b) Review of plasma catalysis on hydrocarbon reforming for hydrogen production—interaction, integration, and prospects. Appl Catal Environ 85:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2008.06.021
  • (10). Damyar N, Khavanin A, Jafari AJ, Mahabadi HA, Mirzaei R (2020) Application of DBD plasma packed with glass and ceramic pellets for SO2 removal at ambient temperature: optimization and modeling using response surface methodology. Plasma Sci Technol. https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-6272/ab9281
  • (11). EPA (2016) Sulfur trioxide measurement technique for SCR units Danish Environmental Protection Agency Denmark
  • (12). Fan X, Kang S, Li J, Zhu T (2018) Conversion of dilute nitrous oxide (N2O) in N2 and N2–O2 mixtures by plasma and plasma-catalytic processes RSC advances 8:26998-27007 https://doi.org/10.1039/C8RA05607B
  • (13). Ferrandon M (2001) Mixed metal oxide—noble metal catalysts for total oxidation of volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide.
  • (14). Flytzani-Stephanopoulos M, Zhu T, Li Y (2000) Ceria-based catalysts for the recovery of elemental sulfur from SO2-laden gas streams. Catalysis Today 62:145–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0920-5861(00)00416-8
  • (15). Guillaume P, J-D R, A D, José G-A, Rudolf M, Laurent F (2007) A comparative study of non-thermal plasma assisted reforming technologies. Int J Hydrogen Energy 32:2848–2867
  • (16). Guo H, Liu X, Hojo H, Yao X, Einaga H, Shangguan W (2019) Removal of benzene by non-thermal plasma catalysis over manganese oxides through a facile synthesis method. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26:8237–8247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04264-5
  • (17). Han J, Kim H, Sakaguchi Y, Cheol-ho K, Yao H (2010) The synergetic effect of plasma and catalyst on simultaneous removal of SO2 and NOx. Asia-Pacific Journal of Chemical Engineering 5:441–446. https://doi.org/10.1002/apj.257
  • (18). Han SZ, Zhang Q, Chen ZQ Non-thermal plasma and catalyst system for simultaneously oxidizing SO2 and NOx. In: Advanced materials research, 2013. Trans Tech Publ, pp 864-868. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.634-638.864
  • (19). Ho?ub M, Mechanics (2012) On the measurement of plasma power in atmospheric pressure DBD plasma reactors. Int J Appl Electromagn Mech 39:81–87. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAE-2012-1446
  • (20). Jen-Shih C, Senichi M (1988) Mechanism of pulse corona induced plasma chemical process for removal of NOx and SO2 from combustion gases. In: Conference record of the 1988 IEEE industry applications society annual meeting. IEEE, pp:1628–1635
  • (21). Jia BJ, Chen Y, Feng QZ, Liu LY (2013) Research progress of plasma technology in treating NO, SO2 and Hg0 from flue gas. In: Applied Mechanics and Materials. Trans Tech Publ, pp 1293-1298. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.295-298.1293
  • (22). Jun H, Kim H, Sakaguchi Y, Hong Y (2008) Reduction of NOx and SO2 in a non-thermal plasma reactor combined with catalyst and methanol. J Phys D Appl Phys 41:205213. https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/41/20/205213
  • (23). Kim H, Jun H, Sakaguchi Y, Minami W (2008) Simultaneous oxidization of NOX and SO2 by a new non-thermal plasma reactor enhanced by catalyst and additive. Plasma Sci Technol 10:53. https://doi.org/10.1088/1009-0630/10/1/11
  • (24). Kim HH (2004) Nonthermal plasma processing for air-pollution control: a historical review, current issues, and future prospects plasma processes and polymers 1:91-110. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppap.200400028
  • (25). Kim YS, Paek MS, Yoo JS, HeeKim T, Choi SH, HoMoon K (2003) Development of demonstration plant using non-thermal plasma process to remove SO2 and NOX from flue gas. J Adv Oxid Technol 6:35–40. https://doi.org/10.1515/jaots-2003-0106
  • (26). Li G-R, Qu D-L, Wang Z-L, Su C-Y, Tong Y-X, Arurault L (2009) Ceria-terbia solid solution nanobelts with high catalytic activities for CO oxidation Chem Commun:7557-7559 doi:https://doi.org/10.1039/b916940g
  • (27). Li P, Wang X, Allinson G, Li X, Stagnitti F, Murray F, Xiong X (2011) Effects of sulfur dioxide pollution on the translocation and accumulation of heavy metals in soybean grain. Environ Sci Pollut Res 18:1090–1097. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-011-0454-z
