Enhanced removal of ultrafine particles from kerosene combustion using a dielectric barrier discharge reactor packed with porous alumina balls

Ultrafine particles (UFPs) are harmful to human beings, and their effective removal from the environment is an urgent necessity. In this study, a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor packed with porous alumina (PA) balls driven by a pulse power supply was developed to remove the UFPs (ranging from 20 to 100 nm) from the exhaust gases of kerosene combustion. Five types of DBD reactors were established to evaluate the effect of plasma catalysis on the removal efficiency of UFPs. The influences of gas flow rate, peak voltage and pulse frequency of different reactors on UFPs removal were investigated. It was found that a high total UFP removal of 91.4% can be achieved in the DBD reactor entirely packed with PA balls. The results can be attributed to the enhanced charge effect of the UFPs with PA balls in the discharge space. The UFP removals by diffusion deposition and electrostatic attraction were further calculated, indicating that particle charging is vital to achieve high removal efficiency for UFPs.