Experimental Investigation of Plasma Oxidization of Diesel Particulate Matter

Particulate matter (PM) from diesel vehicles is harmful to humans and should be removed from the exhaust gases before its emission into the atmosphere. Plasma PM oxidation is an advanced method to be used for oxidative PM removal. Factors influencing plasma PM oxidation include gas temperature, gas composition, PM amount, the geometry of plasma reactors. The PM oxidation in atmospheric air discharges was carried out using a pulsed dielectric barrier discharge reactor at temperatures of 100, 150, and 200 °C. It was found that PM is oxidized to CO and CO₂. CO₂/CO concentration ratio is a function of PM amount in the discharge space. PM removal efficiency (PM amount oxidized per kWh energy injection) increased with increasing air temperature and PM amount in the discharge space. Water promotes PM oxidation, which suggested that oxygen atoms produced in the discharge space react with water to yield hydroxyl free radicals that are of more reactivity than oxygen atoms. The activation energy of plasma PM oxidation was kinetically calculated to be 15.4 kJ/mol.     

Low Temperature Diesel Particulate Filter Regeneration by Atmospheric Air Non-thermal Plasma Injection System

An experimental study of the regeneration of diesel particulate filter (DPF) was conducted through the use of a self-designed Non-thermal plasma (NTP) injection system with an experimental temperature of 20–300 °C, with atmospheric air being used as the gas source. The results revealed that the PM could be broken down into CO and CO₂ by NTP, through a discharge reaction of the NTP reactor. As the temperature increases, the mass of C₁ (mass of C in CO) showed an overall declining trend. Interestingly, the mass of C₂ (mass of C in CO₂) and C₁₂ (the sum of C₁ and C₂) both showed an initial increase, followed by a decrease. The peak mass of C₁₂ appears at 150 °C, and both axial and radial temperature gradients are less than the limit of DPF temperature gradient at this temperature. In conclusion, DPF can be regenerated by the NTP technology at a lower temperature, which can aid in the avoidance of thermal damage of DPF. The technology boasts a great advantage in adopting atmospheric air as its gas source, which can not only reduce costs, but also is convenient.     

Direct Non-oxidative Methane Conversion by Non-thermal Plasma: Experimental Study

The direct non-oxidative conversion of methane to higher hydrocarbons in non-thermal plasma, namely dielectric barrier discharge and corona discharge, has been investigated experimentally at atmospheric pressure. In dielectric barrier discharge, the methane is mainly converted to ethane and propane with small amounts of unsaturated and higher hydrocarbons. While in corona discharge, methane was activated mainly to acetylene with small amount of other higher hydrocarbons. Decreasing the gas flow or increasing power input will improve the methane conversion and product yields. It is found that the methane conversion and main product yield against the input specific energy were special functions in both dielectric barrier discharge and corona discharge, independent of the reactor size, and whether fixing flow rate or power input and changing the power input or flow rate. The corona discharge is a promising alternative method for methane conversion to produce acetylene and hydrogen at low temperature.     

Effect of the Reaction Temperature on the Removal of Diesel Particulate Matter by Ozone Injection

This study seeks to investigate the removal efficiency of particulate matter (PM) from the actual diesel exhaust at various reaction temperatures by using non-thermal plasma (NTP). The effect of the reaction temperature on removal efficiency was reflected by the change in the concentration of particles in different modes and the weight fraction of volatile organics in PM. The Arrhenius equation was used to determine the apparent activation energies E_a of the soot in PM. In addition, the difference in the oxidation reaction at various reaction temperatures and the effect of NTP on the properties of PM were discussed. After considering the decreasing ranges of the total concentration and the weight of the PM, it was determined that 120 °C is the optimal temperature choice for PM removal. The decreasing range of the total concentration reached 57.13% and 66.79% of PM was removed when the PM is measured by weight. NTP has better effect on the removal of smaller particles. The weight fraction of the volatile fraction markedly decreases after the reaction and the apparent activation energy of soot noticeably decreased. The oxidizability of the excited species in NTP was enhanced with the increase of the reaction temperature. However, the excited species concentration declined concurrently, resulting in the occurrence of the optimized range of reaction temperature. The particles were removed by the oxidation that occurred on the surface of the primary particle and the disintegration of the structure of the particles.

