Destruction of Environmental Air Contaminants Using a Non-Thermal, Ambient-Pressure Plasma

This project investigates the effectiveness of a non-thermal diffuse plasma technology for destruction of environmental air contaminants in advanced life support (ALS) systems. A novel technique to generate large-volume, diffuse, non-thermal plasmas at ambient pressure with very low power consumption (∼ 10 Watts/cm³ plasma volume) has been developed. Plasma characteristics, chemistry, and contaminant destruction efficiency for benzene, toluene, and n-heptane are reported. The results of our research provide the basis for a self-sufficient, low-power, trace contaminant destruction technology that can potentially be a viable candidate in a respirable atmosphere revitalization system or a contaminant source control in ALS applications.