  • (28). Liang W, Li J, Li J, Jin Y (2009) Abatement of toluene from gas streams via ferro-electric packed bed dielectric barrier discharge plasma. J Hazard Mater 170:633–638. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.05.019
  • (29). Liu L-J, Li X-X, Wang H, Xue B, Zheng X-M, Chen M (2015) Application of combined plasma-catalytic method for carbon particulate matter (PM) removal RSC Advances 5:40012-40017 doi: https://doi.org/10.1039/C4RA13662D
  • (30). Ma H, Chen P, Zhang M, Lin X, Ruan R (2002) Study of SO2 Removal using non-thermal plasma induced by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma chemistry and plasma processing 22:239-254 doi: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:10148954
  • (31). Mathieu Y, Tzanis L, Soulard M, Patarin J, Vierling M, Molière M (2013) Adsorption of SOx by oxide materials: a review Fuel Processing Technology 114:81–100 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2013.03.019
  • (32). Mei D, Zhu X, He Y-L, Yan JD, Tu X (2014) Plasma-assisted conversion of CO2 in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor: understanding the effect of packing materials Plasma Sources Science Technology 24:015011 https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/24/1/015011
  • (33). Mohammad Sharif Hosseini, Hassan Asilian Mahabadi, Rasoul Yarahmadi (2018) Removal of toluene from air using a cycled storage-discharge (CSD) plasma catalytic process plasma chemistry and plasma processing https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-018-9938-7
  • (34). Montgomery DC, Wiley J, Sons (1991) Design and analysis of experiments, New York
  • (35). Najafpoor AA, Jafari AJ, Hosseinzadeh A, Jazani RK, Bargozin H (2018) Optimization of non-thermal plasma efficiency in the simultaneous elimination of benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene, and xylene from polluted airstreams using response surface methodology. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25:233–241. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0373-8
  • (36). Neyts EC, Ostrikov K, Sunkara MK, Bogaerts A (2015) Plasma catalysis: synergistic effects at the nanoscale. Chem Rev 115:13408–13446. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.5b00362
  • (37). Okubo M, Kuroki T, Yoshida K, Yamamoto T (2007) Simultaneous reduction of diesel particulate and NOx using oxygen-poor nonthermal plasma application. In: IEEE industry applications annual meeting. IEEE, pp 1864-1870. https://doi.org/10.1109/07IAS.2007.284
  • (38). Okubo M, Kuroki T, Yoshida K, Yamamoto T (2010) Single-stage simultaneous reduction of diesel particulate and NOx using oxygen-lean nonthermal plasma application. IEEE Trans Ind Appl 46:2143–2150. https://doi.org/10.1109/TIA.2010.2071070
  • (39). Pantazis CC, Petrakis DE, Pomonis PJ (2007) Simultaneous and/or separate SO2/NO reduction by CO over high surface area Cu/Ce containing mesoporous silica. Elsevier. 77:66–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2007.07.005
  • (40). Parka H-W, Choib S, Park D-W (2015) Simultaneous treatment of NO and SO2 with aqueous NaClO2 solutionin a wet scrubber combined with a plasma electrostatic precipitator. J Hazard Mater 285:117–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.11.040
  • (41). Prasad R, Rattan G (2010) Preparation methods and applications of CuO-CeO2 catalysts: a short review Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis 5:7-30 doi:https://doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.5.1.7125.7-30
  • (42). Qu R, Gao X, Cen K, Li J (2013) Relationship between structure and performance of a novel cerium–niobium binary oxide catalyst for selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3. Appl Catal Environ 142:290–297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2013.05.035
  • (43). Rodas-Grapaín A, Arenas-Alatorre J, Gómez-Cortés A, Díaz G (2005) Catalytic properties of a CuO-CeO2 sorbent-catalyst for de-SOx reaction. Catalysis Today 107:168–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2005.07.167