     

利用代谢组学研究大气细颗粒物的生殖毒性效应

大气细颗粒物(PM2.5)污染已成为严峻的环境问题,探究PM2.5的毒性效应和机理变得尤为重要.本研究利用基于液相色谱/质谱的代谢组学技术,分析经PM2.5悬混液气管滴注暴露后成年雄性大鼠睾丸代谢组的全局变化,采用偏最小二乘判别分析法和非参数检验进行统计分析.结果表明,PM2.5暴露组大鼠睾丸的油提和水提代谢指纹谱均可与对照组实现准确区分,表明PM2.5暴露对大鼠睾丸的整体代谢网络产生了显著影响,最终鉴定出56个差异代谢物.通路分析显示,PM2.5暴露会引起大鼠睾丸的氨基酸和核苷酸代谢紊乱、类固醇激素代谢失衡以及脂类代谢异常,而这些重要通路可能是PM2.5生殖毒性的关键分子事件.     

Uneven Dielectric Barrier Discharge Reactors for Diesel Particulate Matter Removal

Uneven dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactors driven by positive–negative pulse plasma discharges were investigated for particulate matter (PM) removal from a diesel engine. Two kinds of uneven alumina plates and three kinds of uneven stainless steel plates were used to assemble six kinds of uneven DBD reactors of discharge gaps 0.4–1.0 mm. The experimental results show that PM from diesel engines can be removed using the uneven DBD reactors. The maximum PM removal was 67% at 300 W energy injections using the DBD reactor of 0.4 mm gap distance. PM removal increased with decreasing gap distance. The energy efficiency using the uneven DBD reactor of a shorter gap distance was higher than that using the uneven DBD reactor of a longer gap distance as the uneven DBD reactor of a shorter gap distance has a higher PM deposition rate. The energy efficiency was typically in a range of 3–10.6 g/kWh at an energy density of 2–16 J/L. A comparison of this study with reports given by other research groups is given.     

Plasma Burner for Active Regeneration of Diesel Particulate Filter

This study proposes a diesel particulate filter system to remove particulate matter (PM) from diesel engines. Filters should be periodically burned (regenerated) to remove PM. In the proposed system, a plasma burner is utilized for filter regeneration. The plasma burner avoids the drawbacks of the electric heater and full-flow-type diesel burner by successively discharging and partially oxidizing the fuel, which produces hydrogen for flame stabilization under all revolution per minute and load conditions. The proposed system was verified by field testing three different vehicles for over 20,000 km. The field test results confirmed successful PM removal and the simultaneous removal of other emissions such as CO, NO_x, and hydrocarbons. The plasma burner is applicable to the thermal management of emission control systems for both retrofitted and original equipment manufacturer cars.     

Characterization and Identification of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Diesel Particulate Matter

Emission of toxic exhaust from diesel engines is one of the major problems associated with the use of petroleum fuels. Particulate matter emission is perceived as a major pollutant, detrimental to the human health and environment, and has led to considerable study. Vehicular emissions comprise toxic pollutants that include unburnt hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins, and others. In this study, experiments have been carried out with the objective of determining overall particulate matter chemical composition and size. Electron microscopic images of the emitted soot were studied for average particle size distribution. More than 50 percent of the particles were in the range of 25 to 35 nanometers. Approximately 7, 9, 16, and 5 percent of the measured particles were from 35 to 40, 40 to 45, 45 to 50, and 50 to 55 nanometers, respectively. Determined elements were Al, Ba, Ca, K, Mg, Ti, Zn, and Zr at concentrations of 727, 53, 1100, 701, 1145, 638, 177, and 800 micrograms per milliliter respectively. Fifteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were detected in the extracts of filters and their concentrations were estimated. This investigation allows the comparison of particulate matter from different fuels and their blends.     

Direct Non-oxidative Methane Conversion by Non-thermal Plasma: Modeling Study

The direct non-oxidative conversion of methane to higher hydrocarbons in dielectric barrier discharges has been investigated theoretically at atmospheric pressure. Preliminary modeling of the results is presented, based on a well-stirred reactor model to determine the spatially and time-averaged species composition through the solution of balance equations for species, mass, gas and electron energy. The results show good quantitative agreement between model predications and experimental measurements by considering the glow and after-glow regions. Moreover, the model has predicted that there exists a transition where the main product of ethane will transform to acetylene by increasing the specific energy. The dominant reaction paths and the possibility of selective to C₂ hydrocarbons have been discussed. A list of gas-phase reactions has been compiled for modeling methane conversion in non-thermal plasma and can be employed in more sophisticated two- or three-dimensional plasma simulations.     

