Removal of toluene as a toxic VOC from methane gas using a non-thermal plasma dielectric barrier discharge reactor

Abstract

Methane is the main component of biogas, which could be used as a renewable energy source for electricity, source of heat, and biofuel production after upgrading from biogas. It also contains toxic compounds which cause environmental and human health problems. Therefore, in this work, the removal of a toxic compound (toluene) from methane gas was studied using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor. It was observed that the removal of the toxic compound could be achieved from methane carrier gas using a dielectric barrier discharge reactor, and it depends on plasma input power. The maximum removal of the toxic compound was 85.9% at 40 W and 2.86 s. The major gaseous products were H₂ and lower hydrocarbons (LHC) and the yield of these products also increases with input power. In the current study, the yield of gaseous products depends on the decomposition of toxic compounds and methane, because the decomposition of methane also produces H₂ and lower hydrocarbons. The percentage yield of H₂ increases from 0.43–4.74%. Similarly, the yield of LHC increases from 0.56–7.54% under the same reaction conditions. Hence, input power promoted the decomposition of the toxic compound and enhanced the yield of gaseous products.