Cold Plasma Gliding Arc Reactor System for Nanoparticles’ Removal from Diesel Cars’ Exhaust Gases

The main goal was to investigate the ability of a non-thermal plasma reactor with gliding arc discharge to remove diesel exhaust particulates (DEPs). A conventional knife-shaped LTP GA (low-temperature plasma gliding arc) reactor was utilized. The following three cases were studied: 140 L/min, 70 L/min, and 14 L/min of air drawn through the reactor, and diesel exhaust fumes were sampled continuously. They were assayed in terms of concentration and number particle size distribution. The higher the residence times, the higher the energy input that may be utilized for DEPs’ removal. The reactor performance definitely lowered the concentration of DEPs (250–580 nm) and altered their number size distribution. There was no effect on the number concentration, nor the particle size distribution, of DEPs of 10–250 nm in size. Regarding the effectiveness of DEPs’ removal, decreasing the flow rate from 140 L/min to 70 L/min somehow altered the values. Achieving the airflow of 14 L/min led to a substantial improvement (even to a fourfold increase for 300–480 nm particles). Non-thermal plasma reactors with gliding arc discharge may be successfully adapted to the process of DEP treatment. Their performance may be optimized by adjusting the airflow at the inlet of the reactor to guarantee the longest aerosol residence times and the highest removal efficiency.