低温等离子体处理化工恶臭污染物硫化氢的研究

采用电晕放电低温等离子体处理模拟硫化氢恶臭气体,考察了输入功率、初始浓度、气体湿度、停留时间等因素对降解效果和能量效率的影响,同时对反应过程进行了动力学研究。研究表明：输入功率以及停留时间对硫化氢降解的影响是积极的,但能量效率随着两者的增加先增大后减小。硫化氢的降解率随着初始浓度的增加而降低,而能量效率随着初始浓度的增加而增加。在气体湿度增加初期,硫化氢降解率和能量效率均随着气体湿度的增加而增加,当气体湿度为50%时达到最大值,然而随着气体湿度的进一步增加,其降解率和能量效率反而降低。对电晕放电低温等离子体处理硫化氢的反应动力学进行了分析,得到硫化氢的反应速率常数为kH2S=0.356 8 m3/（W·h）。     

Hydrocarbon Assisted NO Oxidation with Non-thermal Plasma in Simulated Marine Diesel Exhaust Gases

The NO oxidation performance in a non-thermal plasma (NTP) reactor under realistic synthetic exhaust gas compositions is investigated. The gas compositions differ mainly in the NO–NO₂ ratio and represent different modes of operation of a marine diesel engine. It is found that the maximum NO oxidation efficiency is independent on the NO–NO₂ ratio. Up to 55 % of the NO is mainly oxidised to NO₂ in all gas mixtures being analysed. However, the specific energy density needed to reach the highest NO oxidation varies with the gas composition between 15 and 60 J/L. The performance of the NTP-reactor was significantly improved by the addition of propene (C₃H₆) acting as an additional oxidising agent. The energy consumption for NO–NO₂ conversion was found to be between 20 and 45 eV/NO, depending on the ratio of the added propene as well as the initial concentrations of nitrogen oxides.     

The Roles of Various Plasma Active Species in Toluene Degradation by Non-thermal Plasma and Plasma Catalysis

Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing - Investigating the roles of plasma active species in plasma chemical reaction process can improve understanding of the mechanism of volatile organic...     

Retention of Metamitron by Model and Natural Particulate Matter

Abstract

Adsorption isotherms of metamitron on model soil colloidal components: kaolinite, illite, montmorillonite, iron oxide and humic acid, and their binary associations were obtained using a batch equilibration procedure. Sorption parameters, K_f and n_f, were calculated by fitting the sorption data to the Freundlich equation and results obtained for binary associations were compared with those obtained for the individual model components. The sorption efficiency of the humic acids and their binary associations was measured as Koc. The adsorption behaviour of the < 2 μm fraction of two soils from Southern Spain was also studied as natural particulate matter. Montmorillonite and humic acids were found to be the most important components responsible for metamitron retention by the model adsorbents studied. On the contrary, metamitron showed little interaction with kaolinite, illite or iron oxide. These individual adsorption behaviours were reproduced in the montmorillonite-iron oxide-humic acid binary systems, but with differences suggesting changes on the surface properties upon association. Differences in Koc values of isolated humic acids and their associations indicate that the interaction transforms the humic acid surfaces and suggest different types of bonding between colloids and metamitron. The results obtained with model adsorbents and their associations were in agreement with the highest adsorption of metamitron found for the natural clay fraction of two soils which displayed the largest adsorption in that with the highest content in montmorillonite and organic carbon. The importance of organic matter and montmorillonite in metamitron adsorption by colloidal components was also shown by the decrease in K_f and the increase in Koc observed after removal of organic matter from the soil clay fraction with the highest organic carbon content.     

柴油机微粒过滤体结构形式研究进展

在阐述柴油机微粒过滤体相关机制的基础上,论述了过滤体主要的几种结构形式,分析其特性与问题,并对发展前景作了展望.     

气相色谱-质谱法测定大气颗粒物中的有机胺类物质

建立了大气颗粒物中有机胺类物质的气相色谱-质谱(GC-MS)分析方法.样品用超纯水超声萃取,然后在碱性条件下,用苯磺酰氯(Benzenesulfonyl chloride,BSC)衍生化,衍生物用二氯甲烷萃取,最后用DB-5MS色谱柱分离测定,实现了13种有机胺(包括7种脂肪胺、2种杂环胺和4种芳香胺)的同时测定.本方法的仪器检出限(S/N=3)和定量限(S/N=10)分别为0.00008～0.017 μg/mL和0.00026～0.0565 μg/mL; 标准曲线线性相关系数为0.9903～0.9996,相关性良好;相对标准偏差(RSD)均小于30％, 除低浓度加标水平的甲胺和苯甲胺,其余样品基质加标平均回收率为54.4％～159.7％,大部分胺具有较高的精密度与准确度.将本方法应用于广州城区PM2.5样品的检测, 共检出有机胺9种,其中甲胺、二甲胺和二丁胺约占9种有机胺总和的90％,是PM2.5中主要胺类物质,而丙胺浓度最低,浓度小于1.0 ng/m3.     