  • (44). Song Y, Liu Z, Mao H-k, Hemley RJ, Herschbach DR (2005) High-pressure vibrational spectroscopy of sulfur dioxide. Chemical Physics 122:174511. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1883405
  • (45). Stasiulaitiene I et al (2016) Comparative life cycle assessment of plasma-based and traditional exhaust gas treatment technologies. J Clean Prod 112:1804–1812
  • (46). Takaki K, Urashima K, Chang J-S (2004) Ferro-electric pellet shape effect on C2F6 removal by a packed-bed-type nonthermal plasma reactor IEEE transactions on plasma science 32:2175-2183 https://doi.org/10.1109/TPS.2004.837614
  • (47). Tu X, Whitehead J (2012) Plasma-catalytic dry reforming of methane in an atmospheric dielectric barrier discharge: understanding the synergistic effect at low temperature. Appl Catal Environ 125:439–448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2012.06.006
  • (48). Valente JS, Quintana-Solorzano R (2011) Novel SOx removal catalysts for the FCC process: manufacture method, characterization, and pilot-scale testing. Energ Environ Sci 4:4096–4107. https://doi.org/10.1039/C1EE01197A
  • (49). Van Durme J, Dewulf J, Leys C, Van Langenhove H (2008) Combining non-thermal plasma with heterogeneous catalysis in waste gas treatment: a review. Appl Catal Environ 78:324–333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2007.09.035
  • (50). Vandenbroucke AM, Morent R, Geyter ND, Leys C (2011) Non-thermal plasmas for non-catalytic and catalytic VOC abatement. J Hazard Mater 195:30–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.08.060
  • (51). Wen B, He M, Costello C (2002) Simultaneous catalytic removal of NOx, SOx, and CO from FCC regenerator. Energy Fuel 16:1048–1053. https://doi.org/10.1021/ef010268r
  • (52). Whitehead JC (2010) Plasma catalysis: a solution for environmental problems Pure and Applied Chemistry 82:1329-1336 https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-CON-10-02-39
  • (53). Xia J, Gao X, Kong J, Hui H, Cui M, Yan K (2000) By-products NOX control and performance improvement of a packed-bed nonthermal plasma reactor. Plasma Chem Plasma Process 20:225–233. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007069123634
  • (54). Yamamoto T, Yang C-L, Beltran MR, Kravets Z (2000) Plasma-assisted chemical process for NOx control 36:923-927 doi:https://doi.org/10.1109/28.845073
  • (55). Zhang D et al (2012) Cu-doped CeO2 spheres: synthesis, characterization, and catalytic activity. Cat Com 26:164–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catcom.2012.05.001
  • (56). Zhang Z-S, Crocker M, Chen B-B, Bai Z-F, Wang X-K, Shi C (2015) Pt-free, non-thermal plasma-assisted NOx storage and reduction over M/Ba/Al2O3 (M= Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) catalysts. Catalysis Today 256:115–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2015.03.012
  • (57). Zhu X, Gao X, Qin R, Zeng Y, Qu R, Zheng C, Tu X (2015) Plasma-catalytic removal of formaldehyde over Cu–Ce catalysts in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor. Appl Catal Environ 170:293–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2015.01.032
  • (58). Zou H, Chen S, Liu Z, Lin W (2011) Selective CO oxidation over CuO-CeO2 catalysts doped with transition metal oxides. Powder Technol 207:238–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2010.11.005



More Article by Niloofar

Acoustical performance of a double-expansion chamber muffler: design and evaluation

Background: exhaust noise is known to be a major pollutant in the environment and workplaces due to the development of industry and transportation. exhaust noise can be reduced to ...

Improving the performance of double-expansion chamber muffler using dielectric beads; optimization using factorial design

Purpose noise pollution is a common health hazard worldwide which is emitted along with chemical air pollutants, simultaneously from many sources. some studies have been conducted ...

Application of dielectric barrier discharge (dbd) plasma packed with glass and ceramic pellets for so2 removal at ambient temperature: optimization and modeling using response surface methodology

Air pollution is a major health problem in developing countries and has adverse effects on human health and the environment. non-thermal plasma is an effective air pollution treatm...