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Removal of gas-phase ammonia and hydrogen sulfide using photocatalysis, nonthermal plasma, and combined plasma and photocatalysis at pilot scale

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Abstract

This study focuses on the removal of gas-phase ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in a continuous reactor. Photocatalysis and surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) plasma are studied separately and combined. Though the removal of volatile organic compounds by coupling plasma and photocatalysis has been reported on a number of studies in laboratory scale, this is as far as we know the first time that it is used to remove inorganic malodorous pollutants. While each separate process is able to degrade ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, a synergetic effect appears when they are combined at a pilot scale, leading to removal capacity higher than the sum of each separate process. The removal capacity is higher when the gas circulates at a higher flow rate and when pollutant concentration is higher. The presence of water vapor in the gas is detrimental to the efficiency of the process. Operating conditions also influence the production of nitrogen oxides and ozone.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the French National Research Agency (ANR) for this research work. They thank also the Ahlstrom Company which provided them with the photocatalytic material.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Sciences Chimiques de Rennes - équipe Chimie et Ingénierie des Procédés, UMR 6226 CNRS, ENSCR, 11 allée de Beaulieu, CS 50837, 35700, Rennes, France

    Guillerm Maxime, Assadi Aymen Amine, Bouzaza Abdelkrim & Wolbert Dominique

  2. Université Européenne de Bretagne, Rennes, France

    Guillerm Maxime, Assadi Aymen Amine, Bouzaza Abdelkrim & Wolbert Dominique

Authors
  1. Guillerm Maxime
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  2. Assadi Aymen Amine
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  3. Bouzaza Abdelkrim
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  4. Wolbert Dominique
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Correspondence to Bouzaza Abdelkrim.

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Responsible editor: Bingcai Pan

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Maxime, G., Aymen Amine, A., Abdelkrim, B. et al. Removal of gas-phase ammonia and hydrogen sulfide using photocatalysis, nonthermal plasma, and combined plasma and photocatalysis at pilot scale. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 13127–13137 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3244-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3244-6

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