Study of SO2 Removal Using Non-thermal Plasma Induced by Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD)

Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) non-thermal plasma reactors built with three different dielectric materials for SO₂ removal were studied. The discharge characteristics of the three dielectrics, namely glass, Teflon, and glass fiber-based epoxy resin, were analyzed using Lissajous figures. From the Lissajous figures, the transition charge and energy deposition for each dielectric material were determined. When both the discharge characteristics and mechanical processability were considered, glass fiber-based epoxy resin was regarded as the best dielectric barrier among the three for DBD plasma reactors. A multi-cell DBD reactor built with glass fiber-based epoxy resin was used for treating air stream containing SO₂. SO₂ % removal decreased with increasing initial SO₂ concentration in a biphasic fashion. SO₂ removal was greatly improved by adding NH₃ into the air stream. Raising the relative humidity of the air stream also helped SO₂ removal. A SEM (scanning electron microscope) test illustrated some changes in surface morphology of Teflon and glass fiber-based epoxy resin.     

耦合氧化吸附脱除燃油中硫化物的研究

运用氧化-吸附耦合技术,将硫化物氧化为极性较高的砜类.利用中孔硅胶选择性吸附残留于油品中的硫化物及少量水,水分子和硫化物竞争吸附作用导致改性硅胶脱硫率降低.较适宜的脱硫条件是:过氧乙酸/柴油质量比2:1、反应时间80 min、搅拌速度200 r/min、反应温度60℃,此条件下脱硫率可达到97.5%.与加氢工艺相比,此...     

低温等离子体与天然丝光沸石协同降解正己醛

本文研究了在低温等离子体和天然丝光沸石(Natural Mordenite,NMOR)的共同作用下对低浓度正己醛的降解性能。研究结果表明,在降解低浓度正己醛的反应中,低温等离子体与天然丝光沸石之间能产生很好的催化协同作用,当放电功率为2.8W时,反应温度为80℃时,干燥空气气氛下,天然丝光沸石对1 200 mL.m-3正己醛的去除率为93.9%;另外天然丝光沸石经酸处理后,这种协同作用可以进一步提高,正己醛的去除率达到96.5%;天然沸石的结构性能稳定,在实验条件下,天然沸石连续使用55 h,催化活性未见下降。     

Inactivation of Bacteria in Oil Field Injection Water by Non-thermal Plasma Treatment

Microbial pollution commonly causes serious pipe corrosion in oil field injection water system. This paper reports on the application of non-thermal plasma to inactivate bacteria in oil filed injection water. As an efficient inactivation technology, pulsed streamer discharge plasma method injects energy into solution through a plasma channel formed by discharge between electrodes and produces various active species in solution with physical effects (electric field, UV etc.) occurring. Saprophytic bacteria, iron bacteria and sulfate reducing bacteria are used as target. The effects of various gases bubbling (oxygen, nitrogen and air) as well as aeration intensity are investigated. Experimental results show that the inactivation efficiency is greatly enhanced by gas bubbling. After 150 s discharge with oxygen bubbling (667 m³ (m³ h)^?1), the inactivation efficiencies of saprophytic bacteria, iron bacteria and sulfate reducing bacteria achieve 1.85, 4.51 and 5.70 log reduction, respectively. The possible mechanism of bacteria inactivation is also discussed.     

Influence of Atmospheric Pressure Non-thermal Plasma on Inactivation of Biofilm Cells

The objective of this study is to investigate the bactericidal efficiency of atmospheric pressure non-thermal (cold) dielectric barrier discharge plasma on biofilms of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. In general, cold plasma is a mixture of electrons, ions, neutral atoms and molecules. The different particles in cold plasmas exhibit different energies, i.e. electrons are much more energetic than other particles. This feature of cold plasmas allows to produce chemically reactive species at near room temperature that can be used in biological applications. Bacteria inactivation was performed using the air direct plasma (with reactive species, UV light, excited species and electric fields). Discharge power density during the experiment was equal to 70 mW/cm² and plasma dose was regulated by the treatment time. Bacterial biofilms were treated with the non-thermal plasma for 10–300 s. The most effective reduction in the number of S. aureus cells was found after 300 s of treatment and was 2.77 log₁₀ that is 99.83%. When the biofilm of E. coli was used in the experiment, killing of bacteria was independent of the exposure time and the mortality of cells did not exceed 0.48 that is 66.7% kill. The lethal effect on E. coli and S. aureus cells were observed after 300 and 120 s of plasma treatment, respectively but it was necessary to remove the layers of dead cells. The proposed process of removing dead cell layers was carried out due to the probable shielding effect, i.e. dead cells prevent further penetration of active plasma species into the deeper layers of the biofilm. It was shown that the effectiveness of cell destruction by the non-thermal plasma depends on the thickness of biofilm.