Abatement of VOCs Using Packed Bed Non-Thermal Plasma Reactors: A Review

Non thermal plasma (NTP) reactors packed with non-catalytic or catalytic packing material have been widely used for the abatement of volatile organic compounds such as toluene, benzene, etc. Packed bed reactors are single stage reactors where the packing material is placed directly in the plasma discharge region. The presence of packing material can alter the physical (such as discharge characteristics, power consumption, etc.) and chemical characteristics (oxidation and destruction pathway, formation of by-products, etc.) of the reactor. Thus, packed bed reactors can overcome the disadvantages of NTP reactors for abatement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as lower energy efficiency and formation of unwanted toxic by-products. This paper aims at reviewing the effect of different packing materials on the abatement of different aliphatic, aromatic and chlorinated volatile organic compounds.