Comparison between performances of surface and volume nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharges for the treatment of volatile organic compounds

Non-thermal plasmas reactors are a promising alternative for treating volatile organic compounds present in air effluents. In this work, we compare the efficiencies of volume and surface nanosecond pulsed dielectric barrier discharges for the destruction of ethanol. Surface configuration was found to be much more efficient, with its characteristic energy less than half the one for volume configuration. Further, surface configuration attained more than 80 % destruction at a specific energy input of 100 J/L at 50 ppm.