The chemistry of gaseous benzene degradation using non-thermal plasma.

In this study, the abatement of benzene in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor was studied. The efficiency was investigated in terms of benzene conversion and product formation. The composition of gas-liquid-solid three-phase product produced during degradation was observed by GC-MS. Under the optimal SED, the solid-phase product was analyzed by FT-IR, SEM, and EDS. The results suggested that the product were mainly benzonitriles, benzenedicarbonitrile, phenols, esters, and amides. The wt% of C in product decreased as SED increased, demonstrating that the high discharge voltage facilitated the conversion of VOCs to gaseous intermediate product and CO₂. Possible degradation mechanism and pathways of benzene destruction in the DBD reactor were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]