Optimization of DBD plasma reactor parameters for enhanced SO2 removal from air: A Taguchi Method

Background: Sulfur dioxide (SO2 ) is an air pollutant that can cause a wide range of health effects. Its’ removal can be achieved in one way through oxidation using non-thermal plasma (NTP) technology. This study aimed to optimize the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) Plasma Reactor Parameters to maximize the SO2 removal efficiency using the Taguchi Method. Methods: At first, the operational condition of the DBD plasma reactor was investigated and optimized using a factorial design. Then, the effective parameters on SO2 removal from air using the selected reactor were optimized using the Taguchi method. Results: According to the results, the DBD reactor packed with inert ceramic granules (ICGs) was selected as the optimal reactor condition, and analysis of the experiments using the Taguchi method indicated that packing the reactor with ICGs has the most contribution in the SO2 removal from air. The maximum removal efficiency of the optimized reactor was achieved as 100% at the optimum condition of SO2 concentration of 600 ppm, flow rate of 2 lpm, and voltage of 25 kV. Also, the result of the validation test showed that the results of the experiments and the model were in good agreement. Conclusion: In this study, following the Taguchi method, the effects of parameters influencing the SO2 removal using a plasma reactor were analyzed. According to the results, it was concluded that the ICGs can be a good choice for packing the DBD reactor for maximizing the SO2 removal efficiency, which was increased by 100% at the optimum condition.