Effect of temperature and relative humidity on NO sub(X) removal by dielectric barrier discharge with acetylene

NO sub(X) removal using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma was investigated. Results indicated that NO and NO sub(X) removal efficiency increased with an increasing temperature. The main reason was that the high temperature increased the dissociation of C sub(2)H sub(2), N sub(2) and O sub(2), and the reaction rates involving HO sub(2), CH sub(2) and C sub(2)H radicals, promoting NO removal. The addition of H sub(2)O at room temperature prevented the discharge in the DBD reactor. At lower energy density, energy transferred from electron to reactant was limited, preventing the dissociation of reactant and leading to a decrease in active species, and then NO removal efficiency decreased. However, NO removal efficiency remained the same at different relative humidity and at higher energy density. Furthermore, the OH radicals generated by the dissociation of H sub(2)O contributed to the conversion of NO sub(2) to HNO sub(3), thus improving NO sub(X) removal efficiency.