Removal of ethyl acetate in air by using different types of corona discharges generated in a honeycomb monolith structure coated with Pd/γ-alumina.

A method based on the corona discharge produced by high voltage alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) over a Pd/γ-Al2O3 catalyst supported on a honeycomb structure monolith was developed to eliminate ethyl acetate (EA) from the air at atmospheric pressure. The characteristics of the AC and DC corona discharge generated inside the honeycomb structure monolith were investigated by varying the humidity, gas hourly space velocity (GHSV), and temperature. The results showed that the DC corona discharge is more stable and easily operated at different operating conditions such as humidity, GHSV, and gas temperature compared to the AC discharge. At a given applied voltage, the EA conversion in the DC honeycomb catalyst discharge is, therefore, higher compared with that in the AC honeycomb catalyst discharge (e.g., 96% of EA conversion compared with approximately 68%, respectively, at 11.2 kV). These new results can open opportunities for wide applications of DC corona discharge combined with honeycomb catalysts to VOC treatment.