Removal of benzene as a tar model compound from a gas mixture using non-thermal plasma dielectric barrier discharge reactor

In the present work, the decomposition of benzene as a tar model compound was studied in a gas mixture (CO_2, H₂, CO, and CH₄) using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) non-thermal plasma reactor. The combined effect of temperature and power was studied to investigate the performance of the DBD reactor. The decomposition of tar compound increased from 49.9 to 96% with increasing specific input energy (SIE) from 2.05 to 16.4 kWh/m³. The major products were lower hydrocarbons (C₂–C₅) and solid residues. The higher temperature (400 °C) in the presence of plasma (40 W), decreased the conversion of tar compound from 96 to 78%. However, the selectivity of lower hydrocarbons increases substantially to 52%, and the formation of solid residues is significantly reduced. Hence, the problematic solid residues formation can be controlled at a higher temperature during the treatment of gasifier product gas using non-thermal plasma.