Students

Bc. level: 2016 - 2017
Supervisor: Karol Hensel
Title (en):
Naphtalene removal by combination of plasma and catalyst
Title (sk):
Odstraňovanie naftalénu kombináciou plazmy a katalyzátora
Abstract (en)
Abstract (sk)

MSc. level: 2017 - 2019
Supervisor: Karol Hensel
Title (en):
Napthalene removal from gas exhaust by combination of plasma and catalyst - the effect of catalyst size and specific surface area
Title (sk):
Čistenie plynu od naftalénu pomocou plazmy a katalyzátora - vplyv veľkosti a špecifického povrchu katalyzátora
Abstract (en):  hide
Growing energy demand and an aversion to the use of fossils fuels due to environmental reasons have led to interest in alternative technologies and processes for heat and electricity production. Among the alternative energy sources, biomass and separated municipal solid waste have a special position due to their wide availability. The most obvious way to produce the energy from biomass is the combustion process. However, a more efficient way of obtaining energy from biomass and municipal waste is the gasification process that produce a synthesis gas but also various unwanted products as tars, fly ash, nitrogen and sulfur compounds. Tars are a mixture of condensable hydrocarbons, including aromatic compounds with one or more benzene rings, and they may cause technical problems in equipment. They also have a demonstrably negative impact on the environment and human health. The tar-contaminated gas cannot be used to generate electricity. Therefore, effective tar reduction is critical to the commercialization of biomass gasification. In this thesis we focus on removal method for tars decomposition by plasma in combination with catalytic (TiO₂ pellets) or dielectric packing material (glass beads). We built the dielectric barrier discharge reactors and used them with and without package materials. We investigated the effect of catalyst size, shape and specific surface area. Naphthalene was used as a model tar compound. In all reactors we evaluated the efficiency of naphthalene removal and we investigated the formation of gaseous and solid by-products by infrared absorption spectrometry. The results showed that plasma can effectively decompose naphthalene into water, carbon oxides, and solid by-products. When plasma is used in combination with packing material, more efficient removal has occurred, but more complex by-products have been formed. In plasma catalysis with TiO2 catalyst, naphthalene removal efficiency and selectivity of the process were found to be the most efficient. From the results it can also be concluded that the size and shape of the material is more important parameter than the specific surface area of the material.
Abstract (sk)